2017-2018 PLAYER & GOALIE OF THE WEEK #1

Anders_LeeChad_JohnsonPatrice_BergeronCam_Talbot

EASTERN SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASISSTS POINTS PM  +/-  SOG S%
Anders, Lee HAM 4 4 3 7 6 2 9 44.4
             
EASTERN GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Johnson, Chad CBJ 2 1 0.86 27 .964
             
WESTERN SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASSISTS POINTS PM  +/-  SOG S%
Bergeron, Patrice CLE 4 3 2 5 0 3 16 18.8
             
WESTERN GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Talbot, Cam LBD 3 5 1.68 81 .942
             

Clearfield Bison Only 1 home game for the Bison as they christen their new digs by welcoming their division rivals, the Grizzlies.
New Jersey Grizzlies @ Clearfield Bison Chippy game early. Lots of pushing and shoving. Clearfield gets an early PP but does absolutely nothing with it…but when NJ gets the man advantage they waste no time, as Shattenkirk buries one to give the Grizz a 1-0 lead.

2nd period sees fairly even play – Clearfield dominating faceoffs and attack time but unable to mount any sustained pressure on Schneider. The Bison hurt themselves repeatedly with silly penalties, keeping their offensive flow to a minimum.

Captain Bergeron must have inspired them at the break, though, because Clearfield absolutely dominated the third…15-4 in shots, 10-1 in chances, and it paid off when PK Subban cut to the middle and split the defense, beating Scheider high glove side to tie the game. Moments later, sniper Rickard Rakell gave the home squad their first lead with a laser from the left circle – the only shot Schneider wishes he had back all day.

The Bison shut it down from there to win 2-1.

Clearfield dominated faceoffs 45-15..Bergeron somehow went 19-2 himself! Schneider kept the Grizz in the game single-handedly.

STARS: #1 Subban #2 Luongo (I’d have put Schneider here); #3 Rakell

Weekly Summary: Clearfield manages to win home opener in a close one!

Hampton Blizzard With no idea what to expect this season, the Hampton Blizzard are still recovering from their soul-crushing loss in the MWHL 2017 finals to those dirty rotten buggers from California and seek to get some therapy in bashing pucks with the Clearfield Bisons and the Chicago Cosa Nostra.
Clearfield Bison @ Hampton Blizzard In the 2016-2017 season, Hampton’s key to success was a neverending wave of offense that saw an average of well over 30 shots a game going at opposing netminders coupled with great on-ice discipline and very few penalties.
The 2017-2018 home opener had none of that.
It was the Bisons that had wave after wave of forwards screaming in on Carey Price from the start. The 1st period was kind of like handing machine guns to two blind men in a room and having them open fire on each other. Pucks whizzed past the net and into bodies of defenders but seldom reached the net in the first half of the period with the shots at the 10-minute mark sitting at 4-2 for Clearfield. The two teams clearly had issues with each other as pretty much every whistle featured a scuffle of some kind and it was a scuffle between Clearfield’s Justin Williams and Mikael Backlund at 10:28 that ended the refs’ patience with it all and saw the two teams finally start to find the net.
Richard Rakell found the net in a big way 19 seconds after Williams and Backlund were sent off, taking a pass through the slot from Alexander Edler and rifling under the sprawling Hampton goaltender for the first goal of the season on Hampton ice.
Hampton attacked back immediately and illegally with the rest of the 1st period basically being a steady train of Blizzard players heading in and out of the penalty box. Clearfield wound up outshooting Hampton 14-5 in the period but it could have been much worse if not for Blizzard defencemen Andrej Sekera and auction acquistion Shayne Gotisbehere dropping in front of shots heading towards Price.
The 2nd period was more of the same as in the 1st although Hampton’s offense finally starting to click, but unfortunately like an empty gun as they were stoned time after time by Clearfield netminder Craig Anderson (who would earn the nickname El Bastardo later in the game). Clearfield went on the man advantage twice more in the 2nd period, but was unable to beat Price and Company. The best scoring chance on the Bisons’ power play actually went to Paul Stastny of the Blizzard when he poked a puck loose at the Hampton blueline and then raced in on Anderson on a breakaway only to have a lightning fast pad save kill the threat. Clearfield outshot Hampton 13-10 and continued to lead 1-0 after two.
The two teams donned their cement skates in the 3rd period with nothing much at all going on except a lot of offsides and mucking around at centre ice. With less than 5 minutes left in the game the Bisons has a whopping six shots in the period compared to 3 by Hampton and Clearfield was hanging on with a dump and snooze strategy that worked wonders lulling the Blizzard offense to sleep.
Price raced to the bench with 85 seconds left in the game with Islanders’ sniper Anders Lee on as the extra attacker and it wound up being a wild finish as the Blizzard pelted Anderson with six shots in about a minute, but could not find the back of the net.
Oh Horror! Anderson did the unthinkable and blanked the Blizzard in their own ice in their home opener, but it was a well-deserved win and a well-deserved 1st star of the game.
STATS OF THE GAME: Clearfield 0-6 on the power play, Hampton 0-0. Anderson 23 saves, Price 33. Gostisbehere and Sekera each had 5 blocked shots; Drew Doughty logged an insane 32:46 in ice time for Clearfield; Clearfield’s James Neal smacked everything that moved with 5 hits but was bested by Hampton defenceman Erik Johnson with 7! Gostisbehere led the futility with 5 shots taken that never saw the net.
GAME SUMMARY:
First Period
1. Cle, Rakell 1 – Edler (1), Bergeron (1) 10:47.
Penalties – Ham, Petry (interference) 6:49; CLE, Williams (roughing), Ham, Backlund (roughing) 10:28; Ham, Sekera (tripping) 11:43; Ham, Shaw (interference) 15:40; Ham, Hornqvist (hooking) 19:50.Second Period
No scoring
Penalties – Ham, Johnson (tripping) 4:34; Cle, Little (roughing), Ham, Nielsen (roughing) 7:07; Ham, Ekman-Larsson (roughing) 8:26.Third Period
No scoring
Penalties – noneShots on goal – Cle 34, Ham 23
Stars of the Game (my choice not the stupid AI’s):
1. Cle, Craig Anderson
2. Cle, Drew Doughty
3. Ham, Carey Price
Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Hampton Blizzard Chicago never made anything easy for Hampton all through last season so why should things change now?
The game featured a lights out performance by both teams … literally as midway through the 1st period the game screen went black (and I started cursing as I thought the game crashed) and then came back on with a faceoff at centre ice following the in-game black out … interesting. No idea what impact that it had on the game, but it was interesting.
The 1st period featured a lot of mucking around in the corner by both teams and not much else. The Cosa Nostra made things interesting with 4 of its 7 shots on a power play while Vincent Trocheck was off for tripping, but the teams came away with a 0-0 tie and Hampton having an 8-7 edge in shots.
David Pastrnak laid the lumber on Andrew Shaw’s legs (who doesn’t want to do that?) 55 seconds into the 2nd period and received a two minute minor and a standing ovation as Hampton set to begin its first power play of the season.
Bingo. 90 seconds into the power play Mikko Rantanen rifled Anders Lee’s pass into a crowd in front of the Chicago net where it skillfully caromed off Trocheck’s left buttcheek and into the Chicago net for Hampton’s first goal of the season.
Ten minutes later with Colton Parayko off for roughing, Hampton maintained its 100% power play success rating when Lee floated through the slot and one-timed a pass from Trocheck through the legs of Chicago netminder Jonathan Bernier to make it 2-0 Hampton.
Nothing with Chicago is easy though and 50 seconds later the Cosa Nostra took advantage of a complete on-ice meltdown by Shaw when Sven Baertschi banked home a rebound off Parayko’s slapper that Price couldn’t control. Shaw’s meltdown for being called for holding (picture a straight-jacket like grip on Parayko) earned him a 10-minute and a game misconduct. Nice!
The goal, however, would be the only mistake Price would make and the 3rd period went with the Canadiens’ netminder turning away all 10 shots he faced to preserve a 2-1 victory.
STATS OF THE GAME: Chicago’s David Pastrnak had six shots and Charles Manson blocked five; Colton Parayko logged a game-high 30:03 in ice time for Chicago; Jeff (Anger Management) Petry led all skaters with seven hits; Chicago lost 2/3 of the games 54 faceoffs.
GAME SUMMARY
First Period
No scoring
Penalties-HAM Trocheck (hooking) 8:05.Second Period
1. HAM, Trocheck 1 – Rantanen (1), Lee (1) 2:20
2. HAM, Lee 1 – Beaulieu (1), Trocheck (1) 12:01
3. CHI, Baertschi 1 – Parayko (1), Manson (1) 12:51
Penalties-CHI Pastrnak (slashing) 0:55; HAM Lee (cross checking) 3:06; CHI Hutton (roughing), HAM Gostisbehere (roughing) 9:36; CHI Parayko (roughing) 10:11; HAM Shaw (holding, misconduct major, game misconduct) 12:16.Third Period
No scoring
Penalties-HAM Forsberg (cross checking) 6:24.Shots on goal – Chi 30, Ham 27
Stars of the game:
1. Ham, Anders Lee
2. Ham, Carey Price
3. Ham, Vincent Trocheck
Weekly Summary: Hampton starts off slow as they did last season against two tough opponents with a whopping total of four games scored in the two-game homestand.

It’s great to be back on the ice!


Chicago Cosa Nostra Chicago starts the second MWHL Season with hopes of being near or close to as .500 as possible.
Wausau Lumberjacks @ Chicago Cosa Nostra Wausau gets goals in each period, Chicago only in the 3rd. All goals scored at even strength.

Final Score: Wausau 3 – Chicago 1

Minneapolis Deep Freeze @ Chicago Cosa Nostra Chicago scored first, but Minneapolis took a 3-1 lead heading into the 3rd period. A 5 minute slashing penalty to Keith Tkachuk at 8:12 of the 3rd put the Cosa Nostra on the Power Play. Chicago banged home 3 goals while Tkachuk sat in the sin bin. Chicago got an empty netter late and took home their first win in the new season.

Final Score: Chicago 5 -Minneapolis 3

Bucks County Racoons @ Chicago Cosa Nostra Chicago lit the lamp with the 1st goal of the game as William Nylander netted his 2nd on the season. But 2 goals 16 seconds apart in the 3rd made the Cosa Nostra sleep with the fishes in this one.

Final Score: Buck County 2 – Chicago 1

Weekly Summary: Chicago goes 1 & 2 at home and can only hope that the future is better, but the start of the season is not what their God Father was looking for.

California Regulators  
Alamo Defenders @ California Regulators California wins big, 5-1, in the season opener.
Weekly Summary: California wins big, 5-1, in the season opener.

Bathgate Rangers Opening up season 2 – the Bathgate Rangers finished last in the 1st MWHL season in spite of having the leagues top scorer in Patrick Kane. Kane got resigned and has a new cast of characters around him including Evgani Malkin. That acquisition sees Eric Staal dropping to line 2 – maybe there will be more scoring throughout the team. Biggest and toughest loss was Jamie Benn, but the team just couldn’t afford him.

Biggest news – 1st round prospect 1st pick,Nico Hischier, is doing well in his minor league debut with the New Jersey Devils with 2 goals and 5 assists in his first 8 games! The Rangers are looking forward to his addition next season.

Columbus Brew Jackets @ Bathgate Rangers Brew Jackets and Rangers – Natural rivals and seems to be the best way to start the home season. Last year, the Rangers pretty much owned this series, not much else, but the family rivalry belonged to the elder statesman. Both teams have familiar faces as well as new blood. The net minding for Columbus is all new this year – but their offense is potent with Kucherov, Couture, Ladd, Sheary and Miller leading the way. And the next layer of players are not too far behind.Brent Burns continues to head up the defense while providing a strong scoring punch.

The game didn’t disappoint the fans – unless they wanted serious goal tending. And even that, for the Rangers, wasn’t bad considering the peppering provided by the Brew Jackets.

Period 1 – Columbus, and J.T. Miller, started strong. Miller scored an even strength goal 4 minutes into the game and then less than 2 minutes later with Zajac in the sin bin, Miller scores again. Brew Jackets up 2-0. Then the big Ranger – Patrick Kane lodged one between the pipes halfway through the period to cut it to 2-1 and that’s how the period ended.

Period 2 -Now the home town fun starts. Karlsson, Sissons, and Anderson each score their 1st goals. Brodziak chips one in for Columbus to keep things close. 4-3 Bathgate end of two.

Period 3 – Columbus ties it up when Sheary knocks one in the net at 3:13. But then Bathgate goes wild again, scoring 3 unanswered goals (Kane – again, Eriksson, and Dillon) to win the game 7-4. Budaj left with 10 minutes remaining after giving up his 6th goal (in 27 shots).

STARS of the game:
1 – Kane 2 goals
2 – Karlsson 1 goal, 2 assists
3 – CBJ – J.T. Miller 2 goals

Notable – Malkin – 3 assists.

Jagr Mullets @ Bathgate Rangers This was a bookend game that finally ended in a shootout.
Rangers score 17 seconds into the game with Ferland converts on a setup from Malkin and Kane. Then with 27 seconds LEFT in the 3rd – Lindholm scores on a play from Ovechkin and Martinez. In between it was a battle of goalies and defense.
Jagr put 39 shots on goal – Nilsson stopped 38. Bathgate took 55.6% of the faceoffs. HITS: 32 for Jagr, 27 for Bathgate. But here was the real kicker – Jagr had 91 shot attempts and the Rangers are leaving a bit black and blue as they blocked 33 of those. 10 total PPs and no PP goals.So, it was on to a shootout.
Carter missed for Jagr – Malkin got his past Vasilevskiy.
Ovechkin beat Nilsson but Vasilevskiy stoned Kane.
Kadri then followed Ovechkins lead and he beat Nilsson.
Anderson was denied and the Mullets get the shoot-out win, 2-1.STARS
1. Nilsson (BGR) 38 saves
2. Lindholm (JAG) 1 goal
3 Vasilevskiy (JAG) 28 savesGWG – Nazem Kadri in the shoot-out.
Weekly Summary: Fun openers for the home town fans – big win over Columbus, heart-breaking shoot-out loss to Jagr (but a point).

LA Great Danes One home game in week 1 for MWHL’s newest franchise, the LA Great Danes. Since the Danes did not become an official franchise until October, they are working on arrangements for their permanent home arena. The home opener was moved to Denmark, home of the Danes and of 5 players on the team roster from Denmark. In the virtual world, both teams are able to accommodate the back and forth travel for the week.
California Regulators @ LA Great Danes OPENING NIGHT – Danes start with Denmark F lineup of Boedker-Ellis-Hanson with Dane Frederik Andersen in goal. Danes come out charging and don’t let up. Denied by a goal post earlier, the Danes cash in late in period 1 with 2 goals 44 seconds apart by Mark Scheifele and Dougie Hamilton. Scheifele gets his second goal in period 2 on the PP at 11:39, and the Danes go into the 3rd period up 3-0, outshooting Cal 24-11 through 2 periods.

But how quickly things can change – after an early penalty kill by LA, Silfverberg gets Cal on the board, and a PPG during a 5-minute major by Tim Schaller of LA made it a one goal game 7 minutes into P3. Silfverberg scored again at 11:58 and the game was tied at 3. The Danes D were gassed, so LA took a time out right there to rest the D and regroup. It turned out to be a brilliant coaching move when Phillip Danault beat Holtby at 14:15, and Brayden Schenn sealed the deal with a tremedous deke on Holtby to score at 18:15.

5-3 Win for the Great Danes in their home opener against the California Regulators. Game stars were #1 Mark Scheifele with 2 goals, #2 Jakob Silfverberg with 2 goals for Cal, and Brayden Schenn 1G-1A. LA dominates the faceoffs, winning 69% of the draws, with Jamie Benn at 80% and Ryan Kesler at 72%. Lots of honorable mentions for LA – Suter/Pietrangelo D duo +3, Jamie Benn 2A and 12/15 FO wins, Philip Danault 1G-1A with GWG, and veteran depth F Jannik Hansen +2 rating and assist on GWG in his homeland Denmark.

Weekly Summary: Great home opener for the Great Danes. The “BS” line making a name for themselves with 6 points on the night – Brayden Schenn, Benn, and Scheifele.

Gilbert Sharks Gilbert starts the season with 3 Home Games
Game #1 – Visiting Team:Alamo Defenders @ Gilbert Sharks Gilbert starts thegame hot with goals from Panarin and Atkinson to lead 2-0 at the end of the 1st period. Alamo evens it up in the 2nd with Goals from Ekblad and Plekanec. The 3rd period is all Alamo with the GW goal coming from Jamie Benn and Pacioretty adding an insurance goal. Final Alamo 4 Gilbert 2
Thunder Bay Nor’Westers @ Gilbert Sharks Derek Stepan starts a high scoring 1st period with a goal. Thunder Bay storms back with 3 goals from Barkov, Goligoski, and Jarnkrok. Cam Atkinson scores late in the first to cut the lead to 1 goal. The 2nd period only sees 1 goal, a game tying goal from Ryan Spooner. Spooner scores 2 more for the hat trick in the 3rd period and Jarome Iginla adds one. Final Score Gilbert 6 Thunder Bay 4
California Regulators @ Gilbert Sharks Roman Josi gets Gilbert their 3rd straight game opening goal to lead 1-0. It remains that way until the 2nd period when Brock Nelson puts California on the board to tie the game 1-1. Cam Ward and Phillip Grubhauer are both solid in goal and the game goes into OT. Artemi Panarin puts home the game winner for Gilbert 33 seconds into OT. Final Score Gilbert 2 California 1
Weekly Summary: Gilbert starts the Season 2-1 at home. Panarin, Atkinson, and Spooner lead the way with 4 points each.

Long Beach Ice Dogs Long Beach has 3 home games in the opening week of the season
LA Great Danes @ Long Beach Ice Dogs Los Angeles opened the scoring when Benn scored at 18:44 of the 1st period. It stayed that way until Fabbri & Granlund scored 2 minutes apart early in the 2nd. That was the end of the scoring as Talbot made 22 saves in picking up the 2-1 win.

1st: Talbot
2nd: Ellis
3rd: Fabbri

Gilbert Sharks @ Long Beach Ice Dogs Gilbert opened the scoring late in the 1st on a goal by Stepan. Long Beach tied it in the first minute of the 2nd period on a Granlund PP goal. 2 minutes later Atkinson netted a PP goal to give Gilbert a 2-1. Gilbert dominated the game and led in shots 24-11 through 2 periods. Long Beach put on a furious attack in the 3rd period out shooting Gilbert 17-4. The last 2 minutes were all in the Gilbert end but Rask turned away all the shots as Gilbert held on for a 2-1 win.

1st: Rask
2nd: Atkinson
3rd: Stepan

Columbus Brew Jackets @ Long Beach Ice Dogs For the 3rd home game in a row, Long Beach gave up an early goal and tied it in the first 2 minutes of the 2nd period. This time Long Beach added 3 more goals and went on to a 4-2 win. Savard, Bozak, Skinner & Ellis tallied the Long Beach goals.

1st: Skinner
2nd: Ellis
3rd: Savard

Weekly Summary: Long Beach won 2 of their 3 home games.

Jagr Mullets It’s Nez Brothers Rivalry Week!
Brentwood Bandits @ Jagr Mullets Brentwood wins thanks to an early and a late goal.  Brentwoodgets the better of Jage in Rivalry week, doubling them up 2-1.
Clearfield Bison @ Jagr Mullets Jagr strikes quickly as Ovechkin scores at 3:45. But then Clearfield puts up 3 unanswered goals in the 1st and another in the 2nd to take a commanding lead.

But then Jagr wakes up, and turns the serious heat on Clearfield.

Jeff Carter scores at 7:14 of the 3rd to make it 4-2, but the crowd is deflated when Jaromir Jagr scores against Jagr (yes, this happened) on the power play at 10:07.

Jagr then puts in two quick goals (Laine and Hall) to make it VERY interesting.

The Mullets pull the goalie with 1 minute remaining, but surrender Bergeron’s 2nd goal of the game at 19:26 to make it 6-4 Clearfield. But Jagr’s not done… Taylor Hall scores his 2nd goal of the game at 19:59 to make it 6-5.

So the Mullets lose, but show incredible 3rd period fortitude to turn a blowout into a nail-biter.

1 2 3 F
2017-18 Clearfield 1-0-0-0 3 1 2 6
2017-18 Jagr 0-2-0-0 1 0 4 5

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 3:45 EV JAG Ovechkin (1), assisted by Carter (1) and Yandle (1)
1 15:36 PP CLE Okposo (1), assisted by Maroon (1) and Hjalmarsson (1)
1 17:03 EV CLE Little (1), assisted by Alzner (1) and Subban (1)
1 18:27 EV CLE Bergeron (1), unassisted
2 11:35 PP CLE Neal (1), assisted by Rakell (1) and Hjalmarsson (2)
3 7:14 EV JAG Carter (1), assisted by Laine (1) and Miller (1)
3 10:07 PP CLE Jagr (1), assisted by Subban (2) and Doughty (1)
3 12:35 EV JAG Laine (1), assisted by Ovechkin (1) and Yandle (2)
3 13:08 EV JAG Hall (1), assisted by Vlasic (1) and Kadri (1)
3 19:26 EN CLE Bergeron (2), assisted by Okposo (1) and Alzner (2)
3 19:59 EV JAG Hall (2), assisted by Ovechkin (2) and Kessel (2)

SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3
Clearfield 13 11 6
Jagr 14 9 24

CLE JAG
SOG 30 47
FOW 34 31
FO% 52.3 47.7
Hits 20 25
Blocks 17 12
Missed Net 13 19
Shot Attempts 55 83
Scoring Chances 16 14
PIM 4 12
PP 3-6 0-2
TOA 3:30 6:41

Star 1: CLE Bergeron 2 G
Star 2: CLE Okposo 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 3: JAG Hall 2 G

GWG: Patrice Bergeron

Notables: CLE Bergeron 16 faceoffs won, Anderson 42 saves
JAG None

Clearfield GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate
G Anderson -W 5 42 .894 60:00 1 0 0 7.6 (-0.5)

Jagr GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate
G Murray -L 5 24 .828 58:50 0 2 0 7.4 (-0.4)

Weekly Summary: Jagr starts off 0-2 at home (the Brentwood game was replayed since Lundqvist erroneously started in the previous 6-3 blowout). But with a little defensive tightening, the Mullets look to be a serious Cup contender.

Brentwood Bandits Brentwood rebuilt from the ground up. Crosby and a few others stuck around but the loss of fan favorite, and top 5 player in the league, Evgeni Malkin was not an easy decision. In the salary cap era it’s harder and harder to have the “two superstar model”.

I guess we will see how it works out with Crosby being the Lone Wolf.

Game #1:New Jersey Grizzlies @ Brentwood Bandits 2 Goals in the first period… both by Brentwood. Marleau scores the first of the season for the Bandits as Tavares and Backes assist and get their first points for their new team. Phaneuf scores on the PP on a slapper from the point on a beautiful tic-tac-toe pass between Niederreiter and Crosby.

2nd period Tavares scores his first goal as a Bandit to make it 3-0 Brentwood (assisted by Krug with his first point).

38 seconds later NJ gets their first goal from Konecny on a one timer from the faceoff circle. Assisted by Hedman (1) and Byfuglien (1). Cutting the Bandits lead to two as it’s now 3-1 Bandits.

3rd period sees 1:14 go by before Niederreiter scores on a breakaway to make it 4-1 Brentwood. Assisted by Krug (2) and Forbort (1)

Crosby scores his 1st of the season at 6:26 of the 3rd on a Power Play (one of many for the Bandits this evening). Assists by Weise (1) and Krug (3). 5-1 Bandits.

NJ won’t go down without a fight. They score a short handed goal with Draisaitl (1) scoring unassisted on a breakaway to make it 5-2 Bandits lead.

A late major penalty on Konecny for charging at 17:39 but the Bandits can’t further capitalize. Still the game ends with Brentwood winning their home opener 5-2.

2017-18 New Jersey 0-1-0-0 0 1 1 2
2017-18 Brentwood 1-0-0-0 2 1 2 5
Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 9:43 EV BWB Marleau (1), assisted by Tavares (1) and Backes (1)
1 13:35 PP BWB Phaneuf (1), assisted by Niederreiter (1) and Crosby (1)
2 7:01 EV BWB Tavares (1), assisted by Krug (1)
2 7:37 EV NJG Konecny (1), assisted by Hedman (1) and Byfuglien (1)
3 1:14 EV BWB Niederreiter (1), assisted by Krug (2) and Forbort (1)
3 6:26 PP BWB Crosby (1), assisted by Weise (1) and Krug (3)
3 8:33 SH NJG Draisaitl (1), unassisted

SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3
New Jersey 7 13 2
Brentwood 12 11 17
NJG BWB
SOG 22 40
FOW 20 36
FO% 35.7 64.3
Hits 34 23
Blocks 19 16
Missed Net 12 19
Shot Attempts 50 78
Scoring Chances 6 15
PIM 17 4
PP 0-2 2-7
TOA 3:18 7:52
Star 1: BWB Niederreiter 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 2: BWB Crosby 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 3: BWB Tavares 1 G, 2 Pts
GWG: John Tavares
Notables: NJG Schneider 35 saves
BWB Krug 3 assists
New Jersey GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate
G Schneider -L 5 35 .875 60:00 0 1 0 6.2 (-0.1)
Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate
G Gibson -W 2 20 .909 59:22 1 0 0 8.7 (+0.8)

Bathgate Rangers @ Brentwood Bandits Bathgate comes to town as Malkin faces off against his buddy Crosby. Let’s see how this plays out.

1st period only one goal, by Bathgate to take a 1-0 lead. Ferland fires from way downtown and “spot starter” Lundqvist never saw it. Malkin assisted as well as Kane. Those two are gonna score a lot of points together.

2nd period Crosby scores twice. One even strength and one on the PP as the Bandits take a 2-1 lead.

Eriksson scores his first of the campaign to tie it up (assisted by Tyutin and Anderson). Game tied 2-2.

The rest of the second period is back and forth scoring opportunities and Lundqvist showing he can still play the game making some clutch saves.

We head to the 3rd, tied at 2.

Brentwood takes control of the play, firing a total of 14 shots at Rinne, but he didn’t budge. However, Lundqvist gives up a goal on a screen by Malkin when Kane setups up Klingberg for a slapper. Bathgate takes the late lead 3-2 and hold on to beat Brentwood on their home ice.

2017-18 Bathgate 1-0-0-0 1 1 1 3
2017-18 Brentwood 1-1-0-0 0 2 0 2
Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 14:44 PP BGR Ferland (1), assisted by Malkin (1) and Kane (1)
2 1:17 EV BWB Crosby (2), assisted by Krug (4) and Phaneuf (1)
2 8:31 PP BWB Crosby (3), assisted by Niederreiter (2) and Guentzel (1)
2 9:36 EV BGR Eriksson (1), assisted by Tyutin (1) and Anderson (1)
3 14:51 EV BGR Klingberg (1), assisted by Kane (2)

SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3
Bathgate 11 12 4
Brentwood 13 8 13
BGR BWB
SOG 27 34
FOW 19 34
FO% 35.8 64.2
Hits 27 31
Blocks 20 16
Missed Net 8 10
Shot Attempts 51 64
Scoring Chances 9 13
PIM 8 12
PP 1-5 1-3
TOA 4:45 5:50
Star 1: BWB Crosby 2 G
Star 2: BGR Klingberg 1 G
Star 3: BGR Ferland 1 G
GWG: John Klingberg
Notables: BGR Rinne 32 saves, Provorov 5 blocks
BWB Marleau 5 takeaways, Marleau 15 faceoffs won

Weekly Summary: Brentwood splits at home as Malkin comes to town and wins the first head to head against Sid. In the post game press conference Sid said “He’s my friend, but that all goes out the door when we hit the ice. He won this time, but we’ll be back.”

Coach Tom Atkins said “It’s early. We still need to find out what kind of team we are, but it’s nice to see Sid put the puck in the net early in the season.”


Thunder Bay Nor’Westers After loosing in the semi-finals last season Thunder Bay has high expectations, but the Atlantic division is loaded with star players and just making the playoffs will be a hard road. We have two home games in week #1 Corktown loaded with offensive power and New Jersey.
Corktown Suds @ Thunder Bay Nor’Westers Special Teams Kill Thunder Bay 2-0.
In a 1st period that was going in favor of the Nor’Westers but still 0-0. Corktown’s Cody Ceci is sent to the box for holding. Our top PP unit was tired and late in the penalty we sent out our 3rd PP unit and they made one bad pass. Vlad Tarasenko intercepted it and was off to the races, breakaway goal – unassisted and the Suds had a 1-0 lead. Early in the 2nd Corktown in now on a power play and rookie Nikita Zaitsev steals the puck outlets to Calle Jarnkrok who looses the puck to Tarasenko and both Thunder Bay defensemen were headed to the bench. Tarasenko in the slot uncontested scores his 2nd unassisted goal. 2-0 Suds.
That is where it ended. The 3rd period was a slog as neither team could gain any speed in the neutral zone. A disappointing home start loosing 2-0 and having most of the game in control. Two losses of concentration and Tarasenko took advantage on both.
New Jersey Grizzlies @ Thunder Bay Nor’Westers Thunder Bay jumps out to a 2-0 lead on even strength goals by Ryan O’Reilly (1) and Jake Muzzin (1). The 2nd period was boring as both teams were sloppy seldom were more than 1 pass completed in a row. Late new Free Agent Sean Coututier scored to put Thunder Bay up 3-0 after 40 minutes. New Jersey’s biggest offensive threat Leon Draisaitl score cutting the lead to 2, but Charlie Coyle answered pushing the lead back to 3 at 4-1. New Jersey’s Victor Headman scored at 14:37 but it was too little too late as the final was 4-2 Thunder Bay.
Weekly Summary: 1-1 at home, but we played reasonably well in both games. Stop making stupid passes and line changes and we easily could have had two wins. Our scoring has been spread out nicely but we need to get some Power Play goals.

Corktown Suds A Pair of home games for Corktown to begin 2017.
Hampton Blizzard @ Corktown Suds The high powered Suds offense looked like they were gonna roll in this one as they scored three straight goals late in the 1st and early in the 2nd. But, Andres Lee (Hat Trick) and the Blizzard answered back with 3 of their own in the 2nd giving them a 4-3 lead and that’s how things would end.
Clearfield Bison @ Corktown Suds for the 2nd consecutive game the Suds do not protect home ice as they blew another lead. As the Bison trailed 3-2 Bryan Little scored a goal in the final minute of the game. The Bison would score a goal in OT to take the 2 points. Drew Doughty had three assists as Clearfield wins 4-3 OT.
Weekly Summary: Corktown goes 0-1-1 as they didn’t have a problem finding the back of the net like they did in 2016-17. They made some big offseason moves to help out their weak Defense but they just haven’t clicked yet.

Bucks County Racoons Two home games to open the season on back to back nights….
Toledo Walleye @ Bucks County Racoons After a scoreless 1st period the Raccoons come alive to start the 2nd, scoring 3 goals in the first 6 minutes led by Marcus Johannson who had a goal and an assist and the Raccoons held on for a 4-2 victory. Toledo put intense pressure on BC in the 3rd, out shooting the home team 16-5 in the period but could only notch a PP goal by Backstrom. However, a 3 goal deficit proved to be too much. Jake Allen had 30 saves, 1st star of the game Johannson had a goal and an assist, as did Connor McDavid. while Backstrom was the third star with 2 pts. FINAL SCORE BCR 4 – TOLEDO 2
LA Great Danes @ Bucks County Racoons After their second scoreless 1st period in a row to start the season, BC connected on a PP goal by Jayden Schwartz for a 1-0 lead. It looked like that lead would hold up, even though LA outshot the Raccoons 26-12 over the final two periods. Statistics can sometimes be deceiving, however, as BC had 63 shot attempts to the Great Danes 52, but 20 blocked shots by the visitors kept the Racs frustrated. It looked like BC might steal this one, but with Anderson pulled LA struck on a goal Ehlers at 18:53 to tie the score. In a fast paced OT the Danes iit the lamp again, this time Scheifele scoring from the top of the circle to secure the win. Allen was outstanding with 34 saves but that was good enough to secure only 1 point at home and bring the first week of home games to a disappointing conclusion. Final Score LAGD 2- BCR 1
Weekly Summary: Bucks County gets 3 of 4 points in their two home games, but losing the lead in game 2 in the last 67 seconds leaves the Racs with a bitter taste in their mouth. And for a Raccoon, that is saying a lot…..

Alamo Defenders Alamo plays 2 on the road and 2 at home. The defenders take on Long Beach and LA.
Long Beach Ice Dogs @ Alamo Defenders Long Beach scores the first 4 goals of the game as the Defenders were perpetually in the penalty box. 2 of the 4 goals were on the power play. Alamo learns how to score late and nets two.

Long Beach 4 Alamo 2

1st star – Marner – Long Beach 1 goal and 2 assists.
2nd star -Talbot 33 saves – Long Beach
3rd star -Roussel 1 goal – Long Beach

:LA Great Danes @ Alamo Defenders LA scores only 14 seconds into the game as Pietrangelo nets one. Alamo starts firing away and knocks in 3 goals of their own. Alamo has 20 shots on net in the 3rd period as Alamo dominates the late play. Jordie Benn scores an empty netter to put the game away.

Alamo 4 LA 2

1st star -Perrault 1 goal and 1 assist
2nd star -Seguin 1 goal.
3rd star -Karlsson 1 goal

Weekly Summary: Alamo gets a split at home. They lose to Long Beach, 4-2. Then, defeat LA, 4-2.

Lakeland Flying Tigers Lakeland comes into this season with a defense-first mindset. Only problem is, we really don’t have the players to do it, but I am going to give it a go anyway.
Bathgate Rangers @ Lakeland Flying Tigers Lakeland 3, Bathgate 2.

The Tigers shut it down in the 2nd and 3rd Periods to come back and win the game. Hartman with the GWG.

Wausau Lumberjacks  @ Lakeland Flying Tigers Lakeland 1, Wausau 0.

This game was all Marc Andre Fleury! Lakeland was outplayed in every aspect of the game except for the scoreboard, and that was on a lucky tip-in from Duchene.

Brentwood Bandits @ Lakeland Lakeland 5, Brentwood 3.

This game had shots and goals galore as Lakeland scores 3 times in the 3rd Period to pull this one out. Lots of star player points total with Guentzel for Brentwood getting the #1 Star for a 2-1-3 game total.

Weekly Summary: Lakeland wins all 3 at home this block. And yes, I am just as surprised as you are! I would have to say that Fleury has been the star of the team so far this season, making big stops at key times. I know I overpaid for a backup goalie, but he has already proven his worth to the team.

Minneapolis Deep Freeze Minneapolis opens the season with 3 home games – two against divisional foes Bucks County and Wausau, and a third against last year’s runner up and regular season champion, the Hampton Blizzard. The fans are excited to see how the reconstructed team fares against some tough competition after a complete offseason rebuild that saw the Deep Freeze retain only 7 players from last year’s roster.
Bucks County Racoons @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze Bucks County Raccoons (2) @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze (3)
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Minneapolis opens their season at home against a Bucks County. A new team joining the Central division.Both teams get off to a slow start, with Minneapolis only getting one shot on goal in the first 7 minutes. Bucks County got a couple of changes on the powerplay midway through the first but Bobrovsky stood tall in net for the Deep Freeze. Minneapolis gets a powerplay with Moore in the box for interference 7 minutes in and hopes to finally generate some offensive pressure. Minneapolis would get a few shots on goal but can’t beat Allen. The Deep Freeze get a second chance on the powerplay when Johansson gets 2 minutes for a check from behind, and the game sees its most exciting moments yet when Chara and Wilson get into a scuffle – each earning 5 minutes. Minneapolis would keep the pressure on, and end up outshooting the Raccoons 14-7 in the first period.Minneapolis struggles to stay out of the box in the second period, taking two penalties in the first 10 minutes. Bucks Country fails to capitalize on the power plays, but beats Bobrovsky to open the scoring when Bellemare banged home a rebound off a hard shot from Wilson with. Just over a minute later, McDavid makes it 2-0 with a shot from just inside the blue line. 30 seconds later, Allen clears the puck over the glass, giving the Deep Freeze a powerplay chance to get back in the game. Still no luck for Minneapolis. Minneapolis would finally get on the board with Lucic in the box and 2:42 left in the period when Markov set up Marchessault for a one-timer that beat Allen. Bucks County wins the second period 2-1, outshooting the Deep Freeze 12-11.We enter the third period with the Raccoons leading 2-1. One minute into the final period, Minneapolis gets loose for a 3-on-2 and Hossa ties the game at 2 on a one-timer from Spezza. With Aho in the box for Minneapolis, Duncan Keith carries it across the Deep Freeze blue line, but Turris is there to knock him off the puck creating a 2-on-1 going the other way with Fisher. The give-and-go would leave Turris 1-on-1 with Allen, and he scores the shorthanded goal to give Minneapolis the 3-2 lead. Bucks County would sustain pressure for the last several minutes of the game, including a breakaway from Johanssen with 9 seconds to go, but Bobrovsky was there to make the save and earn the Deep Freeze the win! Minneapolis overcomes the 2-0 deficit with three straight goals to win 3-2!Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
2 11:02 EV BCR Bellemare (1), assisted by Wilson (1) and Dominic Moore (1)
2 12:13 EV BCR McDavid (1), assisted by Palmieri (1) and Johnson (1)
2 17:18 PP MIN Marchessault (1), assisted by Markov (1) and McLeod (1)
3 1:16 EV MIN Hossa (1), assisted by Spezza (1)
3 2:51 SH MIN Turris (1), assisted by Fisher (1)SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3
Bucks County 7 12 14
Minneapolis 14 11 10BCR MIN
SOG 33 35
FOW 28 31
FO% 47.5 52.5
Hits 27 25
Blocks 19 20
Missed Net 10 13
Shot Attempts 63 67
Scoring Chances 5 13
PIM 22 20
PP 0-4 1-5
TOA 5:27 4:23Star 1: MIN Bobrovsky 31 saves
Star 2: MIN Hossa 1 G
Star 3: MIN Marchessault 1 G
Wausau Lumberjacks @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze Wausau Lumberjacks (1) @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze (6)

The Deep Freeze’s second home game of the season brings a familiar foe to The Pond, last year’s division runner-up, the Wausau Lumberjacks.

Minneapolis gets on the board with a powerplay goal less than 7 minutes into the game when Chara fed Marchessault (2) to set up a powerful one-timer. 3 minutes later, Marchessault sets up in front of the net and deflects a shot from Orpik to extend the lead to 2 with his 2nd of the game and 3rd goal of the young season. As Wausau tries to stop the bleeding, Spezza catches a pass and is breaking down the wing when Dumba gets caught for hooking. Mike Smith stands tall and stops a barrage of shots from the Deep Freeze to keep his team only down 2. The period ends with Minneapolis on top 2-0 after outshooting the Lumberjacks 18-6 in the opening period.

Wausau gets their first powerplay opportunity of the game early in the second period with Marchessault in the box for holding, but squanders the chance and almost lets Pavelski beat them with a breakaway chance, if it weren’t for Smith making a great save. Minneapolis returned the favor on their next powerplay when Spezza gave the puck away creating a breakaway chance for Frolik, but this time it was Bobrovsky there to deny him. With 1:21 remaining in the 2nd period, Marchessault dekes past a defender and beats Smith to complete the Hat-Trick, putting the Deep Freeze up 3-0. Wausau had a better second period than the first, but Minneapolis is still the only team on the board, leading 3-0 at the end of the second period. The Deep Freeze have registered 30 shots on goal compared to the Lumberjacks 17 through 40 minutes.

9 minutes into the third period, Chara (1) adds on another goal for the Deep Freeze with a one-timer from Markov to extend the lead to 4. Wausau finally gets on the board with 6 minutes to go when Zucker redirected a blast from Dumba to make it 4-1. A few minutes later, Aho would put Minneapolis back up 4 when he gets loose for a 2-on-1 with Orpik. With 1 minute to go and Minneapolis just trying to protect the lead, Hossa picks up a loose puck with just 1 defender to beat and gives his team the 6-1 lead.

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 6:53 PP MIN Marchessault (2), assisted by Chara (1) and Pavelski (1)
1 10:06 EV MIN Marchessault (3), assisted by Orpik (1) and Pesce (1)
2 18:39 EV MIN Marchessault (4), assisted by Pavelski (2) and Markov (2)
3 8:57 EV MIN Chara (1), assisted by Markov (3) and Aho (1)
3 13:51 EV WLJ Zucker (1), assisted by Dumba (1) and Faksa (1)
3 16:56 EV MIN Aho (1), assisted by Orpik (2)
3 18:45 EV MIN Hossa (2), unassisted

SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3
Wausau 6 11 13
Minneapolis 18 12 10

WLJ MIN
SOG 30 40
FOW 27 36
FO% 42.9 57.1
Hits 24 30
Blocks 15 10
Missed Net 14 13
Shot Attempts 54 68
Scoring Chances 9 16
PIM 14 10
PP 0-2 1-4
TOA 3:46 5:19

Star 1: MIN Marchessault 3 G
Star 2: MIN Chara 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 3: MIN Aho 1 G, 2 Pts

Notables: WLJ Smith 34 saves
MIN Marchessault hat trick, Spezza 16-8 on faceoffs

Hampton Blizzard @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze Hampton Blizzard (2) @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze (5)

Minneapolis tries to end the week on a high note, after winning their first 2 home games of the year. Last year’s runner-up, the Hampton Blizzard, will do their best to prevent that when they come to The Pond for a matchup of two cold-weather teams.

Minneapolis’ offense puts the pressure on Hampton early and keeps it there, as they register 5 chances on 21 shot attempts (11 SOG) through the first 14 minutes of the game. Marchessault is the first to break through Raanta with a rocket high on the stick side with 6 minutes left in the first period. Marchessault now has 5 goals in the first 3 games. The rest of the period is relatively uneventful, and the teams head to the locker room with Minneapolis leading 1-0, and shots 16-6 in favor of the Deep Freeze.

Five minutes into the second period, Matt Tkachuk deflects a hard shot from Seidenberg past Raanta for the first goal of his MWHL career! Minneapolis leads 2-0. Three minutes later with Backlund in the box for hooking, Pavelski extends the lead to 3 with a one-timer for his first of the year off a beautiful pass from Aho. Hampton wouldn’t wait long to answer though, as Hornqvist puts a wrap-around past Bobrovsky to make it 3-1 Minneapolis. After 40 minutes of play, Minneapolis leads Hampton 3-1 having kept steady offensive pressure on the Blizzard for most of the game. The Deep Freeze continue to fire shots at the net, registering 18 more shots on goal (plus 8 blocked shots) in the second period.

Just over eleven minutes into the final period, Hampton brings the Minneapolis lead down to 1 when Backlund blasts a shot from the point that beat Bobrobsky. After letting Hampton score two in a row, Minneapolis gets back on the board with a powerplay goal from Hossa (3) on a well-timed deflection from Manning to make it 4-2 with 1:19 left to play. The Blizzard pull the goalie to get the extra attacker, but it’s the Deep Freeze who benefit from the decision when Markov adds the empty net goal to make it 5-2. Minnepolis holds on to win in a game that they went 2-for-8 on the powerplay, while taking no penalties of their own.

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 14:00 EV MIN Marchessault (5), assisted by Aho (2) and Pavelski (3)
2 5:01 EV MIN Tkachuk (1), assisted by Seidenberg (1) and Spezza (2)
2 8:08 PP MIN Pavelski (1), assisted by Aho (3)
2 8:51 EV HAM Hornqvist (1), assisted by Lee (1)
3 11:11 EV HAM Backlund (1), assisted by Lee (2) and Hornqvist (1)
3 17:18 PP MIN Hossa (3), assisted by Manning (1) and Spezza (3)
3 19:41 EN MIN Markov (1), assisted by Gagner (1) and Turris (1)

SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3
Hampton 6 6 10
Minneapolis 16 18 13

HAM MIN
SOG 22 47
FOW 27 31
FO% 46.6 53.4
Hits 23 24
Blocks 24 7
Missed Net 11 19
Shot Attempts 40 90
Scoring Chances 8 19
PIM 16 0
PP 0-0 2-8
TOA 1:49 7:42

Star 1: MIN Pavelski 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 2: HAM Hornqvist 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 3: MIN Tkachuk 1 G

Notables: HAM Raanta 42 saves, Petry 6 blocks
MIN Pavelski 16-14 on faceoffs

Weekly Summary: Minneapolis wins their first 3 home games to start the year by a combined score of 14-5. The offense is running on all cylinders, the defense is keeping opposing chances to a minimum, and Bobrovsky stood tall between the pipes when he was called upon. The reconstructed Deep Freeze team is showing their potential and looking forward to the rest of the season.

Columbus Brew Jackets Brew Jackets open campaign with two home games this week: Jagr – opening day and Lakeland
Jagr Mullets @ Columbus Brew Jackets Jagr gets 3 goals in the first 12 minutes. Then watches as Budaj stops everything thereafter and the Brew Jackets come back. They get 1 in the first then two in the 2nd and Carlo puts in the winner in the 3rd at the midway point. The Mullets outshot the beer crew 51-20 but Budaj in his Columbus debut gets over early shakiness and goes wild between the pipes.
JAGR Goals – Kadri, Martinez, Laine
COLUMBUS Goals – Kucherov, Ladd, Sheary, CarloSTARS: 1 – Budaj, 2 Sheary (1 goal, 2 pts), Martinez (JAG), 1 goal 2 points.
Lakeland Flying Tigers @ Columbus Brew Jackets The high Flying Tigers come into town and get grounded. Columbus punches in 2 in the 1st another in the 2nd and backup goalie Chad Johnson stops all 22 shots for the 3-0 shutout.

GOALS – Sheary (3), Tyler Johnson, Miller

STARS: 1 -Chad Johnson, Sheary, Tyler Johnson

Weekly Summary: Brew Jackets open fast with 2 wins within the division!

Toledo Walleye Toledo Walleye look to start off Franchise history this week at home with games against two division foes from 2017 in California (49-28-5) and Chicago (31-44-7). Toledo will be looking to captain Nicklas Backstrom and netminder Devan Dubnyk to be leaders for this newly formed team.
California Regulators @ Wausau Lumberjacks Toledo takes advantage of an early power play with Versteeg lighting the lamp for the first Walleye goal in franchise history. The euphoria is quickly killed as Califonia responds within 60 seconds, evening the game at 1-1 with Silfverberg doing the deed. Green puts the home team back up 5 minutes later and the Walleye take a 2-1 lead into the locker at intermission.

Period 2 is all Walleye as they hold the Regulators scoreless while putting 2 more goals past Holtby. One goal by Letestu and one a penalty shot by Foligno after being tackled on a breakaway. Walleye up 4-1 after 2

Period 3 sees the home team continue the domination on the defensive end while Foligno pops one more past Holtby for a 5-1 lead. The Walleye then go conservative maybe a little too early and see Califonia put some tension into the home team fans by scoring 2 late in the 3rd period (Gaudreau and Zibanejad). Dubnyk then wakes up and stops the visitor scoring and the game ends 5-3 Toledo.

1st star Foligno 2g
2nd star Versteeg 1g 1a
3rd star Green 1g

Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Toledo Walleye Toledo hoping to stay undefeated at home against the Cosa Nostra.

Chicago defense is up to the task, holding the home team scoreless the first 2 periods while showing great efficiency on offense with Toews, Wenneberg and Pastrnak all lighting the lamp.

Period 3 sees some life in the home fans as Toledo converts a power play early to cut the lead to 2. Toledo returns the favor only a few minutes later, putting the visitors on the PP and watching Bailey take the score to 4-1. Chicago goes conservative and holds off Toledo the last 12 minutes to take the 4-1 road victory to the locker room.

1st star – Bernier saving 32 of 33 shots
2nd star – Toews 1g 1a
3rd star – Bailey 1g

Weekly Summary: Toledo gets a bit of revenge for its Lansing Capital converted players by taking down the Regulators who eliminated Lansing from the playoffs. But the winning formula is short lived as the Cosa Nostra come in with a reality check and thump the home team 4-1.

 

 

STUFF

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