2017-2018 PLAYER & GOALIE OF THE WEEK #8
| EASTERN SKATER | TEAM | GP | GOALS | ASISSTS | POINTS | PM | +/- | SOG | S% |
| Ovechkin, Alex | JAG | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 6% |
| EASTERN GOALIE | TEAM | GP | GOALS AGAINST | G.A. AVERAGE | SAVES | SAVE % | |||
| Greiss, Thomas | CRK | 4 | 5 | 1.2 | 132 | .964 | |||
| WESTERN SKATER | TEAM | GP | GOALS | ASSISTS | POINTS | PM | +/- | SOG | S% |
| Marchand, Brad | ALA | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 20% |
| WESTERN GOALIE | TEAM | GP | GOALS AGAINST | G.A. AVERAGE | SAVES | SAVE % | |||
| Saros, Jusse | CHI | 2 | 3 | 1.51 | 80 | .964 | |||
| Clearfield Bison | After a couple of home-heavy slates, Clearfield has only one home game. Can they stay hot against the Sharks? |
| Gilbert Sharks @ Clearfield Bison | This had all the makings of a ‘trap’ game…only home tilt, dangerous opponent who has underachieved thus far, backup goalie…and the Bison sure tried hard to blow this one.
First period was a whole lot of nothin’. Only 3 total scoring chances and 1 poor PP chance per side. The Bison started racking up shots – and power play chances – in the second, but weren’t getting that many good ‘looks’. Gilbert got their second PP and showed Clearfield how it’s done, as Panarin cashed in his own reboud for an unassisted goal at 15:28. The third period seemed even worse for the home squad – despite being on the PP continuously from the 2:39 mark until the 12:59 mark, Clearfield simply could not beat Rask. Adding insult to injury, Clearfield got an extended 5-on-3…called a TO to set up…then their coach watched in horror as they gave up a SHORTHANDED BREAKAWAY while up two men!! Luongo made the save, but at that point I was ready to lobby for a ‘decline penalty’ button..Clearfield ended up 0-for-8(!!!) on the PP. However, the Bison kept pressibng..and a minute after the PP parade ended, Little finally found the twine to knot the game at one. Somehow, 4 minutes later Rakell beat Rask from the right circle…the defense held..and Clearfield escaped with a 2-1 win. Stats favored Clearfield, but most of that was all the PP time…40-21 shots, 17-6 scoting chances, 7:45-2:25 attack time. Gilbert actually won the faceoff battle, which hasn;t happened to Clearfield much. 3 stars:I’m overriding the game and giving Rask #1. 38 saves on 40 shots, when the whole game was in his end..that was a whale of a job. #2 Little 1G, #3 Panarin PPG. |
| Weekly Summary: | Clearfield barely holds serve at home…and now hits the road for 9 of the next 12. To paraphrase Ned Stark…’Regression is coming’. |
| Jagr Mullets | Lots of new faces on Jagr, and lots of old friends are gone. How will the new chemistry work out? |
| Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Jagr Mullets | In his first start for the Mullets, Jonathan Quick is stellar – giving up only 1 goal (35 saves) in the 3-1 victory. New defenseman Darnell Nurse was a beast, delivering 11 hits along with 4 takeaways and an assist. Patrik Laine scores twice, and Justin Schultz adds a pair of helpers.
Demoted to the 4th line with the acquisition of Zach Parise, Colin Wilson scores his 4th goal of the year – everyone is a team player on the Mullets! Chicago’s loan goal came on a 5-on-3: the Mullets had TWO guys in the box on 5 minute majors! The game got a little chippy… Scoring Summary Star 1: JAG Laine 2 G GWG: Patrik Laine Notables: CHI Condon 33 saves |
| Alamo Defenders @ Jagr Mullets | Alamo and Jagr were recent trade partners. How did their new players do against their former team?
Well, Keith Yandle clearly had a vendetta against the Mullets as he racked up THREE assists against his former team! Meanwhile, new Mullet defenseman Justin Faulk scored his first goal for Jagr (his 7th of the season). The game was knotted up 3-3 and headed into overtime, where Blake Wheeler scored at 1:01 to give the Defenders a victory Davy Crockett himself would be proud of. December 6 2017 12-15-2017 1 2 3 4 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 SOG 4 ALA JAG GWG: Blake Wheeler Notables: ALA Lehner 34 saves, Yandle 3 assists Jagr GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate |
| Weekly Summary: | 3 of a 4 possible 4 points at home this week – Jagr’s arrow is trending upward (or so it appears), even after the salary dumps and buyouts. Our defense is weaker statistically, but is much more physical. Our offense is more balanced across 4 lines; the main key is Vasilevskiy — is he ready to become “the guy” in goal? |
| Chicago Cosa Nostra | Chicago with 2 home games for the week, needs to put some points on the board to avoid a permanent spot in the cellar. |
| Bucks County Racoons @ Chicago Cosa Nostra | It was the Juuse Saros show. 37 Saves for a Shutout Win for the Cosa Nostra. A goalie with 2:30 left in the 3rd period by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the only scoring in the game.
Final Score: Chicago 1 – Bucks County 0 |
| GThunder Bay Nor’Westers @ Chicago Cosa Nostra | Chicago showed some offense in this one with 6 goalies on 28 shots. Juuse Saros started in a last minute switch as Mike Condon was ill. Thunder Bay out shot Chicago 46 to 28. Sarros allowed 3 goals, but turned away 43 shots. Josh Manson & Alexander Galchenyuk had a Goal & 2 Assists each.
Final Score: Chicago 6 – Thunder Bay 3 |
| Weekly Summary: | Chicago gets 4 points at home & didn’t even have to play an extra minutes of hockey to do so. A rare thing in Chicago these days. |
| Long Beach Ice Dogs | |
| Wausau Lumberjacks @ Long Beach Ice Dogs | Wausau took an early 2-1 lead in the 1st on goals by Lehkonen & Zucker. Long Beach fought back and tied it in the 2nd on a goal by Polak and took a 3-2 lead when Bjugstad scored with 15 minutes left in the 3rd. It stayed that way until Wausau pulled the goalie and Palat score with 1:09 left. After a scoreless OT, Wausau won the shoot out 2-0 and the game 4-3.
Stars: |
| Bathgate Rangers @ Long Beach Ice Dogs | Wausau jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st period and coasted to a 5-1 win despite being outshot 44-22. Nilsson was huge for the Lumberjacks making 43 saves.
Stars: |
| Weekly Summary: | Long Beach loses both their home games |
| LA Great Danes | One home game for the Great Danes this week – versus recent trading partner Jagr. LA newcomers Carlson and Bonino and ex-LA players Nurse and Derek Ryan face their old teammates. |
| Jagr Mullets @ LA Great Danes | An entertaining game with a combined 85 SOG, 137 shot attempts, and 6 power play opportunities for each team. A scoreless game after 1, with the Danes having a 6-0 scoring chance advantage and killing off 2 penalties without giving up a single shot on goal. But Jagr took advantage of more penalty trouble for LA, scoring 2 PPG’s in the first 3:29 of period 2 on goals by Kadri and Parise. A couple of minutes later, The Danes got a 5 on 3 opportunity for 1:16 – they peppered Vasilevskiy with 7 SOG including 4 point-blank changes on the 5 on3 but came away empty. It looked like Vasilevskiy’s night until a Kesler redirect finally beat him at 16:52 of the 2nd period, and Jagr took a 2-1 lead into the final period. When Justin Faulk scored at 4:14 to give Jagr a 3-1 lead, the Danes looked to be in trouble against a hot goalie. But 2 great efforts on unassisted goals brought the Danes even – Scheifele on a power play wrap-around goal, and Dougie Hamilton (in the dog house much of the season) scored an amazing breakaway short-handed goal to tie it at 12:19. The Danes completed the comeback when Alex Pietrangelo scored with 1:04 remaining in regulation, and a couple of face off wins by Kesler finished off the 4-3 win for LA. Scheifele 1G-1A, Kesler 1G/6 SOG/4 hits/60% FO’s, and Pietrangelo GWG/6 SOG/3 Blks,+2 were the game’s 3 stars. Jagr goalie Vasilevskiy deserves honorable mention with 44 saves as the Danes outchanced Jagr 22-6 for the game. |
| Weekly Summary: | A hard-fought win for the Great Danes in their lone home game. Alex Pietrangelo continued his knack for scoring big goals, with his 3rd game winning goal of the season. None of the traded players did much against their former teams – no points from any of them – Bonino was a +1, but Carlson, Nurse, and Ryan were all minuses. |
| Lakeland Flying Tigers | Lakeland has 3 home games this Block #8. Can we take advantage of it? |
| Corktown Suds @ Lakeland Flying Tigers | Corktown wins all aspects of this game for a 3-0 shutout win. |
| Clearfield Bison @ Lakeland Flying Tigers | Anderson moves to 13-0-0 with a 4-3 victory over Lakeland. Neither goalie was that great in the game. |
| Thunder Bay Nor’Westers @ Lakeland Flying Tigers | Thunder Bay wins 3-2 in the Shootout. Not the best game, but I have been worse this season. |
| Weekly Summary: | Lakeland gets 1 point out of 6 this block. Lean days are ahead after Fluery’s fast start…Jones in goal is just not as stingy as Fleury was. |
| Brentwood Bandits | New Bandit players looking to make a difference. We shall see…
(No time for write-ups this week, sorry) |
| Bucks County Racoons @ Brentwood Bandits | Bucks County comes in and terrorizes backup goalie Halak as they go on to beat Brentwood 6-3
1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 BCR BWB Star 1: BCR Lucic 2 G, 3 Pts GWG: Zack Smith Notables: BCR Allen 38 saves Bucks County GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate |
| Wausau Lumberjacks @ Brentwood Bandits | Brentwood hopes to fair better in their second game with their new players. Halak given the chance to redeem himself… and he does. Brentwood goes on to win 3-2.
1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 WLJ BWB Star 1: BWB Backes 1 G GWG: David Backes Notables: WLJ Howard 37 saves Wausau GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate |
| Columbus Brew Jackets @ Brentwood Bandits | High scoring divisional foe Columbus comes to town and the game was a great one!
Columbus was up 3-2 in the 3rd and with the goalie pulled and 8 seconds left, Tavares scores to send it to OT. No score in OT, off to shootout. New addition Kessel scores, Gibson closes the door on all three shooters faced. Bandits win 4-3. 1 2 3 4 SO F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary Shootout: Columbus 0-Brentwood 1 SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 SOG 4 CBJ BWB Star 1: CBJ Kucherov 1 G, 2 Pts GWG: Phil Kessel Notables: CBJ Burns 5 blocks, Edmundson 5 blocks, Johnson 49 saves Columbus GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate |
| Weekly Summary: | Brentwood gets 4 of 6 points at home. Not bad, but still wondering if the new additions have upset the chemistry… especially on defense. Time will tell. |
| Corktown Suds | Corktown Suds |
| Long Beach Ice Dogs @ Corktown Suds | Long Beach wins 4-3 |
| Bucks County Racoons @ Corktown Suds | Corktown shuts out the Racoons 4-0 |
| Weekly Summary: | Corktown splits their home stand 1-1 |
| New Jersey Grizzlies | Will Holtby help New Jersey |
| Brentwood Bandits @ New Jersey Grizzlies | December 6 2017 12-18-2017
1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 BWB NJG Star 1: NJG Filppula 2 G GWG: Nick Ritchie Notables: BWB Gibson 36 saves, Krug 6 blocks Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate New Jersey GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate |
| Corktown Suds @ New Jersey Grizzlies | December 7 2017 12-18-2017
1 2 3 4 SO F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary Shootout: Corktown 2-New Jersey 0 SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 SOG 4 CRK NJG Star 1: CRK Rust 2 G GWG: Auston Matthews Notables: CRK Greiss 39 saves Corktown GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate New Jersey GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate |
| Weekly Summary: | 1-1 |
| Hampton Blizzard | Hampton runs the gauntlet of the Central and Pacific’s top teams hosting division-leading LA Great Danes, the Central-leading Minneapolis Deep Freeze and just for shits and giggles the Pacific’s 2nd place Long Beach Ice Dogs. Should be easy … not. |
| LA Great Danes @ Hampton Blizzard | Hampton gets a goal by Malkin right off the opening faceoff and then Ho-Sang scores his first goal ever on his 2nd shift ever to give the Blizzard the 2-0 edge early on but then the Great Danes stormed back. The Danes took advantage of Blizzard goalie Carey Price opting to go with his new experimental rubber Korean goalie pads in this game with Pietrangelo scoring at 17:53 of the 1st period to make it 2-1, Suter scoring at 14:26 of the 2nd to make it 2-2 and then Scheifele scoring at 5:40 of the 3rd to give LA a 3-2 lead … all on plays set up by insane rebounds. Price was pretty much futzed up all game chasing rebounds and just generally being out of position. The Danes scored 3 times on just 24 shots! Down 3-2 Hampton cranked up the forechecking and sent wave after wave of skaters down into the LA end, peppering goaltender Mason with 20 shots in all in the 3rd period. Mason was great, but eventually cracked when at 17:39 of the 3rd Malkin dashed in across the LA blueline and snapped the puck up and over Mason’s shoulder to tie it up. Hampton eased up and as both teams settled in to prepare for overtime, Malkin almost on his way to the bench for a line change with only 41 seconds to to slapped the puck seemingly harmlessly at Mason only to have Forsberg’s stick appear out of nowhere and knock the puck through Mason’s pads for a stunning 4-3 lead for Hampton. LA pulled Mason right off the draw and did a great job of keeping the puck out of their own open net, but were hemmed in their own end until the siren sounded to end the game. Mason was very good, Price was not. LA defenceman Alex Pietrangelo once again proved why he is one of the league’s best blueliners earning a 3rd star in a losing effort with his 8th goal of the season, an assist on the 2nd LA goal, two takeaways and two blocked shots. Sweet Scheifele got the nod as star#2 with a goal (his 12th) and an assist. Newly acquired Evgeni Malkin earned the right as 1st star with two goals (#9 and #10) and an assist to lead Hampton in the win. Honorable mention went to Trocheck of Hampton with one assist, two takeaways, four hits, and 18/26 faceoffs won and to Suter of LA with a goal and 4 blocks. |
| Minneapolis Deep Freeze @ Hampton Blizzard | Hampton outshot Minneapolis 33-23 in this slow-paced game, but the shots don’t matter when your goaltender is wearing huge floppy shoes and has an f—ing red bubble nose. Antti Raanta faced all of 10 shots before getting the yank 28 seconds into the 2nd period but by then the damage was done and Hampton was looking at the wrong end of a 4-0 score. Not that Raanta was terrible – although he was – full credit went to the Freeze for making the most of their chances. Pavelski started the scoring parade on Minnie’s 3rd shot of the game rifling the puck up and over the flummoxed Finn’s trapper at 7:07 of the 1st. Hossa and Tkachuk drew the assists on Pavelski’s 10th of the year. Marchessault made it 2-0 a minute and two shots later on a slapshot from in close for his 10th. Then it was the special teams’ chance to get in on the act converting on two consecutive power plays with Byron scoring on a wrist shot off Raanta’s apparently ornamental glove at 17:57 and then Aho getting his 8th on a wraparound 28 seconds into the 2nd period almost waking the dozing Hampton goalie. Hampton cut the lead to 4-1 midway through the period when Anders Lee’s slapshot went in off the post, but a few minutes later Marchessault got his 2nd of the game, tipping Brooks Orpik’s slapper past new goaltender Carey Price to make it 5-1. Ekman-Larsson scored with less than two minutes left in the period to trim the lead to 5-2 as Hampton once again went into a mad scramble to come from behind. On its side, Hampton had history having just won a come-from-behind game against LA and that Minnie’s goalie Bobrovsky was having a rare off night. Working against Hampton was time, concerns about its goalies and some pretty solid play by the Deep Freeze. Ah well … they tried. Hampton got two goals in the first 5 minutes with Dvorak and Rantanen finding the twine but that was it as Bobrovsky turned aside the last 9 shots he faced to preserve the win for Minneapolis. Minneapolis dominated the game stars (rightly so) with #3 going to Pavleski (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 takeaways, 3 hits), #2 Aho (1 goal, 1 assist) and #1 Marchessault (2 goals, 1 asssist, 3 hits). |
| Long Beach Ice Dogs @ Hampton Blizzard | Sigh … and why should this game be any different. Carey Price’s turn to be trash and after stopping a whopping six shots in the opening period stopped four in the 2nd and then gave up garbage goals on consecutive shots by Folin and Ellis to stake Long Beach to a 2-0 lead on the reeling Blizzard. Zetterberg and Teravainen were chief among the sanitation crew assisting on both Ice Dogs’ tallies. Jk … the goals were crappy but the Ice Dogs were doing a good job of tying up the Blizzard and not giving up much in the way of scoring chances. Regardless, with the loss to Minneapolis still ringing in coach Bowman’s ears patience with goaltending was in short supply in Hampton. Out came Price and in went Raanta in hope of a reversal of fortune. Finally at 8:56 of the 2nd period with Folin in the box for hooking, Malkin beat Cam Talbot low stick side to make it 2-1. Backlund tied it up 2-2 at 14:18 of the second with a backhander from in close that he tucked under the sprawling Long Beach netminder. The third period was a nice steady back and forth game with very few whistles, but lots of line juggling by Bowman as he essentially divided up the 3rd and 4th lines, trying combination after combination until he found something that worked. At 9:16 of the 3rd all the cosmic tumblers fell into place and Andrei Burakovsky zipped into the Long beach zone on a 3-on-2 with Dylan Larkin and Shayne Gotisbehere and planted the puck into the Long Beach net. … and that was it. Hampton wins 3-2. Hampton had a ridiculous 28-5 edge in scoring chances and outhit Long Beach 27-9 but the Ice Dogs’ defence did a great job of clearing away traffic in front of its net and containing rebounds. Star selection choices were stupid as they all went to Hampton – Burakovsky, Backlund, Malkin but should have included Cam Talbot who made 33 saves – many of them in close – as well as Zetterberg and Teravainen. |
| Weekly Summary: | Three one goal games with a big come from behind needed in all three and once falling short to take four of six points against three very good clubs. Constantly having to chase other teams is not a long-term winning proposition. |
| Alamo Defenders | Alamo hosts two good teams, Columbus and Hampton. |
| Columbus Brew Jackets @ Alamo Defenders | Very wide open game. You think that there was no defense. Alamo scores two empty net goals late in the game to secure the victory. Alamo outshoots Columbus 46-26. They win the faceoff battle,50-21. Marchand has a great game with 5 hits, 1 goal and 3 assists.
Alamo 6 Columbus 4 1st star – Marchand 1 goal and 3 assists |
| Hampton Blizzard @ Alamo Defenders | Hampton scores 2 goals early. But, Alamo fights back with 2 goals to tie the game. Late in the 2nd, Trocheck scores and Hampton re-gains the lead, 3-2. But, in the 3rd, Plekanec scores to tie the game. Then, Eaves scores. Pacioretty scores an empty netter to seal the games.
Alamo 5 Hampton 3 1st – Eaves 1 goal and 1 assist |
| Weekly Summary: | Alamo uses some high scoring to win both games. |
| Toledo Walleye | Toledo (10-15-3-23) hosts Thunder Bay (14-11-4-32) and Clearfield (22-6-0-44), two teams with markedly better records. With the Central Division still a tight race, Toledo continues to tweak strategy in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle. |
| Thunder Bay Nor’Westers @ Toledo Walleye | Toledo 4, Thunder Bay 3 – OT Big difference in styles resulted in a real back and forth game that took extra time to resolve. Toledo makes Pickard work twice as hard stopping 41 shots to only 14 saves by Dubnyk. After a relatively quite first 2 periods, taking a 1-1 score to the 3rd period, Toledo gets the first edge with van Riemsdyke getting a PP goal, only to be countered by a couple even strength goals by Jones and Smith to give Thunder Bay the advantage all the way to the last minute of the game until Foligno cashes in with less than a minute to play to send it to overtime. Overtimes sees Thunder Bay get the only shots on goal (3) which are all thwarted by Dubnyk and then on the last push of the extra frame Okposo helps his new mates lighting the lamp with only 9 seconds left to bring the house down for the home team. 1st star Foligno 1g 1a 2nd star Krejci 1g 1a 3rd star Okposo 1g 1a GWG |
| Clearfield Bison @ Toledo Walleye | Clearfield 4, Toledo 3 – OT Very clean game with only 3 penalties. Clearfield puts in one goals in each of the first 2 periods (Neal and Kane) while Luongo keeps the shutout intact. Toledo breaks through early in the 3rd (Backstrom) only to see a quick answer by Hertl to make it 3-1 visitors. Anisimov closes the gap midway in the 3rd and then Rieder takes advantage of some extra help via the pulled goalie to tie it at 3 with 1:18 left. In overtime both teams get 3 shots on the opposition, all stymied, until Williams pops the winner in the net past Dubnyk with only 24 seconds left. 1st star Williams 1g 2a 2nd star Kane 1g 3rd star Luongo 42 saves |
| Weekly Summary: | 3 points in 2 games is a good week for Toledo. Newcomer Okposo showed his worth with the gamewinner in game 1. Backstrom and vanRiemsdyke each with 1g and 2a led Toledo in pts. these 2 games. Clearfield – Williams 1g 2a was best of the 2 games for the visitors. Toledo fans excited to see prospect Kyle Copabianco get some ice time with the Coyotes recently. |
| Gilbert Sharks | Gilbert has 3 Home Games in this file |
| New Jersey Grizzlies @ Gilbert Sharks | Arviddson scores twice and Weber once for New Jersey to take a 3-0 lead into the 3rd Period. Gilbert storms back with 3 goals to tie the game but Draisatil score the gamewinner and New Jersey wins 4-3 |
| Toledo Walleye @ Gilbert Sharks | Oscar Klefbom scores two goals to help Gilbert to a 3-2 win. Tuuka Rask makes 46 saves |
| Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Gilbert Sharks | Chicago wins 7-6 in Overtime. David Pasternak scores two goals including the game winner. |
| Weekly Summary: | Gilbert continues to underachieve going 1-1-1 in their 3 home games. |
| Wausau Lumberjacks | Lumber jacks will play Lakeland and Jagr. |
| Lakeland Flying Tigers @ Wausau Lumberjacks | Lakeland 3 Wausau 2 Stars of game. 1.Grabner 2.Oshie 3.Domi |
| Jagr Mullets @ Wausau Lumberjacks | Jagr 9 Lumberjacks 5 1.Laine 2.Kadri 3.Ovechkin |
| Weekly Summary: | Tough week for the Lumberjacks. |
| Bathgate Rangers | Rangers have 2 home games this week – fans getting restless. They liked goal scoring, oh well … |
| Toledo Walleye @ Bathgate Rangers | Toledo pretty much owned all of this game and took an explosive 3 goal 2nd period to give Dubnk all the support he needed as he records a 3-0 shutout stopping 33 shots. 2nd period sees Green put in an even strength goal (for Vanek and Ward). Then power play goals by Okposo (Barrie and Backstrom) and Backstrom (Vanek and Okposo) seal the deal. Okposo and Backstrom do the 1 G 1 A things and earn Stars 2 and 3. Vanek gets 2 assists. Number 1 star goes to Dubnk for the shutout. |
| Alamo Defenders @ Bathgate Rangers | Flurry of goals in 1st period keep the home town fans at least until the middle of the 3rd period. Alamo starts off strong scoring at the 1:42 mark when Marchand completes the Seguin and Eaves setup. Eaves then scores 3 minutes later (from Seguin and Marchand) That line is a killer. But the Ranger decide to get in the game as the new linemates Hornqvist and Staal set each other up for goals to even the score by the middway point in the 1st. But then Pacioretty takes a breakout pass from Yandle and puts the game winner in the net. All this in the 1st. Halfway through the 3rd, Read puts the game away when he converts on a pass from Beagle. Final 4-2 Alamo. STARS (all Alamo) Eaves 1 goal 1 assist Marchand 1 goal 1 assist Lehner 38 saves |
| Weekly Summary: | 2 games – 2 losses. Home crowd hopes this doesn’t continue. |
| Columbus Brew Jackets | Brew Jackets host 2 this week – the high flying LA Great Danes – woof-woof. (Note Malgin was given a ticket out of town and on to California) and Bucks County. |
| LA Great Danes @ Columbus Brew Jackets | Great Danes too much for the Beer boys scoring 3 times before the Jackets got in the game. And then it was too late. Doggie goals came from Schenn, Jokinen, and Kesler. Kucherov got the Columbus goal. Stars (all from the dog pound or swamp): 1. Anderson 32 saves. 2. Kesler 1 goal, 3. Schenn 1 goal. For Anderson, his 3rd shutout of the season. |
| Bucks County Racoons @ Columbus Brew Jackets | Columbus broke the scoring funk in the 2nd period after falling behind 2-1. Bucks County scored an even strength goal in the 1st 2 minutes of period 1 (Lucic from Leddy and Schwartz) and a 2nd goal 3 minutes into the 2nd period – PP by Lucic, 2nd of the game,from Keith and McDavid. Tyler Johnson sandwiched one in between those in the 1st. Then the Brew Jacket offense opened up when Hayes and Kucherov score at the midpoint of period 2. Foligno adds an empty netter in the last minute to make it 4-2 Columbus. STARS: 1. (BCR) Lucic 2 goals 2. (CBJ) Hayes 1 goal 1 assist 3, (CBJ) Budaj 36 saves |
| Weekly Summary: | Columbus gets a 1-1 split. |
| California Regulators | |
| Bathgate Rangers @ California Regulators | Bathgate takes it to California, 5-2. |
| New Jersey Grizzlies @ California Regulators | California squeaks by NJ in OT, 1-2. |
| Weekly Summary: | The Regulators stay close to .500 with a 1-1 homestand. |
| Minneapolis Deep Freeze | Minneapolis gets 3 home games this week as they still struggle to find the optimal line configuration to generate some more offense. |
| Clearfield Bison @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze | Clearfield Bisons (0) @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze (2)
The game gets off to a slow start as neither teams gets a shot on net for almost 5 minutes until Aho finally hits Luongo with a weak slapshot from the point to draw the first stoppage of the game. Minneapolis would dominate the next 7 minutes, including 2 with the man advantage, racking up 9 shots before Clearfield finally gets their first of the game with 8 minutes left in the opening period. At the end of the first period Minneapolis holds a 13-3 advantage in the shots department, but the score remains tied at 0. The second period is more even as the teams notch 11 shots a piece but is otherwise uneventful – we are still tied at 0 after 40 minutes. After 3 more shots for each team and 5 more scoreless minutes, Marchessault (10) gets the Deep Freeze on the board first with a shot from the slot that beat Luongo up high. The teams go back and forth for much of the period, and Luongo keeps Clearfield in the game with two spectacular penalty kills, but it’s not enough as Spezza (4) extends the Minneapolis lead with an empty net goal with under 1 minute to go. Bergeron gets a chance to give Clearfield a shot when he gets loose for a breakaway with under 10 seconds to go, but fires wide of the net. Bobrovsky earns the much deserved first star as he preserves the shutout for the Deep Freeze stopped 27 shots from the Bison. Scoring Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 CLE MIN Star 1: MIN Bobrovsky 27 saves GWG: Jon Marchessault Notables: CLE Luongo 32 saves |
| California Regulators @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze | California Regulators (5) @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze (4) – SO
After much deliberation, Deep Freeze coach Larry Murphy starts Corey Crawford on Bobrovsky’s scheduled day off despite his top netminder coming off the shutout. Under 5 minutes to go in the first period with the Regulators on a powerplay, Fischer forces a turnover and sends Aho up the ice with Chara for a 2-on-1. Aho (8) gets a nice feed from Chara and beats Domingue high glove side to put Minneapolis up 1-0 on the shorthanded goal. The Deep Freeze don’t waste much time extending the lead, as Pavelski (10) blasts a shot from the point to make it 2-0 while the Regulators were caught flat footed waiting for a delayed penalty call. We go into the locker rooms with the Deep Freeze leading 2-0 and the Regulators coach very unhappy as he knows this game could easily still be tied. Minneapolis returns the favor for California early in the second period when Aho makes a bad pass from behind the net in the offensive zone that creates a rush for the Regulators going the other way. Rask feeds Zibanejad (5) who rips a slapshot past Crawford to bring the score to 2-1. Minneapolis strikes back as Pavelski (11) gets another goal in much the same way as the first but this time on the powerplay. California outshoots Minneapolis 11-8 in the period but the Deep Freeze register 7 chances to the Regulator’s 2, and maintain their 2 goal lead. California enters the third period with a man advantage while Hartnell sits in the box for Minneapolis. The Regulators capitalize on the opportunity and Fowler (4) makes it 3-2 with the powerplay goal less than 2 minutes into the period. 30 seconds later, Demers takes another penalty for the Deep Freeze and California is back on the powerplay. Crawford would make his teammates proud and keep the lead with several big saves during the penalty kill. With under 9 minutes to go in the game, Huberdeau (11) beats Crawford with a fluky shot from near the goal line to tie the game at 3. Minneapolis gets caught pressing trying to retake the lead and lets Gaudreau (6) get behind the defense where he beats Crawford to give California the 4-3 lead. Unwilling to go down without a fight, Turris (11) ties it back up for the Deep Freeze when he redirects a shot from Gagner with just under 5 minutes left to play. After a crazy third period with 4 goals on 23 shots, we go to overtime tied a 4. Both teams trade scoring chances in overtime but the goaltenders are there to keep the pucks out, and we head to a shootout. In the first round of the shootout both goalies are up to the task, but Reinhart scores for California and Hossa misses the net in the second round. Gaudreau steps up and buries another goal for California to seal the deal and the Regulators get the 5-4 shootout win in a thriller. Scoring Summary Shootout: California 2-Minneapolis 0 SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 SOG 4 CAL MIN Star 1: MIN Pavelski 2 G GWG: Sam Reinhart Notables: CAL Domingue 33 saves |
| LA Great Danes @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze | LA Great Danes (4) @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze (3) – OT
Bobrovsky gets back between the pipes for Minneapolis after a well-earned night off. We remain tied at 0 after a relatively even but uneventful first period. Minneapolis leads 12-10 on shots but 7-3 on chances, and both teams have blocked 6 shots in the first 20 minutes. LA gets on the board first about 6 minutes into the second period. Pietrangelo picks up a loose puck after Demers lost an edge, and feeds it to Boedker (4) who beat Bobrovsky with a nifty move to make it 1-0 in favor of the Great Danes. Later in the period with the Deep Freeze on the powerplay Kuznetsov (1) gets his first of the year on a one-timer from Gagner to tie the game at 1. Neither team can get an edge for the rest of the period and we go to the locker rooms tied at 1, with both teams having 20 shots on goal. Five minutes into the final period, Minneapolis gets a lucky break when Spezza (5) throws a puck into the crowd and it finds its way to the back of the net. With about 9 minutes to go, LA evens the score at 2 when Toffolo (8) redirected a shot from Carlson right around a sprawling Bobrovsky. A few minutes later, the Deep Freeze get another goal from an unlikely source when Pesce (1) sneaks into the high slot and beats Andersen with a shot low on the glove side for his first of the year. Minneapolis leads 3-2. But these Great Danes have some fight left in them! With one minute to go and the net empty, Schenn (8) bangs home a rebound to tie the game at 3. LA outshoots Minneapolis 12-6 in the third period but both teams net two goals and we’ll head to overtime at The Pond for the second straight game. Halfway through the extra period, Suter (3) blasts a one-timer from Benn past Bobrovsky to give the Great Danes the overtie win. The Deep Freeze lose in extra time on their home ice for the second consecutive game. Scoring Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 SOG 4 LGD MIN Star 1: LGD Boedker 1 G, 2 Pts GWG: Ryan Suter |
| Weekly Summary: | Three thrilling games at The Pond this week, with the Deep Freeze winning one with a shutout from Bobrovsky and then losing two in a row in extra time to teams from California. |