2018 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Columbus Brew Jackets vs. Hampton Blizzard |
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Game #1 | Hampton wins !
Hampton 2, Columbus 1 |
Game #2 | Columbus wins !
Columbus 4, Hampton 2 |
Series tied at 1-1 going into Columbus. | |
Game #3 | Columbus scores the next 5 goals, 3 in the 1st, 2 of them by Carlo (3, 4). Ladd (3) was the 1st of the 3. With 10 minutes to go, Lee (6) gets his 2nd goal of the game, but it was too little to late.So the team with most shots and shot attempts scores the lesser amount of goals.STARS: 1. CBJ – Carlo 2 goals, 1 assist 2. HAM – Lee 2 goals 3. CBJ – Burns 1 goal But it should have been Budaj as he shut down the Blizzard – that and 18 blocked shots. Columbus 5, Hampton 2 |
Game #4 | Game time and all of a sudden Anti Raanta jumps over the boards and pushes Price aside – and then the Blizzard management says – Go Fin!, you got this one. Well apparently the Fin had a game in him! He also had Malkin AND LEE! Just over a minute, Lee (7) scores another goal. Then 4 minutes in, Malkin (2) makes it 2-0. But just over a minute left in the 1st and Steward scores for the Brew Jackets to cut it to 2-1. Then Stewart gets called for roughing early in the 2nd and lo and behold Miller sneaks past the Blizzard, gets a pass from Strome and scores a short-handed goal to TIE the game. But then Raanta kicks in. When the Jackets were down 2-0, they kicked in a big time offensive gear, firing 16 in the 1st and 10 in the 2nd (that were on goal) – he stoned 24 of them. And then in the 2nd, Malkin nets his 2nd goal of the and 3rd of the playoffs.With the score 3-2 when the 3rd starts, Hampton gets their game on. Larkin (1) puts one past Budaj within the first 2 minutes. Columbus yanks Budaj and inserts Chad Johnson. It works – well until Edmundson gets a 4 minute penalty for high sticking. 27 seconds into the the 1st two minutes Forsberg (1) gets the PP for his first goal of the playoffs. The 5-2 lead looked insurmountable but then Kucherov (4) scores one with 1:18 to go (with an extra attacker on the ice). But Raanta and the Blizzard defense smothered the Jackets to seal the deal.Really the Blizzard seemed totally in control in this one even though they were out shot, lost the Face-off battle but they dominated in the hits and blocks and won the game. Seems to be a regular pattern in this series. Final 5-3 Hampton STARS (all Hampton) Hampton 5, Columbus 3 |
Splits at both sites have the series 2-2 after 4 games. Back to Hampton for game 5.
Columbus – Hampton, tied after 4, so it’s on to the best of 3. And it will take 7 and then some!!!! |
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Game #5 | This game was all Brew Jackets – well it seemed that way for awhile. First period Stome (2) scores 1 minute into the game. 2 minutes into the 2nd and Kucherov (5) does a wraparound to make it 2-0. 3 minutes later, he does it again (6). Then he went for the hat trick with the another wraparound, but Price finally caught on.
Game was being force by Hampton – out shooting the Brew Jackets in every period, but Budaj was stopping everything and the rope-a-dope defense wasn’t letting much of anything good get through – plus 20 blocked shots. But then the 3rd period came and Backlund (2) takes a pass from Lee and just rockets it past Budaj – he had to watch the replay to see it and it was 3-1 with 11 minutes to go. But the Jackets regrouped and held tough – until the Blizzard pulled Price. Then with Malkin on the ice working with Lee, he feeds Lee the puck and with 1:19 to go, Lee gets his 8th post season goal to make it 3-2 Columbus. And of course, Price was done (for now anyway). More shots, then more blocks and saves and when the time ran out, Columbus was still ahead, 3-2 for the final. Columbus 3, Hampton 2 |
Game #6 | This game was like a bi-polar polar bear. One team jumps out, then the other, then the first team storms back, then the other, then …..
Jackets opened the scoring early with Stalberg (2) putting one past Price 3 minutes in. But Point (1) returns the favor 3 minutes later and the 1st period ends 1-1. And it was evenly played. But 18 seconds into period 2, Gostisbehere (2) gets the Blizzard up 2-1. 3rd period – with the score 4-3 Columbus, the Blizzard keep scoring. 3 minutes in and it’s Burakovsky (2). Then 7 minutes in it’s Dvorak (3) and suddenly the Blizzard have a 5-4 lead! As has been normal, the Blizzard outshot the Brew Jackets 40-30 and attempts 70-58, but chances were almost even. Hampton 7, Brentwood 5 |
Game #7 | So – there will be a game 7 in Hampton. Everything is on the line and this game was a classic!
PERIOD 1 – Hampton outshoots the Brew Jackets 12-5, but Columbus outscores the Blizzard 2-1. After the opening face-off, Burns (4)takes a pass from Strome and Miller and fires it past a befuddled Price to make it 1-0. 3 minutes later Miller (3) deflects a Strome attempt and makes it 2-0 Columbus. Jackets want the game. PERIOD 2 3RD PERIOD OT begins and the Brew Jackets continue to ride the high emotions and carry the play to the Blizzard end. They take a few shots and get 2 on net in the first minute. Hampton finally clears it and gets a shot on net that Budaj stops, but then the Blizzard control the rebound and Larkin (2) puts in the game and series WINNER at 1:36 and it’s all over. For the Blizzard they were fortunate enough to do this at home so their crowd could enjoy it. Odd stat – the Jackets outshot the Blizzard 43-39, and matched them in hits and killed them in blocks, but not in goals and that’s where it counts. 1. HAM: Forsberg 2 goals Both goalies were recognized for their performances – Budaj 34 saves, Price a big 39 saves Hampton 5, Brentwood 4 (OT) |
Series Summary: | So in a classic 7 game matchup, it took OT in game 7 before Hampton finally Eastern title and moves on to the Stanley Cup. Both Hampton and Columbus came for the 2nd place spots to this series, and now the Blizzard will carry the torch for the Stanley Cup. Lee (9 goals, 5 assists – 14 points) and Malkin (4 goals, 7 assists – 11 points) lead the charge. Congrats to Dan Schindel for putting together a tough Columbus team. |
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