2020 EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER FINAL #2
#2 Cincinnati Inferno (48-26-8) vs. #3 Brentwood Bandits HC (48-27-7) | |
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PREVIEW: | The Cincinnati Inferno host the Brentwood Bandits for the first two games of the best-of-seven MWHL Stanley Cup playoffs quarterfinal series. The teams were separated by ONE point in the standings (both teams had 49 wins)–so neither side should expect a four game sweep!
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GAME #1 at Cincinnati | CINCINNATI 7, BRENTWOOD 4
Cincinnati opened the series with a commanding 7-4 triumph in the opener. The Inferno got three goals and an assist for four point night out of Brayden Point. Brent Pesce added a goal and an assist for the winners, while Phil Kessel and Joe Pavelski led Brentwood with a goal and an assist. The Bandits built a 2-1 lead at the first break before Cincinnati exploded for three goals in a 1:55 strecth early in the middle stanza from Point, Pesce and Brendan Gallagher on the power play to grab a 4-2 edge. Point and Kessel would exchange goals later in the frame and the Inferno led 5-3, heading into the second intermission. Sidney Crosby would score sixty-one seconds into the third to extend the lead to 6-3, before Alex Galchenyuk got the last Brentwood goal midway through the period to make it 6-4. Max Pacioretty tallied an empty netter in the last two minutes to make the final, 7-4. Brentwood dominated the shots on goal, 38-25. The Bandits also had the edge in scoring chances, 22-12 and in shots attempted, 81-42. The Inferno controlled two key categories. First, they scored on both of their power play chances in the game and also led in blocks, 22-10. Casey DeSmith won his first postseason start, turning away 34 shots. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the hard-luck loser, stopping 18 shots. ———————————————————————————————————- |
GAME #2 at Cincinnati | BRENTWOOD 6, CINCINNATI 3
Game two had a decidedly different flavor, as Cincinnati stretched out to a 2-1 lead very early in the second period. This time, Brentwood scored five unanswered goals (John Tavares, Travis Konecny, Bo Horvat, Joe Pavelski, Roman Josi) over a 25 minute timeframe to grab a 6-2 edge and suffocate the Inferno offense. The shots battle went to Cincinnati, 37-33. Again, the Inferno held a slight edge in the special teams—going two-for-four with the man-advantage and scoring a shorthanded marker. The Bandits were efficient with two-for-six on the scoresheet on the power play. Vasilevskiy stopped 34 shots, while Connor Helleybuck turned away 20 shots. —————————————————————————————————– |
SUMMARY: | Brentwood Heads Home With Split In Cincinnati
The Brentwood Bandits earned a split in the Stanley Cup opening series at Cincinnati to gain home-ice advantage in the quarterfinal series. The series resumes with game three Wednesday night (April 1). The winner of this best-of-seven series will battle the winner of the Thunder Bay-Jagr series for the Eastern Conference championship. ——————————————————————————————————- |
GAME #3 at Brentwood | The Bandits welcome the Inferno to Brentwood for what looks to be one helluva series!
Kerfoot (1) gets the Bandits on the board early in the 1st at the 1:17 mark. 1-0 Bandits… That is all the scoring that would happen in the first even though the Bandits out-shot the Inferno 14-8. 2nd period… Boeser (1) gets the Inferno on the board on the PP… 1-1. Tavares (2) returns the favor on the PP to get the Bandits back to a 2-1 lead. We head into the 3rd period, which would turn out to be an historic period!! Cincinnati would dominate this period!! They fire off 32 shots in the period! And the Bandits? Well they only get 1!! ONE!!! You read that right! The Inferno outshoot the Bandits 32-1 in the 3rd period!!! What was the outcome of that? NOTHING!!! Vasilevskiy STANDS ON HIS HEAD!!! To steal the game for the Bandits making 48 saves!!! I’ve always heard that your goalie has to steal at least one game in a series… well thank you Vasi!!! Bandits win 2-1 to also take a 2-1 series lead! SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 CIN BWB Star 1: BWB Vasilevskiy 48 saves GWG: John Tavares Notables: CIN Crosby 15 faceoffs won Cincinnati GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate —————————————————————————————————— |
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GAME #4 at Brentwood | After being outshot 32-1 in the final period of the last game, the Bandits make some some adjustments… let’s see how they pan out!
It was the Bandits who come out firing to the tune of 19 shots! But Perron (1) puts the Inferno on the board 1-0. But less than a minute later Tavares (3) gets the Bandits on the board and ties it 1-1. Head to the 2nd… Schmidt (1) on the PP gives the Inferno the lead again, 2-1. Only 24 seconds later, one of last year’s playoff heroes, Kerfoot (2), ties the game 2-2. On the PP, Konecny (3) connects to to give the Bandits their first lead of the game, 3-2! 7 minutes later Eakin (1) ties it up 3-3. Head to the 3rd… Pacioretty (2) gives the Inferno the lead again, 4-3! Then Tavares (4) scores on the PP to knot it at 4! 3 minutes later DeBrusk (2) puts the Bandits on top again 5-4! With 1:23 remaining, before Cincinnati can even pull DeSmith, Vatrano (1) buries his first of the playoffs to put Brentwood ahead by 2… and that’s where it would end 6-4! The Bandits take a 3-1 series lead! Back to Cincinnati for a possible elimination game 5! The Bandits dominated in most categories… CIN BWB Star 1: BWB Tavares 2 G GWG: Jake Debrusk Notables: CIN DeSmith 35 saves, Giordano 6 blocks Cincinnati GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate ——————————————————————————————— |
SUMMARY: | The Bandits head to Cincinnati up 3-1 and looking to close it out on Inferno ice! Cincinnati is a great team… so we are in no way expecting them to roll over!
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GAME #5 at Cincinnati | The Inferno were all business…
1st Period… The Bandits were shocked! The Inferno lead 3-0… 2nd Period… The Bandits finally get on the board… But, the Inferno get it right back… 3rd Period… But Pesce (2) gives the Inferno the 4 goal lead back 6-2! Boeser (2) gives the Inferno an insurmountable cushion… 7-2 Inferno leads! Too little, too late as Galchenyuk (2) and Pavelski (4) bring the Bandits within 3 making it 7-4… but at 19:26 Hoffman (1) adds insult to injury making it 8-4… and that would be your final! 8-4 Inferno win and stave off elimination to force a Game 6 back in Brentwood! SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 BWB CIN Star 1: CIN Giordano 1 G, 4 Pts GWG: Mark Giordano Notables: BWB Tavares 15 faceoffs won Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Cincinnati GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate ——————————————————————————————— |
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SUMMARY: | We head back to Brentwood for Game 6! Can the Bandits hold off a surging Inferno team to advance in the playoffs? Or will the Inferno win and force a deciding Game 7?
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GAME 6 PREVIEW: | Having been spanked in Cincinnati, the Bandits make some adjustments… but one they aren’t making is Vasilevskiy in net. Even though Murray came in to the last game and stopped the bleeding, the Bandits stick with him!
Can they end this on home ice? Or will there be the ever-popular Game 7?!? ————————————————————————————————– |
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GAME #6 at Brentwood | The Bandits mean business! Scoring the first THREE goals! Vatrano (2), Horvat (2), and Galchenyuk (3) help out the top line who has been the majority of the Bandits offense this series. Bandits lead 3-0 after one!
2nd Period… 3rd Period… But then… With 1:09 left in regulation, Perron (2) ties the game 5-5!! Wow! What a game!! We head into OT… SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 SOG 4 CIN BWB Star 1: CIN Byron 1 G, 2 Pts GWG: Brock Boeser Notables: CIN Crosby 15 faceoffs won Cincinnati GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate ——————————————————————————————– |
SUMMARY: | Wow… what a series! Will the Bandits be able to stop the bleeding and get over blowing a 3-1 series lead, and then a 3-0 lead in Game 6?
Or will the red-hot Inferno continue beating the Bandits and steal the series? ————————————————————————————————- |
GAME 7 —————————————————————————– |
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PREVIEW: | Who doesn’t love a Game 7?? Well, maybe a team that was up 3-1 in the series? 😉
That’s all history now as we have one game to rule them all… my precious. Game 7 in Cincinnati… Inferno host the Bandits… NEXT! ——————————————————————————– |
GAME #7 at Cincinnati | Both teams look focused. All business. No smiles, no joking around. Game faces.
1st Period… Nearly 6 minutes later, Boeser (5) again to give the Inferno a 2 goal lead! Is the 2 goal lead the worst lead in hockey? Well I think Brayden Point thought so, that’s why he scored on the PP to make it 3-0 Inferno! The Bandits can’t stay out of the box! In a series where the PP has been key, that’s not a good sign! The crowd is ecstatic! The Bandits look shocked. That’s how the period ends. We heard some yelling coming from the Bandits locker room. Let’s see if that helps or hurts. 2nd Period… Another Power Play for the Bandits, and DeBrusk (4) makes the Inferno pay! It’s now 3-2 Inferno. We now have a game again! Until… Eakin (3) puts one behind Vasilevskiy to give the Inferno back their 2 goal lead. Teams head off of the ice to end the 2nd. Listening in on the Bandits locker room, it was nearly dead silent. We heard two words… “Defending Champs” 3rd Period… Inferno forward Byron is called for a 4 minute penalty for high sticking! The Inferno penalty killers kill off what might be the biggest kill of the MWHL season! They kill off the double minor and maintain their lead 4-3!! Until… At 8:34… last season’s Conn Smythe winner, Phil Kessel (2), ties it up for the Bandits!! We’re all knotted up at 4!! Now it’s the Inferno’s turn to look shocked. The crowd is silenced. It’s now a new game! Will someone break the tie, or will we head to OT?? A rough back and forth… the refs swallow their whistles (finally). And then… (copied and pasted from the Game Film…) 3rd Period, Brentwood 4, Cincinnati 4 So, with 1:32 left in the game Tavares gives the Bandits the lead 5-4! The Inferno are on the attack… pulling Hellebuyck to get the extra attacker on! Into the Bandits zone, Bandits clear to center ice. Again into the Bandits zone, again it’s cleared to center ice. Into the Bandits zone again, Vasilevskiy plays the puck and holds for a faceoff. With 33 seconds left… Inferno win the draw, passed to Point, over to Skinner… Josi steals the puck! He passes over to Brodie who manages to hold the puck until time expires and the Defending Stanley Cup Champs are alive and well to face the winner of the Thunder Bay vs Jagr series!! April 11 2020 04-05-2020 1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 BWB CIN Star 1: CIN Boeser 2 G GWG: John Tavares Notables: BWB Kerfoot 15 faceoffs won, Josi 3 assists Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Cincinnati GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Brentwood G A P +/- PIM P# S Ms Hit Gv Tk Bs FW FL F% TOI Shft Avg PP SH EV D Braun – – – 0 – – 3 3 4 1 2 3 – – – 21:25 30 0:43 2:49 2:34 16:02 C RW Johnson – – – -1 – – 3 – – 1 1 – – – – 15:03 28 0:32 0:23 3:12 11:28 C Eller – – – 0 – – 1 1 1 – – 1 1 6 14.3 6:07 14 0:26 – 3:12 2:55 Cincinnati G A P +/- PIM P# S Ms Hit Gv Tk Bs FW FL F% TOI Shft Avg PP SH EV D Pesce – 1 1 0 – – – – 2 3 – 2 – – – 19:53 26 0:46 – 4:48 15:05 D Schmidt – 1 1 +1 – – – 1 1 1 1 – – – – 14:24 16 0:54 3:09 1:58 9:17 C Stastny – 1 1 +1 2 1 – – 1 – – – 2 4 33.3 9:18 22 0:25 – 3:09 6:09 —————————————————————————————– |
SUMMARY: | Wow… what a series! Bandits blow a 3 goal lead to lose Game 6 at home to force a Game 7… where the Inferno blow a 3 goal lead to lose the series!
Two VERY evenly matched teams! Nothing but mutual respect between the two all series long (except maybe a scrap or two? lol). John – congrats on a great season and an amazing series! One for the record books for sure!! Thank you for “playing” the games live with me. Always good to do that when possible to keep things pure and fun! We will be anxiously awaiting the results of the Jagr/Thunder Bay Game 7!! Now… I need a drink! 😉 ——————————————————————————————– |
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