2020-2021 PLAYER & GOALIE OF THE WEEK #1

 

EASTERN SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASSISTS POINTS PM  +/-  SOG S%
Carlson, John CIN 4 3 8 11 4 4 9 33%
                   
EASTERN GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Vasilevskiy, Andrei BWB 3 8 2.65 115 .935
                   
WESTERN SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASSISTS POINTS PM  +/-  SOG S%
Staal, Eric CAL 4 6 6 12 0 5 15 40%
                   
WESTERN GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Raanta, Antti CAL 2 7 3.5 97 .933
                   

New Jersey Black Aces
Brentwood Bandits at New Jersey Black Aces The Black Aces opened the season with a 3-1 loss to Brentwood. Lars Eller and Warren Foegele both had a goal and assist for Brentwood. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 40 saves in the Win. Hard luck loser Johnathan Bernier made 46 saves in the loss

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 Thunder Bay NorWesters at New Jersey Black Aces Not the rebound NJ hoped . The line of Jack Eichel/Reilly Smith/ Gabe Landeskog stole the show combining for 4 goals and 7 assists

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: Lost both games 3-1 and 5-2
Brentwood Bandits
WEEKLY PREVIEW: “It’s a great day for hockey!” – “Badger” Bob Johnson

The losers of last season’s Stanley Cup Finals has re-tooled and re-vamped in the hopes of returning to the Finals! A lot of tough competition in the league this season, including a tough Gilbert Sharks team!

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Gilbert Sharks @ Brentwood Bandits The puck is dropped… Gilbert gets the first three shots, Vasilevskiy is up to the task and turns them all away. Then the Bandits turn on the jets and Konecny (1) puts one past the 8.2 rated Francouz, to make it 1-0 Bandits! Assists by Debrusk and Tavares. Konecny has been promoted to the 1st line while former 1st liner, and Conn Smythe winner, Kessel, has been booted to the 3rd line (he had a crap season).

3 minutes later Panarin (1) snuck a panini through traffic and through the legs of Vasilevskiy to tie it 1-1. Coyle would assist on the goal. Tied 1-1!

Nearly 6 minutes later, El Nino Niederreiter (1) slips one by Francouz to make it 2-1 Bandits! Coaches are still hopeful that Nino will put it all together and be the superstar he was pegged to be 4-5 years ago. We will see. Vatrano and Vlasic get assists on the goal.

Less than a minute later, on the PP, Konecny (2) again, from Tavares and Debrusk (again) makes it 3-1.

We head to the 2nd… 7 minutes in, Debrusk (1) makes it 4-1 Bandits! Assists by Tavares and Konecny.

Last minute of the period, The Big Pavelski (1) scores on a wrister from the slot. It is now 5-1 Bandits! New comer Connolly gets his first point (assist) as a Bandits, and Vasilevskiy gets his first assist of the season.

Into the 3rd. Vasilevskiy has been standing on his head. Gilbert throws 18 shots at him in the 3rd period… would that be enough for a comeback??

10:52 – Fox (1) pulls the Sharks within 3 making it 5-2. Fiala with the lone assist.

Too little too late, Makar (1) scores on the PP at 19:41 to make it look closer than it was, 5-3. Krug and Tkachuk with the assists.

That’s how it ended… Bandits 5, Sharks 3.

Star 1 – Konecny 2G, 1A
Star 2 – Debrusk 1G, 2A
Star 3 – Tavares 3A

Notables
GIL – None
BWB – Vasilevskiy 40 saves, Tavares 19 faceoffs won, Horvat 15 faceoffs won

GWG – Debrusk

Francouz – L
Vasilevskiy – W

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: One home game, one convincing win. Though I don’t like giving up 43 shots and 22 scoring chances, or getting out-hit 31-23, most of the shots were from long range. But our 27 blocks shows our D-Men aren’t afraid of sacrifice. Hopefully the coaches can figure out how to get less shots on Vasi.
Charlotte Buzzards
WEEKLY PREVIEW: In the immortal words of my favorite Beatle Ringo Starr, “I am warning you with peace and love” my writeups will be short this year. As Ringo says, “I have too much to do. Thank you, thank you.”

Charlotte embarks on its third season with 3 home games among its first 4 contests. The Buzzards still seek their first winning season.

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Jagr Mullets @ Charlotte Buzzards In an agonizing opening to their season, the Buzzards cough up a 4-3 lead late, with the Mullets rallying: an early third period goal by Lindholm, followed by decisive goals by Ovechkin (PP) and Letang (even strength), the latter two in the final three minutes of play propel Jagr to the 6-4 win.

The real story of this game, however, was the unbelievably spectacular play of Darcy Kuemper, who recorded 74 saves in enabling Jagr to come from behind (are you kidding me?). Kuemper turned away a barrage of 34 Charlotte shots in the second and 32 more in the third in a dazzling and head-spinning two period performance.

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LA Great Danes @ Charlotte Buzzards Charlotte recovers by racing to a 3-0 first period lead and gets balanced scoring from five different skaters en route to a 5-1 victory. This time, it is the home team’s netminder who sizzles with Carey Price recording 65 saves to take first star honors. He held LA scoreless until the Great Danes finally scored on a mid third period goal from Chris Tierney — but by then the Buzzards had built a 4-0 lead as Price was shutting down everything but the kitchen sink.

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Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Charlotte Buzzards Against the always formidable Cosa Nostra, the Buzzards get an inspiring 7-4 win, overcoming a 3-1 deficit with 6 goals in the third period. Charlotte scored the last five goals, including the game winner from Jon Marchessault with 4:27 left in the third, which gave Charlotte a 5-4 lead that held. Chicago build a 4-2 lead early in the third off the stick of Anzie Kopitar before Charlotte rallied; other Costra Nostra goals game from Edmundson, Chabot and Dubois earlier in the contest.

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: Charlotte wins two out of three with its only loss coming despite 78 shots — if nothing else, the Buzzards have served notice they will be competitive (and quite possibly entertaining) at home. Carey Price, projected to be the third-string goalie on this netminder strong team, shines with a .938 save percentage in playing all three games. Jon Marchessault leads the way offensively with a team-leading three goals. PEACE AND LOVE! PEACE AND LOVE!
Yellowknife Braves
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Yellowknife brings in Chicago and Jersey

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Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Yellowknife Braves Chicago nets the game winner with 11.2 seconds left. Nostra wins it 5-4.
Stars #1 CHI Dubois 2G 4pts
#2 CHI Pastrnak 2G 4pts
#3 CHI Blackwood 55 saves————————————————-
New Jersey Black Aces @ Yellowknife Braves The Braves outlast the Aces 5-4

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: So happy that hockey is back!!
The Braves split their home games 1-1
Bathgate Rangers
WEEKLY PREVIEW: 2020-21 Season Begins – Rangers are ready to rumble (well skate). New faces, youngsters maturing, hope are high!

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California Regulators @ Bathgate Rangers Season opens up with high flying Regulators and they score inside 1 minute of the opening period (Stone), oh-oh. But Rangers rebound when ZBad scores his 1st (assisted by top pick Tatar). And rookie DeAngelo scores (assisted by Zbad) before the period is over and the Rangers lead 2-1 after 1.
Then the bottom drops out as California nets 4 goals in the 2nd – all on Power Plays – in fact they go 4 for 4 on PPs in the game and the Rangers have something to FIX. Between their 4 goals newcomer Haula scores for Bathgate and it’s 5-3 Regulators after 2.Then we see a big reversal as the Rangers pop in 4 unanswered goals in the 3rd – the last one with a minute and a half to go. ZBad gets his 2nd, Tatar his 1st (along with another assist), DeAngelo gets 2 assists – lots of points to go around and the Rangers lead 7-5 heading into the final minute. California plays the end of the game without a goalie and they score a 6th goal (Barzal) with 53 seconds to go and it’s a wild last minute, but Halak hangs on for the big win (yeah, he gives up 6 goals, but stops 60 – yes 60!!).
Final 7-6 Bathgate.
Both teams rack up 97 shot attempt with 66 California shots going on goal and 46 Rangers shots on goal!
STARS: (all BGR)
1. Zibanejad 2 goals, 2 assists
2. DeAngelo 1 goal, 2 assists
3. Tatar 1 goal 2 assists——————————————————————————————————
Yellowknife Braves @ Bathgate Rangers Can we have as much excitement in the 2nd game? Well almost….
ZBad gets a PP goal in the 1st for the only score (assisted by DeAngelo and Nugent-Hopkins.
Palmieri scores the only goal of the 2nd period to tie it up – and it’s a PP goal – Rangers will again have problems stopping them again this game.
We go to the 3rd all tied up and then 8 1/2 in, Drouin scores against his former team. And 15 SECONDS later, Malkin scores to make it 3-1 Braves. But Nugent-Hopkins decides to put one in (as opposed to setting them up) and cuts it to 3-2 with 9 1/2 to go. 2 minutes later however, Panik scores to give Yellowknife a 2 goal lead again, 4-2. But newcomer Grimaldi puts one past Crawford with 4 1/2 to go and it’s 4-3 Yellowknife. But then ZBad commits his 2nd bad of the game and 2nd tripping penalty with 3:07 left. AND Yellowknife takes advantage of the PP when Klefbom scores to regain the 2 goal advantage, 5-3. And Crawford and company are able to keep it that way for the Yellowknife win.
Shot attempts were slightly down – Rangers only had 96 in this game (1 down from the previous) while Yellowknife had a paltry 86 (half of which were on net). Rangers had 51 on net so Crawford stopped 48 of them (and earned 2nd star).
STARS
1. (BGR) – Nugent-Hopkins 1 goal, 2 assists
2. (YEL) – Crawford (48 saves)
3. (YEL) – Malkin 1 goal (he also won 19 faceoffs)———————————————————————————————————–
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Shots are high (1 game with old version, one game with update – both HIGH). But fun..
The Usage summary is nice – and 132% if the goal for MAX before player gets penalized….Wonder how the road games are going for the Rangers…..
Bathgate Rangers
WEEKLY PREVIEW: 2020-21 Season Begins – Rangers are ready to rumble (well skate). New faces, youngsters maturing, hope are high!

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California Regulators @ Bathgate Rangers Season opens up with high flying Regulators and they score inside 1 minute of the opening period (Stone), oh-oh. But Rangers rebound when ZBad scores his 1st (assisted by top pick Tatar). And rookie DeAngelo scores (assisted by Zbad) before the period is over and the Rangers lead 2-1 after 1.
Then the bottom drops out as California nets 4 goals in the 2nd – all on Power Plays – in fact they go 4 for 4 on PPs in the game and the Rangers have something to FIX. Between their 4 goals newcomer Haula scores for Bathgate and it’s 5-3 Regulators after 2.Then we see a big reversal as the Rangers pop in 4 unanswered goals in the 3rd – the last one with a minute and a half to go. ZBad gets his 2nd, Tatar his 1st (along with another assist), DeAngelo gets 2 assists – lots of points to go around and the Rangers lead 7-5 heading into the final minute. California plays the end of the game without a goalie and they score a 6th goal (Barzal) with 53 seconds to go and it’s a wild last minute, but Halak hangs on for the big win (yeah, he gives up 6 goals, but stops 60 – yes 60!!).
Final 7-6 Bathgate.
Both teams rack up 97 shot attempt with 66 California shots going on goal and 46 Rangers shots on goal!
STARS: (all BGR)
1. Zibanejad 2 goals, 2 assists
2. DeAngelo 1 goal, 2 assists
3. Tatar 1 goal 2 assist—————————————————————————————————–
Yellowknife Braves @ Bathgate Rangers Can we have as much excitement in the 2nd game? Well almost….
ZBad gets a PP goal in the 1st for the only score (assisted by DeAngelo and Nugent-Hopkins.
Palmieri scores the only goal of the 2nd period to tie it up – and it’s a PP goal – Rangers will again have problems stopping them again this game.
We go to the 3rd all tied up and then 8 1/2 in, Drouin scores against his former team. And 15 SECONDS later, Malkin scores to make it 3-1 Braves. But Nugent-Hopkins decides to put one in (as opposed to setting them up) and cuts it to 3-2 with 9 1/2 to go. 2 minutes later however, Panik scores to give Yellowknife a 2 goal lead again, 4-2. But newcomer Grimaldi puts one past Crawford with 4 1/2 to go and it’s 4-3 Yellowknife. But then ZBad commits his 2nd bad of the game and 2nd tripping penalty with 3:07 left. AND Yellowknife takes advantage of the PP when Klefbom scores to regain the 2 goal advantage, 5-3. And Crawford and company are able to keep it that way for the Yellowknife win.
Shot attempts were slightly down – Rangers only had 96 in this game (1 down from the previous) while Yellowknife had a paltry 86 (half of which were on net). Rangers had 51 on net so Crawford stopped 48 of them (and earned 2nd star).
STARS
1. (BGR) – Nugent-Hopkins 1 goal, 2 assists
2. (YEL) – Crawford (48 saves)
3. (YEL) – Malkin 1 goal (he also won 19 faceoffs)————————————————————————————————————
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Shots are high (1 game with old version, one game with update – both HIGH). But fun..
The Usage summary is nice – and 132% if the goal for MAX before player gets penalized….Wonder how the road games are going for the Rangers.
Thunder Bay Nor’Westers
WEEKLY PREVIEW: With just a single home game and 3 road games to start the season, Thunder Bay is bringing a veteran line-up into the season. The addition of Jack Eichel gives Thunder Bay the best set of centermen in the leaugue (Eichel-Couturier-O’Reilly-Filppula). The other new player key to the Nor’Westers success is goalie Mikko Koskanin.

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Cincinnati Inferno @ Thunder Bay NorWesters Our season opener is against division rival Cincinnati. They have had major roster changes over the off season and many media sources see the Inferno as the best team in Atlantic division. Nor’Westers head coach Jiri Fischer, see them as our benchmark for improvement. “In order for us to compete for a cup we have to be better than Cincinnati.

The 1st period opened slowly with both teams doing a little assessment of tactics, personnel and preparation. Cinci opened the scoring 1t 16.54 of the 1st period when Perron scored with assists from Point and Carlson. Cinci dominated the 1st period shots on goal 20-8, but rookie goalie Ilya Samsonov was very solid in his 1st 20 minutes.

The 2nd period opened quickly. Newly acquired centerman Jack Eichel redirected a pass from the point by rookie Quinn Huhges (& Landeskog) to tie the game at 1-1. The rest of the period was a lopsided affair as the Inferno suffered 4 penalties and gave up 3 more goals.

Dan Petry scored at 3:32 (PP) assisted by Jack Eichel
Gus Nyquist scored at 7:28 (EV) assisted by Bertuzzi & O’Reilly
finally
Rookie Alex Texier scored at 19:32 assisted by Athanasiou & Slavin
By the end of 40 minutes Thunder Bay was leading by a score of 4-1 and after posting 33 shots on goal in the 2nd period alone lead the shots on goal 41-28.

Thunder Bay has always been know as a team that was based on defense first – keep the scores low and look for the hard earned win. This 2nd period possibly shows a change in that philosophy – The Nor’Westers were dominant the whole period and never let up.

The 4-1 lead heading into the 3rd period triggered Thunder Bay to fall back on their defensive prowess. Yes Cinci got 25 shots on goal but Samsonov kept the door closed.

The final score ended 4-1 Thunder Bay. The 1st star of the games was Thunder Bay’s rookie goalie Ilya Samsonov with a stunning debut and a .981 save percentage on 52 saves.

Jack Eichel scored a goal and had an assist along with 15 faceoff wins. Texier scored his 1st MWHL goal and Quinn Hughes pick up and assist. Four newcomers to the Nor’Westers starting lineup and all 4 contribute to the seasons first win.

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: New players make huge contribution to Thunder Bay’s season opening win.
Jagr Mullets
WEEKLY PREVIEW: We open the season with games against Bathgate and Bucks County.

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Bathgate Rangers @ Jagr Mullets The Rangers start the scoring early, with Grimaldi potting the first Bathgate goal of the season just 2:09 into the game. The teams trade goals through the second, heading into that intermission knotted up 2-2.

Then Patrice Bergeron takes over, scoring a natural hat trick in the 3rd period (the 3rd goa short handed) to ice the game 5-2 for the home team.

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 2:09 EV BGR Grimaldi (1), unassisted
1 12:26 EV JAG Matthews (1), assisted by Ovechkin (1) and Ekholm (1)
2 4:30 EV BGR Zibanejad (1), assisted by Tatar (1)
2 7:59 EV JAG Miller (1), assisted by Tkachuk (1) and Letang (1)
3 1:10 EV JAG Bergeron (1), assisted by Tkachuk (2) and Miller (1)
3 2:06 EV JAG Bergeron (2), assisted by Tkachuk (3)
3 12:19 SH JAG Bergeron (3), assisted by McGinn (1)

Star 1: JAG Bergeron 3 G
Star 2: JAG Markstrom 50 saves
Star 3: JAG Miller 1 G, 2 Pts

GWG: Patrice Bergeron

Notables: BGR Halak 44 saves, Provorov 5 blocks, Hischier 5 blocks
JAG Matthews 19 faceoffs won, Markstrom 50 saves, Letang 7 blocks, Bergeron hat trick, Bergeron 16 faceoffs won

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Bucks County Raccoons @ Jagr Mullets Old tyme hockey!

A barn-burner that the Mullets pull out 7-6; Connor McDavid (2) scores with 2 seconds left to make it look a little closer than it was.

Patrice Bergeron gets ANOTHER hat trick, and JT Miller puts 4 assists in his pocket.

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 1:22 PP JAG Bergeron (4), assisted by Tkachuk (4) and Miller (2)
1 4:22 EV JAG Ekholm (1), assisted by Miller (3) and Tkachuk (5)
1 8:12 PP JAG Bergeron (5), assisted by Miller (4) and Tkachuk (6)
1 8:38 EV BCR Kane (1), assisted by Meier (1) and Gudbranson (1)
1 10:28 EV BCR McDavid (1), assisted by Meier (2) and Kane (1)
1 16:20 PP BCR Kane (2), assisted by McDavid (1)
2 :52 EV JAG Ovechkin (1), assisted by Bergeron (1) and Letang (2)
2 17:40 EV JAG Bergeron (6), assisted by Tkachuk (7) and Miller (5)
2 19:47 EV JAG McGinn (1), assisted by Staal (1) and Letang (3)
3 6:03 PP BCR Oshie (1), assisted by Hyman (1)
3 6:57 EV BCR Bellemare (1), assisted by Chara (1) and Hayes (1)
3 17:44 EV JAG Ristolainen (1), assisted by Matthews (1) and Svechnikov (1)
3 19:58 EV BCR McDavid (2), assisted by Kane (2)

Star 1: JAG Bergeron 3 G, 4 Pts
Star 2: BCR Kane 2 G, 4 Pts
Star 3: BCR McDavid 2 G, 3 Pts

GWG: Rasmus Ristolainen

Notables: BCR Chara 5 blocks, Bishop 34 saves
JAG Miller 4 assists, Matthews 23 faceoffs won, Markstrom 35 saves, Bergeron hat trick, Bergeron 24 faceoffs won

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: Two games and four points – other than the shoddy defense, what’s not to love?!

Bergeron has something to prove after being allowed to test the RFA waters. Keep on showing us up, Patrice…

Alamo Defenders
WEEKLY PREVIEW: The Cincinnati Inferno visits Alamo for opening night.

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Cincinnati Inferno @ Alamo Defenders This game was a wild scoring affair. Six goals were recorded in the first period. It was tied at three. In the second period, the Inferno score 3 to the Defenders 1 goal. In the 3rd period, Alamo scores the next three goals. But, Point scores his 2nd for the Inferno to tie the game with 6:34 to go. No other goals are scored in regulation. We go to OT, Perron scores his 1st goal of the game at the 1:44 mark in OT.

In regard to shots on goal, Alamo has 54 to Cincinnati’s 41. Wow. Hits were nearly even with 28 for Alamo and 27 for Cincinnati.

Point is the 1st star with 2 goals. Parise gets the 2nd star for Alamo with 2 goals and 1 assist. The third star is Stamkos with 2 goals. Hellebuyck with 47 saves for the Inferno.

FINAL: CINCINNATI 8 ALAMO 7 (OT)

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: In Alamo’s only game game this week, they lose to Cincinnati, 8-7 in OT. There was quite a bit of offense in this game.
Toledo Walleye
WEEKLY PREVIEW: The Walleye start the season with a 4 game homestand. The fans hope the new scoring stars Nikita Kucherov and Mike Hoffman will combine with Elias Pettersson to get the Fish back into the playoffs.

Opening day ceremonies include a number of fans throwing Erie Lake Walleye onto the ice. Zamboni operator, and ice expert Hugh Jass commented, ” Its kind of messy when they toss ’em on the ice, but oh the fish fry after the game, yum.”

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GAME #1:Bucks County Raccoons @ Toledo Walleye Walleye 6, Raccoons 3. Hoffman makes a great impact scoring his first Walleye goal just 61 seconds into his career with Toledo. The Raccoons respond with goals later in the first (McDavid) and early in the 2nd (Meier) to take the lead away. After that its all Walleye with 5 goals (van Riemsdyk, Trochek, Nemeth, Cernak, Yandle) until the visitors get a late one by Doughty to make the final 6-3.

Pretty clean game with just one tussle between Pettersson and Kane. Otherwise only 2 other penalties for Toledo, and one for Bucks County.

BCR 49 SOG, TOL 36 SOG

1st star – Hoffman 1G 3 pts
2nd – Trochek 1G 2pts
3rd – Binnington 46 saves

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GAME #2:Portland Storm @ Toledo Walleye Walleye 6, Storm 3 – Toledo seems to blow this one open early. 4 consecutive goals (Mantha, Hoffman, Pettersson, Kucherov) make it 4-0 early in the 2nd. The Storm then seem to wake up and respond. Goals by Backlund and 2 by Palat, interrupted by one from Arvidsson, cut the lead to 2 with a little over 12 minutes in the game. 5-3 Toledo. The Walleye get breathing room, helped by a Grzelcyk penalty, and convert the PP with a goal by Backstrom to end the scoring at a comfortable 6-3 advantage.

A whopping 69 SOG for Portland. 39 for Toledo.

1st star, Binnington 66 saves
2nd Mantha 1G 3 pts
3rd – Palat 2G

PP TOL 3-6 POR 1=3

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Bathgate Rangers @ Toledo Walleye Rangers 4, Walleye 1 – Bathgate’s Reimer shuts down the 6 goal per game scoring of Toledo in an impressive performance. Meanwhile, the offense takes control early with 3 goals (Giroux, Grimaldi, Nugent-Hopkins) for a 3-0 lead early in the 2nd. Some hope for the home team when Pettersson notches one early in the 3rd, but the offense continues to struggle, while McCann adds an insurance empty net goal late to make the final 4-1

SOG, BGR 32, TOL 26

1st star McCann 1G 2pts
2nd – Giroux 1G
3rd – Nugent-Hopkins 1G (I would have had Reimer in here somewhere)

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Thunder Bay NorWesters @ Toledo Walleye NorWesters 8, Walleye 6 – Goal Avalanche — In the end, it seems the 4 powerplay goals for the NorWesters was the difference, over the 2 powerplay goals for Toledo.

For Thunder Bay, Smith 3, Connor 2, Landeskog, Necas and Nyquist tally for their 8
For Toledo, Hoffman 2, Mantha, Trochek, Arvidsson and Nosek counter for 6

Turning point in the game, after going up 3-2, Toledo sees the visitors go on a 6-1 scoring spree to make it a blowout.

1st star, Smith 3G 4pts
2nd – Connor 2G
3rd – Hoffman 2G 3pts

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: 4 games, 4 points, and a ton of scoring.19 for the home team, 18 for the visitors.

Smith with the hat-trick, and Riemer holding the Walleye to 1 goal was the visitors best.
Binningtons 66 save effort, and Hoffman with 8 points for the week were home team highlights.

Portland Storm
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Opening home week with games against Charlotte and Alamo

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Charlotte Buzzards @ Portland Storm Portland opens the scoring with a goal from Palat in the first period but Charlotte responds with 5 unanswered goals from Iafallo (2)/Lee/Rowney/Manson to win 5-1

Star #1 – Price 48 saves
Star #2 -Iafallo 2 goals
Star #3 – Lee goal

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Alamo Defenders @ Portland Storm Alamo gets a goal from Crosby with 23 seconds left in OT to win 4-3. Portland gets goals from Brown, Schultz and Rakell while Alamo gets goals from Draisaitl (2), Wheeler and Crosby

Star #1 -Draisitl 2 goals, 3 points
Star #2 -Crosby 1 goal
Star #3 – Wheeeler 1 goal

Stamkos won 25 faceoffs for Alamo and Hutton had 55 saves for Portland

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: Portland starts season 0-2 at home
Cincinnati Inferno
WEEKLY PREVIEW: The Cincinnati Inferno, regular season champions of the Atlantic Division and first round playoff exit-ers, open the 2019-20 MWHL home season at The Incinerator against the Central Division’s Chicago Nosa Costra. Just to re-hash (and re-open a wound!), Cincinnati battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against Brentwood in the opening round of last year’s playoffs (and blew a 3-0 lead in game seven — still not bothered by that, at all!). Will the new year starts things off on the right foot, or is there a hangover waiting?

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Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Cincinnati Inferno The opening period saw a barrage of shots (Inferno winning the battle, 16-15), but there was no scoring.

In the second, Cincinnati lit the lamp first, with Tyler Seguin lighting the lamp just 37 seconds in. Chicago would level the scores NINE seconds later when Evegeni Dadonov slipped his first of the season in and less than a minute into the frame — the game was deadlocked at one apiece.

David Pastranak would net his first at 6:53 of the stanza and give Chicago its first lead at 2-1. Patranak’s score came on the power play, 26 second after Alexander Edler was whistled for tripping. Before the second ended, John Carlson’s shot from the right point slipped past netminder Mackenzie Blackwood to level the scores at 2-2. Carlson’s goal came at 16:53. Chicago commanded play in the middle period, outshooting Cincinnati by a 21-9 margin.

In the third, on a delayed penalty at 2:30, Paul Stastny ripped his first of the season as Morgan Rielly was being called for tripping and the Inferno grabbed a 3-2 lead. Dadonov netted his second of the game at 6:07 for the Cosa Nostra to knot the scores against at 3-3.

Cincinnati found another gear after that.

At 8:31 Dustin Brown tipped in a shot to give the Inferno the lead for the final time at 4-3. William Karlsson’s power play score at 11:15 on the power play added insurance and Ryan Suter’s empty netter with twelve seconds remaining iced it, at 6-3. The shots in the third once again favored, Chicago, 19-15, and for the game the Cosa Nostra held the upper hand, 55-39.

Carlson and Suter were the offensive heroes for the Inferno, each having a goal and three assists and both were on the ice for all six Cincinnati goals. Dadonov was stellar for Chicago with a pair of goals and Connor Hellebuyck was up to the task for the Inferno, kicking away 52 shots in his first win of the year.

Cincinnati scored on its only power play of the game, while Chicago cashed in once in three attempts. The Cosa Nostra threw the literal kitchen sink at the Inferno, launching 100 shot attempts while surrendering just 67. Chicago also led in scoring chances, 33-24.

FINAL: Cincinnati 6, Chicago 3

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: The first week is in the books. If we have learned anything from this score and the others so far, it appears that the offense is ahead of the defense and that you can never have enough quality scorers! It will be interesting to see what happens as week two unfolds. Cincinnati gets ready to hit the road for another three tough road tests, while Chicago gets ready for two home contests.
LA Great Danes
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Excitement in Great Dane land with high hopes to compete for a playoff berth, even in the ultra-competitive Pacific Division. Three home games in week #1, a good chance for the home crowd to see how the new faces mesh with the returning core group.

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California Regulators @ LA Great Danes OUCH!!! An 8-2 beatdown by California to open the season. It starts with a penalty at the one-minute mark and a quick PPG and it goes down hill from there. California converts on their first 4 PP chances, ending up 4-5 on the PP.

The Danes outshoot Cal 55-42, but at least half of the Regulator goals came from long-distance with LA’s goaltending as awful as it gets, with Varlamov and Talbot each getting beat 4 times.

Five California players get 3+ points, leg by Eric Staal with 2G-2A and Matt Barzal and Patrick Kane with 1G-3A each.

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Bucks County Raccoons @ LA Great Danes With our road game in the books with a 5-1 loss to Charlotte, the Danes continue the homestand, wondering are we this bad?

While this game was more competitive than the first 2 games of the season, it ended badly, as the Danes blow a 3-1 lead, recover with a PPG to take the lead with 2:08, but give up the tying goal by Nick Suzuki with 22 seconds left, and Timo Meier wins it for Bucks County with the OT winner. The Racoons leave LA with a 5-4 win. Connor McDavid’s 1G-3A night earns him the game’s #1 star.

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Portland Storm @ LA Great Danes The Danes decide to turn to rookie Igor Shesterkin earlier in the season than expected. The team responds early with two quick goals by Hintz and Barkov, 2-0 LA 3 minutes in. Portland closes the gap with a PPG by Victor Olafsson to make it 2-1 after 1, and the Danes show up late for period 2, and 3:25 and 11 shots later, Portland has the lead 3-2. After that, it was back and forth, with the Danes going up 4-3 on 2 Mark Scheifele PPG’s, and then Portland retakes the lead with a pair of goals, first a bad angle goal by Taylor Hall and then another Olafsson PPG, coming after a 7 SOG barrage on the PP. But William Nylander scores with 3:52 left to tie the game at 5, and we head to OT, and then a shootout.

In the shootout, 2 saves by Shesterkin and a goal by Ehlers puts the pressure on Max Domi in the third round, and he misses the net, so the Danes get the win 6-5.

Finally a win, and it’s the rookie Shesterkin getting it done with a 49 save effort. He allowed the bad angle goal by Hall in the 3rd, but he battled hard, with 2 of the 3 PPG’s against coming late in the PK after 8 and 7 shot barrages.

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: A 1-2-1 record in week 1. Time to recover, but the concern level is very high that this team could be in for a very long season as the goaltending was abysmal and the penalty kill couldn’t be any worse, 8 GA in 10 chances in the 3 home games – how in the world can they have been so bad!

The Danes averaged 55 SOG per game, but only a 5.9% shooting percentage, and an .864 save % – not a formula for success.

Gilbert Sharks
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Gilbert starts the season with 3 Home Games against Alamo, Yellowknife, and Cincinnati

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Alamo Defenders @ Gilbert Sharks Gilbert jumps out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st Period with goals from Ennis and Coyle. The 2nd Period is all Alamo as they tie it up 2-2 with goals from Bratt and Stamkos. Gilbert takes a 4-2 lead early in the 3rd period with a 2nd goal from Coyle and a goal from Zucker. Draisaitl scores twice to even up the game again. With just 39 seconds left in regulation Orlov gets the Game Winner for Alamo.

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Yellowknife Braves @ Gilbert Sharks Gilbert once again does well in the 1st period in this one taking a 1-0 lead on a goal from Kubalik. The 2nd period would see lots of scoring from both sides, Aho gets 2 for Yellowknife and Ratanen scores 1. The Gilbert goals are scored by Coyle, Thornton, and Coyle. Gilbert is able to finish this one off in the 3rd period with 2 goals by Panarin, Yellowknife gets one more goal from Bjorkstrand but fall 6-4. Yellowknife finished the game with 67 shots on goal!

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Cincinnati Inferno @ Gilbert Sharks Gilbert starts strong once again with goals from Panarin, Burakovsky, and Carlo in the 1st period. Cincy gets a goal from Carlson to cut the lead to 3-1 at the end of 1 and it would remain that way until the 3rd period when Cincy would come back to tie the game at 3 with goals from Laine and Seguin. Gilbert would fire back though with two more goals from Zucker and Kubalik. Cincy would one more time overcome the deficit with goals from Suter and Toffoli and then they get the game winner from Laine. Cincy 6, Gilbert 5

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: Gilbert goes 1-2 at home in Block 1 blowing multiple multi-goal leads. Gilbert scores 15 goals in 3 games and gives up 15. It appears there may be a lot of shootouts this year.
Bucks County Raccoons
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Bucks County begins defense of it’s division title with 3 straight on the road and 1 home games against Alamo

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Alamo Defenders @ Bucks County Raccoons Leon Draisaitl scores a goal and adds two assists as the Alamo Defenders defeat the Bucks County Raccoons 6-5. Alamo trailed entering the 3rd period when Draisaitl tied it at the :30 second mark, and then Ryan Ellis scored mid way thru the period on a PP to give Alamo the lead. With 1:52 left BCR went on the PP and with a chance to tie pulled their goalie, only to see Boone Jenner score into the empty net 15 seconds into the PP. BCR then scored on the PP with 1:05 left which set up a frantic final 65 seconds but the Racs could not get the equalizer, Alamo winning 6-5.

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: Lone home game, another loss to open the season
California Regulators
New Jersey Black Aces @ California Regulators NJB – 3
CAL – 8Star 1: Kane, 2G
Star 2: Staal, 1G & 3Pts
Star 3: Gaudreau, 1G, 2Pts

Notables
NJB – Cirelli 15 FO won, Bear 6 blocks
CAL – Grubauer 42 Saves

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Thunder Bay NorWesters @ California Regulators TBN – 5
CAL – 7Star 1: Staal, 2B & 3Pts
Star 2: Gaudreau 2G
Star 3: Kane 1G & 3Pts

Notables
TBN – Eichel 20 FO won, Koskinen 44 Saves, Couturier 27 FO won
CAL – Bouwmeester 7 Blocks, Engelland 6 Blocks, Raanta 44 Saves

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WEEKLY SUMMARY: California gets two wins in the first homestand of the young season.