2017-2018 PLAYER & GOALIE OF THE WEEK #13
| EASTERN SKATER | TEAM | GP | GOALS | ASISSTS | POINTS | PM | +/- | SOG | S% |
| Krug, Torey | BWB | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 13% |
| EASTERN GOALIE | TEAM | GP | GOALS AGAINST | G.A. AVERAGE | SAVES | SAVE % | |||
| Price, Carey | HAM | 2 | 3 | 1.53 | 62 | .954 | |||
| WESTERN SKATER | TEAM | GP | GOALS | ASSISTS | POINTS | PM | +/- | SOG | S% |
| Bozak, Tyler | LBD | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 22% |
| WESTERN GOALIE | TEAM | GP | GOALS AGAINST | G.A. AVERAGE | SAVES | SAVE % | |||
| Domingue, Louis | CAL | 2 | 3 | 1.45 | 69 | .958 | |||
| Thunder Bay Nor’Westers | Rumors are flying that Jiri Fischer’s job is in jeopardy. Insiders say the real issue is finding a goalie that can play consistently. Bishop was sent packing and Reimer continues to struggle. Pickard and Mrazek are untested. Nothing seems to be going right. |
| Hampton Blizzard @ Thunder Bay Nor’Westers | Thunder Bay feeling the pressure come out aggressively and score two 1st period goals. Charlie Coyle (12) and Brendan Saad (14) to give the Norwesters a 2-0 lead.
The 2nd period starts strong as Tomas Tatar scored his 13th of the season, but then the wheels fall off. Sean Couturier is caught hooking and Forsberg score for Hampton his 14 of the season to get one back. Dylan Larkin scores his 4th to close the gap to just a single goal 3-2 as the 2nd period ends. The 3rd period is all about defensive breakdowns. Shane Gostisbehere (4) and then Vince Trochek (16) push the Blizzard to the lead and ultimately the win. Hampton had 24 scoring chances that is the most Thunder Bay has given up this season. Lack of effort and poor decisions doomed the home team. Reimer play pretty well considering how little help he had. |
| Weekly Summary: | Where do we go from here. If effort and results do not start to change in the last 30 games there will be some turnover in the Summer. |
| Weekly Preview: | Hampton faces two tough opponents within its own division in the division-leading Clearfield Bisons and Canadian rivals, the Thunder Bay Nor’westers. |
| Thunder Bay Nor’Westers @ Hampton Blizzard | This game started off exactly as planned with wave after wave of Blizzard forwards screaming in on Thunder Bay goaltender Reimer, outshooting the Nor’westers 8-0 within the first five minutes of the game. The part that didn’t go according to plan was Reimer putting up an impenetrable wall in front of the net, keeping the score knotted at 0-0 through the barrage. The momentum in the period swung towards Thunder Bay in a big way when mid-season blueline pickup Nick Jensen got 5 minutes for over-enthusiastically checking Thomas Tatar (not actually a bad idea if the refs can’t see you). The Nor’westers took over the game and closed the shot gap in that five minutes, but Carey Price was equal to the task and kept the teams scoreless heading into the second period. The two teams continued to grind it out through the second period with both goalies doing the job keeping the game scoreless until with just 1:06 remaining in the period TBay capitalized all over a Atom A calibre line change by Hampton and Tatar snapped his 13th of the year under Price to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Smith (28) and Zaitsev (26) drew assists on the play. Hampton and Thunder Bay played the 3rd period close with the Blizzard reluctant to open things up with just a slim 1-goal deficit. Luckily for them, the Nor’westers had no problem providing incentive as Couturier (14) connected for a power play goal with Trocheck off at 9:49, beating Price with a wrist shot his trapper couldn’t handle to give TB a 2-0 edge. Larsson (5) picked up a helper on the goal. Only a minute later it looked like Trocheck redeemed himself for the dumb penalty when he raced in on Reimer on a clear breakaway but then got the two-headed goat award by completely missing the net. Farrrrrggggg! Hampton pulled Price with about 2:30 to play but couldn’t find the back of the net as they started off the two-game homestand with a fizzle, getting shut out by Reimer and Company 2-0. Hampton outshot Thunder Bay 38-29 (what I’m more and more inclined to treat as a pretty useless stat) with the rest of the game being pretty much even. Stars of the game went to: 1. Reimer (38 saves) 2. Tatar (game winning goal) 3. Couturier (insurance goal) |
| Clearfield Bison @ Hampton Blizzard | Division-rival Clearfield put up exactly the kind of agonizing fight that the Blizzard had hoped for/dreaded with an extremely tight and entertaining game for the Hampton fans. Clearfield absolutely owned the faceoff circle for the first two periods, holding a 77%/23% edge after 40 minutes including winning 13 of 14 in the 1st period. Nice. On the other side of the ice, the Blizzard were the winners of the purple heart throwing themselves at flying pucks and red-jerseyed bodies without a care (or brain cell?) in the world. Overall, the Blizzard outhit Clearfield 29-17 and outblocked them 20-11. The shots by the end of the final buzzer were 36-34 for Clearfield and a good reflection of how closely this game was actually played. Evgeni Malkin (18) opened the scoring in this one at 4:50 of the 1st period, beating evil Craig Anderson stick-side after a tic-tac-toe passing play with Filip Forsberg (19) and Mikko Rantanen (9). Clearfield, of course, stormed back only two minutes later when Drew Doughty’s slapshot went off Carey Price’s pad and straight to Patrick Kane who easily flipped the puck into the empty net. For Kane, it was his 12th of the season with Doughty (18) and Bergeron (24) getting assists. Hampton outshot Clearfield 17-10 in the opening frame, but no shot was more important than the one by Rantanen with just 17 seconds left in the 1st period. Off a faceoff deep in the Clearfield end, Koivu easily won the draw from Malkin but Alexander Edler’s attempt to clear the zone was stopped just inside the blueline by Malkin who slid the puck cross-ice to Shayne Gostisbehere and into the slot to the awaiting stick of Rantanen who banked the puck just inside the post past Anderson to make it 2-1 Hampton. It was Rantanen’s 16th of the year and for Gostisbehere and Malkin assists number 23 and 30 respectively. The 2nd period was a complete meatgrinder with much of the period played at centre ice and along the boards. There were a fair number of shots taken in the 20 minutes but very few made it to the goalies. Clearfield outshot Hampton 11-5 in the period but the teams were scoreless. The 3rd period was a wild one with Clearfield dominating from the opening faceoff. After hemming the Blizzard in their own zone for the first minute of the period and registering four shots on Price a seemingly innocent up-ice play to try and change lines turned into a race for the puck won by Rantanen who centred the puck to Malkin who was too closely covered by Little to make a play so he moved the puck over to pinching-in defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson who wristed the puck under Anderson’s glove to make it 3-1 Hampton. It was Ekman-Larsson’s 7th of the season with Rantanen (10) and Malkin (31) assisting. Clearfield put the pressure on even more from this point, but Jonathan Drouin’s cross-ice pass near the Hampton blueline bounced off the stick of Karl Alzner and straight to Gostisbehere. The Flyers’ blueliner raced up ice with Trocheck and Anders Lee quickly catching up and four Bisons’ skaters trying madly to lend Alzner a hand. Gostisbehere fed the puck over to Lee as they hit the Clearfield blueline and he made no mistake in a pinpoint pass to Trocheck who deked Anderson and tucked the puck in under the crossbar to make it 4-1. It was Trocheck’s 16th goal, Lee’s 17th assist and Gostisbehere’s 24th and second of the game. The rest of the period was all Clearfield with the Bisons scrambling into the Hampton zone, smacking a shot or two at Price and then someone from Hampton managing to get a stick on the puck and knocking it back to centre ice or into the Clearfield zone. With Clearfield pressing and an inevitable goal on the horizon and only four minutes left in the game Hampton’s 4th line of Larkin-Zacha-Dvorak actually managed to get out of its own zone and snap a shot at Anderson forcing a faceoff. At this point, Clearfield had a 35-18 edge in faceoffs won but by some miracle the Blizzard centres were able to win six straight faceoffs in the Clearfield end and each faceoff resulted in a couple of passes and then a low-percentage point shot that forced another faceoff. Eventually, Bergeron was able to win one but by that time the game was down to about 120 seconds left. The Blizzard defenders kept the Bisons from getting much in the way of real scoring chances and that was pretty much it. Hampton salvaged their homestand with a 4-1 win against the Bisons. Game stars were: 1. Malkin (one goal, two assists) 2. Rantanen (one goal, two assists) 3. Price (35 saves)Other notables – Patrice Bergeron (1 assist, won 15 faceoffs),Little (2 takeaways, 4 hits), Ekman-Larsson (one goal, 6 hits) |
| Weekly Summary: | A home split which considering the horrible road trip is OK for this suddenly floundering team. |
| Clearfield Bison | After spending 6 of the last 8 on the road, the Bison finally get to show off for the home fans. Two divisional tilts, and the red-hot Alamo Defenders (2-0 vs. Clearfield thus far) come to town. Can the Bison stay hot? |
| Thunder Bay Nor’Westers @ Clearfield Bison | I’ll get this out of the way – this was the only interesting game of the set, but if we did a ‘game of the week’…this would probably be the winner.
For the first 19 minutes, this game was scoreless. Clearfield seemed to be pushing, but Reimer was standing tall, and the stingy Bison ‘D’ was doing their thing….then all hell broke loose. TB scored at 19:29 of the 1st on a blast by Landeskog..but the Bison top line answered right back on the next shift, as Rakell buried one with 4 seconds left in the period. But both teams were just getting started. Clearfield jumped on Reimer early and often in the 2nd,with 3 goals in 1:10 (including 2 by the top line on the SAME SHIFT). 4-1, at home, with the best defense in the league? Piece of cake, right? Um…not so much. Thunder Bay started to push, the Bison sat on their heels..and the Nor’Westers slammed home four goals in an 11-minute span.The killer was a shortie by Nielsen at 19:35 of the 2nd – at that point, Clearfield’s coaching staff was ready to start declining penalties. Landeskog’s 2nd at 5:43 of the 3rd gave TB a 5-4 lead, and the home crowd was stunned..but as they’ve done so often since Kane joined them, the first line answered back – Rakell completed the HT 2 minutes later, knotting the game at 5. Clearfield pushed hard,at at the 11-minute mark Bryan Little gave the home team the lead once again – and this time the Bison D made it stand despite a barrage of Nor’Wester shots (19 in the 3rd!). 6-5 Clearfield was the final in a wild and woolly affair. Shots were 37-34 TB, and they went 1-3 on the PP. Clearfield was 0-4 and gave up the shortie – in a related move, special teams coach Robbie Brown was let go immediately after this game. The best overall team in the league has a 13% power play – a potential Achilles’ heel in the postseason! Clearfield dominated faceoffs 71%-29% and out-chanced TB 20-15. STARS: (The computer didn’t give Rakell a star for an HT, so we overrode…) #1 Rakell 3G #2 Kane 4A #3 Bergeron 1G 2A +4 19-6 on faceoffs honorable mention: Landeskog 2G |
| Alamo Defenders @ Clearfield Bison | Clearfield has been very impressed by Alamo all season – even when the Defenders were struggling early on, we thought they would be a force as the season progressed. As such, the Bison and their fans were eagerly anticipating the rematch (Alamo pasted the Bison 5-1 at Clearfield a few months ago).
This time around, Alamo’s skaters were still very strong..but their goalie had a rare off-day. Lehner allowed 4G on 26 shots, Clearfield never trailed, and the Bison won 5-2. Alamo’s bright spot was the PP, as they went 2-5 with the man advantage. Clearfield only received 1 PP and somehow cashed it in – rarer than a blue supermoon! Alamo completely shut down the ‘big line’ of Bergeron, Rakell, and Kane..but each of the other 3 lines scored for Clearfield. Alamo outshot Clearfield 33-27 and out-chanced the Bison 14-13. As usual Clearfield did well in the faceoff circle, 59-41. Stars: #1 Williams 1G 2A #2 Drouin 1G 1A #3 Neal 1G 1A |
| Corktown Suds @ Clearfield Bison | Not much to say about this one. After a scoreless first, Clearfield cashed in early in the 2nd (another PP goal? Say it ain’t so), added one late in the period, and tallied twice more early in the third to make this one a done deal. The Suds did manage a goal with about 7 minutes left, but it was too little, too late. Clearfield added one near the end of the game to make the final 5-1.
Clearfield ended up 2-4 on the PP, making them 3-5 since the ‘coaching change’. The Bison led in shots 36-32, in chances 23-13, and in faceoffs 65-35. STARS: #1 Drouin 1G 1A #2 Luongo 31 sv #3 Doughty 1G |
| Weekly Summary: | Clearfield gets 6 points at home, and with the loss at Hampton goes 3-1 for the set.
With 30 games to go, the fans can smell the playoffs..but there’s still work to be done. |
| Weekly Preview: | Rangers get 3 home games this week – a chance to have more total wins than total NO point losses. 2 of 3 games in division with finale against division leading Brentwood (road game against touch rival Columbus). Seems like the Rangers are actually playing better after dumping their big stars in favor of better D, hmmmm…. |
| Long Beach Ice Dogs @ Bathgate Rangers | Rangers do a familiar scene – score a bunch before the other team shows up (maybe it’s the guest locker room effect). Rangers get a 1st period goal from Ferland (12). ODD thing on this one, future star Jakob Vrana was a Ranger guest for this one. Not suited, as he’s a prospect, but his appearance behind the bench actually earned him an assist on this goal! [Yes, it’s a bug, he got an assist even though he actually DIDN’T appear in the game.] Second period Rangers get two goals (Donskio [2] and Tierney [5]) in the first 5 minutes for a 3-0 lead. Then the game changed. 4 minutes to go in the 2nd and Bozak (5) gets a PP goal. 3rd Period – Rangers still up 3-1 with 5 minutes to go when Anderson gets called for cross checking (his 2nd penalty of the game). Last time the Rangers got a cross checking penalty it cost them and again this time it does. Parise (5) splits the pipes to make it 3-2. Then in the last minute, Long Beach pulls Talbot and 23 seconds later at 19:28, Faulk ties the game with his 15th goal. On to OT – both teams get opportunities and shots, but it’s Parise (6) getting his 2nd goal of the game that gives the Ice Dogs the 4-3 OT win. I’d like to say that Rinne was one of the stars, but he wasn’t – but he did stop 46 shots (42 of them in regulation time). Long Beach fired 97 shot attemts – 50 of them on net, 30 scoring chances and Rinne stopped 46 of them. The team blocked 27 shots. Rinne is tired, defense is black and blue. Rangers had 22 SOGs. STARS (all Ice Dogs) 1. Parise 2 goals (GWG) 2. Bozak 1 goal 2 assists 3. Faulk 1 goal |
| Lakeland Flying Tigers @ Bathgate Rangers | Rangers got the scoring going with 1 in the first – Ferland (13) at the 8 minute mark. Game then settled down – nothing else in the 1st or the 2nd. Jones and Rinne looking sharp and the defenses were doing great jobs shutting down shots and scoring attempts.
Then the 3rd period….Flying Tigers take 19 shots (5 more than the 1st and 2nd period combined as the Rangers have hard time getting any control). Fortunately Rinne was still in the game ,,, but Steen (8) ties the game at 5:26. Killorn (9) however is able to beat Jones midway through the period to give the Rangers the 2-1 lead. Then the penalty thing foils the Rangers when Zajac is called for roughing at the 17:34 mark and 13 seconds later Oshie (20)intercepts a clearning pass and zips it past Rinne to tie it at 2-2. Rangers then dig in and get one for Pekka when Shaw (5) gets the game winner with 43 seconds left. Jones misses the rest of the game in favor of the extra attacker but Rangers are up to the task and take the game 3-2. |
| Brentwood Bandits @ Bathgate Rangers | Rangers are 1-0-1 at home and look to get a good chance to get above .500 – but they have to get Brentwood to succumb. Brentwood is having none of this Bathgate resurgence stuff. Crosby (27) and Marleau (18) get goals before 8 minutes are gone by. Crosby’s was a PP goal – Rangers have been having a tough time on power plays lately and look to change up their lines. Then in a late 2 minute span of the 1st, the Rangers get two goals – the first a PP goal from Donskoi (3) and then one from Killorn (10). And the first period ends 2-2!2nd period, those pesky Rangers mean business when Ferland (14) gets a quick goal (28 seconds into the period) and now it’s 3-2 Rangers. It was looking like that’s how the period would end, until Backes (12) puts one in the net with 32 seconds left in the period. 3-2 Brentwood after 2.3rd Period. Kessel (13) gets the insurance goal 6 minutes in. And it stays that way and the Rangers pull out all stops (and the goalie) but the Bandits steal the show and get an empty net goal form Krug (3) to put it away. Brentwood wins 5-3. STARS (all BWB) 1. That empty netter was enough to boost Krug to 1st star – 1 goal, 2 assists 2. Crosby 1 goal, 2 assists 3. Kessel 1 goal, 2 assists |
| Weekly Summary: | So Rangers go 1-1-1 3 pts at home and await their results against the Brew crew from Columbus. Long Beach 4 Ranger 3 OT Rangers 3 Flying Tigers 2 Bandits 5 Rangers 3 |
| Jagr Mullets | Jagr has three tough games at home this week – two against division rivals Columbus and Lakeland, and also Wausau. |
| Wausau Lumberjacks @ Jagr Mullets | First up is Wausau, who wastes no time in getting on the board thank to Faksa’s 4th at 6:34.
But then Jagr heats up, getting three unanswered goals by Ryan (2), Hampus Lindholm (11),, and Radulov (12). But Wausau isn’t going down easy… 19 seconds after Radoluv scores, Brown(10) pots one behind Jonathan Quick to make it interesting. Then at 16:19 of the 3rd, Frolik (6) scores to tie it up 3-3! Jagr just can’t hold a late lead this year. But the potent Jagr offense strikes right back – Jordan Staal (7) scores at 18:28, and Ovie (22) puts in an empty-netter to take the game 5-3. The Mullets outshoot their opponent 44-24; neither team collects on 5 combined power plays. Scoring Summary tar 1: JAG Ryan 1 G, 2 Pts GWG: Jordan Staal Notables: WLJ Smith 39 saves |
| Lakeland Flying Tigers @ Jagr Mullets | Next up is Lakeland, battling Jagr for 3rd place in the Metro division.
We’re scoreless until late in the 2nd, when Hartman (15) slips one by Vasilevskiy to make it 1-0 Lakeland. But right off the opening faceoff in the 3rd, Ovie slips a pass to Jordan Staal who puts in his 8th goal of the season to make it 1-1. Then 2 minutes later, Elias Lindholm (5) scores with helpers from Schultz (20) and Hampus Lindholm (17) to take the lead. Marian Gaborik (5) seals the deal with a goal at 14:56 to give the Mullets a 3-1 victory. |
| Columbus Brew Jackets @ Jagr Mullets | This game was featured on national television — as it should be, with the #1 and #2 league offenses clashing. The talking heads predict lots of goals; and for once, they get it right as the teams combine for 11 markers.
Conor Sheary (26) opens the scoring early in the first, but Jagr gets some 4th line depth scoring 2 minutes later as Brock McGinn (3) puts one in. Then each team scores in clusters: first Columbus gets goals from Sheary (27) and Burns (15) 17 seconds apart… and we’re only 6 1/2 minutes into the game! Granlund (14) scores late in the 1st for Jagr, then Taylor Hall (13) scores early in the 2nd to tie it up at 3-3. But then Couture (18) and Ladd (16) score 2 minutes apart to take a 5-3 lead. But we’re far from done. Jordan Staal (9) tickles the twine on the PP at 14:50 of the 2nd, after Columbus killed a 5 minute major by Brent Burns with no damage. Granlund (15) scores at 16:11 of the 2nd to knot it back up at 5-5! Somehow, both teams go scoreless in the 3rd and in the OT. So we’re off to the shootout! Shooter Goaltender Result And the fans erupt as Nazem Kadri score sthe lone goal of the shootout to give the home team a 6-5 win in front of a national audience. |
| Weekly Summary: | Jagr collects 6 of a possible 6 points, though they spotted Columbus 1 as well.
Suddenly Jagr’s in the thick of the playoff hunt; with their deep and balanced offense they could make some noise if they get into the dance. |
| LA Great Danes | The Great Danes host Gilbert and Columbus in their 2 home games. |
| Gilbert Sharks @ LA Great Danes | Brayden Schenn and Nick Bonino score about a minute apart midway through the first to put LA up 2-0, and Cam Atkinson nets his 21st of the year on a delayed penalty to cut the lead to 2-1. Before the 1st period is out, Jamie Benn converts a PPG to put the Danes up 3-1 after 1. Midway through the 2nd, Mark Scheifele scores to increase the lead to 4-1, and that was it for the scoring. A solid 4-1 win for the Great Danes. There were no clean goals for the Danes – a wrap-around goal and 3 tip/deflection goals as the Danes did a good job creating traffic in front of Tuukka Rask. Scheifele and Benn each had 1G-1A. |
| Columbus Brew Jackets @ LA Great Danes | A match-up of offense versus defense as Columbus comes in leading the league in goals scored, LA #2 in goals against. For the second straight game, the Danes get 3 1st period goals – Danault, Chiasson, and Kesler doing the scoring. Benn and Chiasson score in the 2nd to boost the lead to 5-0 after 2. The Danes continued to shut down Columbus’ vaunted offense late into the 3rd, and CBJ goalie Chad Johnson then decided to call it an early night, letting in 3 late goals in the last 3 1/2 minutes to Jokinen/Eller/Bonino. It ends as an 8-0 blowout win for LA. Andersen gets the 21 save shutout, and 4th liner Alex Chiasson leads the LA offense with 2G-1A. 7 Danes had multi-point games and the D pairing of McDonagh/Carlson both had 2A and +5 ratings. |
| Weekly Summary: | The Great Danes coast to 2 home wins, outscoring their opponents 12-1. A good week for the depth players to pad their stats, and Frederick Andersen stays red-hot in goal. |
| Long Beach Ice Dogs | |
| California Regulators @ Long Beach Ice Dogs | California made the trip south to play Long Beach. They scored 3 goals in the second period and Domingue made 41 saves in the 3-0 shutout. |
| Gilbert Sharks @ Long Beach Ice Dogs | Long Beach scored 2 goals in the 1st but Gilbert scored 2 in the 2nd to tie the game heading to the last period. Carter scored :41 into the period. Long Beach added 2 more goals and won 5-2. Parise had a goal and 3 assists to key the Ice Dogs offense. |
| LA Great Danes @ Long Beach Ice Dogs | Long Beach again jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first but LA came back and tied it 3-3 7 minutes into the 3rd period. Long Beach scored 2 goals :30 apart with 6 minutes left in the game and they won 5-3. Parise, Wilson & Martinez each had 1 goal and 2 assists. |
| Weekly Summary: | Long Beach won 2 of their 3 home games. |
| Alamo Defenders | Two very good teams come to Alamo this week. LA and Alamo clash in a game with divisional importance. New Jersey comes into town and always plays tough against the Defenders. |
| LA Great Danes @ Alamo Defenders | This game was a classic defensive struggle. There is only one goal in the first two periods, and Brad Marchand scores it for Alamo. In the 3rd, LA converts 2 goals quickly. Danault scores, then Schenn scores on a power play goal in the span of 1:30. With 3:30 to go, Pacioretty scores a game tying goal.
We go to OT, Pearson scores his 8th goal of the season for an Alamo victory. Alamo 3 LA 2 (OT) 1st star – Marchand |
| New Jersey Grizzlies @ Alamo Defenders | NJ gets the scoring going in the first as Arvidsson scores on the 1st shot of the game by the Grizzlies. In the second, Pacioretty and Karlsson score and Alamo takes a narrow, 2-1 lead. Later in the second Byfuglien scores for NJ to tie the game.
In the 3rd, Eaves and Seguin score and Alamo has a 4-2 lead. With a little more than 3 minutes to go, its a four on four, and NJ scores on a Weber game. Alamo stops a rushing NJ team in the latter part of the game to preserve the victory. Alamo 4 New Jersey 3 1st -Eaves Seguin won 23 faceoffs for Alamo. |
| Weekly Summary: | Alamo takes both games against excellent LA and New Jersey teams.
Alamo 3 LA 2 (OT) |
| Gilbert Sharks | Gilbert has 2 home games against California and Alamo in this block. |
| California Regulators @ Gilbert Sharks | Jakob Vorucek scores 2 goals and leads Gilbert to a 4-1 win to climb temporarily out of last place in the Pacific Division. |
| Alamo Defenders @ Gilbert Sharks | Tomas Plekanec scores 2 goals including the gamewinner with just over 5 minutes left and Alamo hangs on for 4-3 win. |
| Weekly Summary: | Gilbert goes 1-1 at home in Block 13 |
| Brentwood Bandits | Bandits continue their hot season. Crosby is heating up. Kessel is right there with him. Halak gets the start for both home games. First game is against last year’s “spoiler” who beat us out for a playoff spot in the last game of the season New Jersey. The second game is the continuation of the brotherly battle vs. Jagr. |
| New Jersey Grizzlies @ Brentwood Bandits | First period is all New Jersey as they out shoot the Bandits 14-5, but they come up empty with nothing to show for it.
Until the 2nd period where Draisaitl (22) gives the Grizzlies the lead 1-0. Crosby (28) and Phaneuf (5) score to finish out the 2nd. Bandits lead 2-1. 3rd period was back and forth and very even, but the Bandits get one from Marleau (19) to take a 3-1 lead. In the last two minutes NJ pulls Holtby to try to manufacture some goals, but Cammalleri (8) scores the empty netter to give the Bandits the 4-1 lead. Insult to injury, Crosby (29) scores with 40 seconds left to send the fans home happy as Brentwood wins 5-1. The score was not indicative of the game. Much closer than the score indicates. 1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 NJG BWB Star 1: BWB Crosby 2 G GWG: Dion Phaneuf Notables: NJG Weber 5 blocks, Johansen 18 faceoffs won New Jersey GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate |
| Jagr Mullets @ Brentwood Bandits | 1st Period is pretty even but the Mullets fail to score on a 4 min double minor to Miller for high sticking. 0-0 going into the 2nd.
Bandits get on the PP when Ovie goes off for cross checking, and El Nino makes the pay with his 18th of the season. Bandits lead 1-0. Vermette (3) scores to make it 2-0 but Jagr isn’t done. Not even close. 1:09 into the 3rd Laine scores his 23. Crosby comes back nearly 5 mins later with his (league leading?) 30th of the season. 3-1 Bandits. With 3:30 left in the third, Laine scores his 24th and then 1:03 later scores his 25th to complete the hat trick and tie the game at 3! Ryan takes an ill-advised penalty for tripping at 17:51 and the turkey is on the table for the Bandits to break this tie in regulation. With 44 seconds remaining in regulation, Patrick Marleau (20) gathers a puck behind the net and scores on the wraparound. Jagr pulls Vasilevsky and despite a valiant effort, which included Laine hitting a post, Bandits hold on to win 4-3. 1 2 3 F Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 JAG BWB Star 1: JAG Laine 3 G GWG: Patrick Marleau Notables: JAG Vasilevskiy 43 saves, Rielly 5 blocks, Laine hat trick, Staal 3 assists Jagr GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate |
| Weekly Summary: | Two home games, two wins. Working like a well oiled machine both at home and on the road as of late. We’ve got Clearfield in our sites come April… but, we can’t get ahead of ourselves. Never look too far ahead. |
| Toledo Walleye | Toledo (24-20-4) has home games this week against division rivals Chicago (18-29-1) and Wausau (22-22-4). Andy Greene will see his first action of the season while Tyson Barrie gets some well deserved rest. |
| Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Toledo Walleye | Toledo 3, Chicago 2. — Toledo used a huge PP advantage (8-1) and SPG advantage (45-19) to squeak by the Cosa Nostra. Toledo gets a 2 goal advantage in the 1st period with a goal from Krejci and PP goal from Backstrom. Chicago closes the gap before the period ends with a goal from Horvat and the period ends 2-1 Toledo. Chicago then ties it up in the 2nd with a goal from the first line as Kreider nets his 20th goals of the season. In the 3rd some good clean play, finally as only one penalty is called, with no damage, and Toledo breaks the tie on a goal from Anisimov with just over a minute left. Chicago gets a few more shots with a pulled goalie but Dubnyk is up to the task and perserves the 3-2 win. 1st star – Anisimov 1G GWG 2nd star – Backstrom 1g 3rd star – Krejci 1g |
| Wausau Lumberjacks @ Toledo Walleye | Toledo 5, Wausau 3 — Good clean game with only 2 penalties on each team. Wausau draws first blood with a goal by Berglund. Toledo ties it up just before the 1st period ends as Foligno finds the back of the net. Toledo takes the lead 2-1 in the 2nd when Letestu gets a breakaway on the Wausau powerplay and a rare shortie for Toledo. But Wausau evens it back up later in the 2nd with a goal by Hoffman. Toledo gets the lead back on a redirect by Backstrom and the 2nd period ends with Toledo up 3-2. Toledo gets a goal early in the 3rd by Krejci and then later on by Okposo to go up 5-2 before Wausau gets another with their goalie pulled, making it 5-3 and Dell is able to hold off Wausau the last 2 minutes. 1st star – Okposo 1g 2a 2nd star – Berlund 2g 3rd star – Foligno 1g 1a |
| Weekly Summary: | 4 points in 2 games has the home fans buzzing. With big road games against Minneapolis and Wausau, this could be a very big week for Toledo. The addition of Greene did not hurt the team as shown by the 8-5 goal advantage in these 2 games. Top performer for Toledo was Okposo with 5 pts (1g4a), Beglund for Wausau with 2 goals, |
| Corktown Suds | |
| Hampton Blizzard @ Corktown Suds | Hampton 4-3 (OT) |
| New Jersey Grizzlies @ Corktown Suds | Corktown 4-2 |
| Weekly Summary: | Corktown gets 3 points vs two teams that are ahead of them in the Atlantic. |
| Bucks County Racoons | The Racs have 4 home games against teams that are either level or below them in points for the year. Time to make some noise for the home team….. |
| Minneapolis Deep Freeze @ Bucks County Racoons | Bucks County scores 2 goals out of the gate and 4 of the first 5 goals of the game to win 5-3. Evander Kane notches 2 goals for the winners as the Racs explode in the first period with 20 SOG. |
| Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Bucks County Racoons | Chicago visits for the 3rd time this year and wins for the 2nd time, throwing cold water on the Raccoons enthusiasm with a 4-1 win. Although the Racs attempt 75 shots with 20 of them registering as scoring chances, Bernier is brilliant in net with 40 saves and the Cosa Nostra come away with the victory. |
| California Regulators @ Bucks County Racoons | Still stinging from the previous game defeat to Chicago, the Racs have a strong first period and lead after one by a score of 2-1. The Regulators score the next 4 goals of the game and cruise to a 5-2 win. Tied at 2 entering the 3rd period, BCR throws 17 SOG at Grubauer to no avail and California skates away with the win. |
| Thunder Bay Nor’Westers @ Bucks County Racoons | In what has quickly turned into the home stand from hell, Thunder Bay scores 3 of the first 4 goals of the game to take a 3-1 lead. The Racs fight back and cut the lead to 3-2 late in the second, but a Coyle goal midway through the 3rd seals the deal for the Nor’Westers and they skate away with a 4-3 win. The visitors are aided by 7 Power Play opportunities…. |
| Weekly Summary: | High hopes for Bucks County are dashed as they go 1-3 on the home stand against teams they felt they should have had more success against. Sigh….. |
| Lakeland Flying Tigers | 2 Home Games for Lakeland this Block vs New Jersey and Watsau. |
| New Jersey Grizzlies @ Lakeland Flying Tigers | Nice game by Lakeland’s goalie Jones for a 3-2 win vs NJ. Jones made some key saves late with NJ applying the pressure for the game tying goal. |
| Wausau Lumberjacks @ Lakeland Flying Tigers | Lakeland plays well, but can’t find much of the net behind McEliheny as Wausau wins 3-2. |
| Weekly Summary: | 1-1 split at home. Pretty much the story for the season for the Tigers. |
| Weekly Preview: | The Lumberjacks only play one game at home. They will face the Toledo Walleyes. |
| Toledo Walleye @ Wausau Lumberjacks | Toledo 3 Wausau 2 OT. 1st Star Dubnyk 46 saves 2nd Star Backstrom 1g 2 pts. 3rd Star Van Riemsdyk 1g 2 pts. |
| Weekly Summary: | Lumberjacks were 0-1 this week. |
| Minneapolis Deep Freeze | Minneapolis has lost their seat atop the Central division and desperately wants to regain it with 3 home games this week, including a head-to-head matchup with division leading Toledo. |
| Corktown Suds @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze | Corktown Suds (1) @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze (3)
The Deep Freeze get off to a good start when Greiss gives up a rebound on a hard shot from Pavelski and Hossa (20) blasts the rebound into the back of the net on just the second shot of the game for Minneapolis. The goalies own the show for the rest of the period and we go to the first intermission with Minneapolis leading 1-0. Minneapolis starts the second period just as strong as the first, as Hossa (21) beats Greiss with a high shot from the point to make it 2-0 on the first shot of the second period. Corktown gets on the board with 3 minutes left in the second period courtesy of a well-timed deflection from Simmonds (12) on a shot from Ceci. Minneapolis controls much of the period but Corktown heats up at the end just in time to make it 2-1 heading into the third period. Minneapolis gets in trouble early in the third when Marchessault goes to the box for 4 minutes for high sticking. Corktown mounts 9 shots against Bobrovsky during the powerplay but is unable to get one past the elite goaltender. The Deep Freeze get momentum heading back in their direction a couple minutes later when Marchessault (18) rips a shot past Greiss to make it 3-1. Minneapolis keeps the pressure on, never giving Corktown a chance to recover, and the Deep Freeze hold on to win 3-1. Scoring Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 CRK MIN Star 1: MIN Hossa 2 G GWG: Marian Hossa Notables: CRK Johns 5 blocks, Greiss 34 saves |
| Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze | Chicago Cosa Nostra (5) @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze (4) – OT
Chicago opens the scoring early when Galchenyuk (16) deflects Nylander’s shot past a sprawling Crawford to go up 1-0 on the first shot of the game. Minneapolis evens the score 5 minutes later on Gagner’s (8) one-timer from Markov. This is shaping up to be a high-scoring game as Kreider (20) gives Chicago the 2-1 lead less than 10 minutes into the period. The scoring slows down for the rest of the period as the two teams get chippy. Minneapolis takes 3 penalties while Chicago gets away with a few, and we end the period with the Cosa Nostra leading 2-1. Chicago finally gets called for a penalty a few minutes into the second period and Minneapolis makes them pay. Pavelski (18) ties the game at 2 when he deflects Hossa’s shot past Saros. The physical play continues as at one point both teams had two players in the box at the same time. Chicago gets the better of that situation when Toews (15) deflects a shot from Parayko to make it 3-2 in favor of the Cosa Nostra. Chicago gets another break when DeKeyser (2) beats Crawford with a shot that really should have been an easy save to take a 4-2 lead with 2 minutes left in the second period. The game of deflections continues… this time with Pavelski (19) deflecting Chara’s shot past Saros to bring Minneapolis back within 1. Minneapolis ties it up a little over halfway through the final period when Marchessault (19) splits the defense on the powerplay and fires it through the legs of Saros. We’re tied at 4 with 8:34 left to play. No scores for the rest of the period and we’re headed for overtime! Minneapolis gets the first 4 shots of the extra period, but Chicago gets the one that counts. Pastrnak (15) gets a feed from Toews and beats Crawford to give the Cosa Nostra the 5-4 win. The Deep Freeze get 1 point in this one but won’t be going home satisfied. Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 SOG 4 CHI MIN Star 1: MIN Pavelski 2 G GWG: David Pastrnak Notables: CHI Hutton 5 blocks, Saros 32 saves, Parayko 5 blocks |
| Toledo Walleye @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze | Toledo Walleye (2) @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze (3)
Minneapolis hosts the team that stole their spot at the top of the Central Division in a critical game for both teams. Minneapolis jumps out to the early lead when Spezza (11) puts a one-timer from Aho into the top shelf just over the shoulder of Dubnyk. Toledo ties the game with a powerplay goal from Martin (3) after Bobrovsky shoots the puck over the glass. The teams complete a very even first period still tied at one goal apiece, with Toledo holding a 13-11 edge in shots. Minneapolis has found their offense and leads 7-1 in shots midway through the second period when Toledo gives them the gift of a powerplay while Ekholm serves two minutes for cross checking. After a mostly uneventful powerplay with only one shot on goal for the Deep Freeze, Tkachuk feeds Hossa (22) a one-timer out front that he buries to take a 2-1 lead. An acrobatic save by Bobrovsky on a breakaway from Rieder leads to a 2-on-1 rush for Aho and Spzza going the other way, and Spezza (12) blasts a slapshot past Dubnyk to put Minneapolis up 2. Shortly thereafter, Gagner and Brouwer take matching penalties for roughing, and Minneapolis follows it up with a cross checking penalty to Chara putting their best defenseman in the box. The Deep Freeze kill off all but 34 seconds of the penalty kill, which will resume when we start the third period. The second period belonged to Minneapolis, with 2 goals on 12 shots, now holding a 3-1 lead endering the final period. After eight minutes of relatively uneventful play to start the third, Minneapolis decides to give Toledo a golden opportunity. Pavelski takes a penalty for roughing and Aho takes two minutes for tripping only 26 seconds later, giving Toledo an extended 5-on-3 chance. Somehow despite having 2 extra players on the ice, Toledo lets Fisher get loose for a breakaway coming the other way, but lucky for them Dubnyk is there to make the save. The Walleye bring us closer to even-strength when Krejci takes a penalty of his own as Pavelski’s is winding down. All of the penalties expire without either team taking advantage. Sutter (7) brings the Walleye back within 1 when he redirects Brouwer’s shot past Bobrovsky. Minneapolis leads 3-2 with 6:44 to go. With 5:45 left to play, Foligno puts the Walleye in a bad position with a boneheaded penalty for charging earning him 5 minutes and a game misconduct. Toledo will spend most of the remainder of the game shorthanded (unless Minneapolis does something stupid). Minneapolis peppers Dubnyk with 10 shots during the powerplay but is unable to extend their lead. They keep the puck in Toledo’s end until the Walleye are finally able to break out and pull the goalie with about 15 seconds to go, but they’re unable to get a shot on goal before time expires. Minneapolis holds on to win a key divisional game 3-2 over Toledo. Scoring Summary Penalty Summary SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 TOL MIN Star 1: MIN Spezza 2 G GWG: Jason Spezza Notables: TOL Dubnyk 38 saves, Foligno 15 PIM |
| Weekly Summary: | Minneapolis goes 2-0-1 in 3 home games this week, including a key win over division leading Toledo. Minneapolis is back on top of the division, for now. |
| Columbus Brew Jackets | 2 home games – Brentwood and Bathgate (short report). Brew crew has some tired guys getting some rest. |
| Brentwood Bandits @ Columbus Brew Jackets | Brentwood leads the division and shows why in this game taking a 3-2 lead after 2, they pour in 2 more in the 3rd for convincing 5-2 victory. Goals from Marleau (19 and 20), Phaneuf (5), Miller (1) and Krug (4) Columbus goals – Vesey (6), Carlo (4) Stars: Marleau 2 goals; Krug 1 goal, 2 assists; Phaneuf 1 goal |
| Bathgate Rangers @ Columbus Brew Jackets | Rivalry game taken by the son. Columbus gets goal late in 1st, Strome (7), the midway through 2nd, Fast (1) and Budaj only slips up once to Karlsson (17) with a minute to go. But the last 1:45 of the game, he was facing the extra attacker – but still held up. 38 saves in the game! STARS: Budaj 38 saves; Fast 1 goal (GWG); Stome – goal |
| Weekly Summary: | Split at home – losing ground to Brentwood. Looking for strong finish. |