2018-2019 PLAYER & GOALIE OF THE WEEK #12
| EASTERN SKATER | TEAM | GP | GOALS | ASISSTS | POINTS | PM | +/- | SOG | S% |
| Marchessault, Jon | CHA | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 24% |
| EASTERN GOALIE | TEAM | GP | GOALS AGAINST | G.A. AVERAGE | SAVES | SAVE % | |||
| Gibson, John | JAG | 2 | 2 | 1 | 60 | .968 | |||
| WESTERN SKATER | TEAM | GP | GOALS | ASSISTS | POINTS | PM | +/- | SOG | S% |
| Toews, Jonathan | CHI | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | -1 | 11 | 0% |
| WESTERN GOALIE | TEAM | GP | GOALS AGAINST | G.A. AVERAGE | SAVES | SAVE % | |||
| Rask, Tuukka | GIL | 2 | 4 | 2 | 75 | .949 | |||
| California Regulators | |
| Guentzel Gunners @ California Regulators | Guentzel wins 2-1 |
| Long Beach Ice Dogs @ California Regulators | California wins 5-0 |
| Weekly Summary: | California splits the homestand. |
| Yellowknife Braves | |
| Weekly Preview: | The Braves start the second half of the season trying to hang on to first.They face Alamo and division rival Guentzel |
| Alamo Defenders @ Yellowknife Braves | Alamo scores with 30 seconds left in the game to steal one 3-2. Stars #1 ALA Seguin 1G 3pts #2 ALA Wheeler 1G 2pts #3 ALA Marchand 1G |
| Guentzel Gunners @ Yellowknife Braves | Guentzel scores with 1:18 left to steal one 4-3. Stars #1 GUE Smith 40 saves #2 GUE Dumba 1G #3 Gue Frolik 1G |
| Weekly Summary: | The second half of the season couldn’t start out any worse for Yellowknife as they drop both home games. |
| LA Great Danes | |
| Weekly Preview: | Short week for the Great Danes, with one home and one road contest. |
| Bucks County Raccoons @ LA Great Danes | The Danes play a solid game from start to finish and come away with a 3-2 win, with the Raccoons getting a garbage goal with 15 seconds left in the game to make it close. LA converts 2 of 4 PP chances, outshoots BCR 45-25, and outchances them 18-6. Joe Thornton gets the game’s #1 star with the Gordie Howe hat trick – a goal, an assist, and a decisive win in a fight with Jake Virtanen. Jumbo Joe topped it off by winning 10 of 15 face-offs as he comes back energized from the winter break. |
| Weekly Summary: | The Danes got younger with the recent trade of veterans Eller and Byron, but it was old man Thornton leading the way for the Danes in their home win this week. Most of the Dane pups watch and learn from the press box, waiting for their opportunity to get in the lineup. |
| Bathgate Rangers | |
| Weekly Preview: | Rangers host 2 games after the break and do so with major revisions to their rosters. 3 of their best players are gone – Rinne, Staal, and Hornqvist – as the franchise continues to reshape the team – get young and trim budget. Rangers don’t expect post season play this year, but are working to make it happen sooner than later. |
| Thunder Bay NorWesters @ Bathgate Rangers | NorWesters blow into town and Zibanejad quickly makes his presence on his new home ice felt as he opens the scoring 18 seconds into the game! Wood and McCann add goals in the 1st as the Rangers take a 3-0 lead. Then Donskoi scores within the 1st 5 minutes of period 2 and it’s 4-0 Rangers. Then, whoa, the NorWesters storm through a major shift in the outcome they score 2 in the 2nd and then 2 in the opening half of the 3rd period – ALL FOUR WERE PP GOALS!. All were on 2 minute minors, and never more than 1 man advantage. Thunder Bay was 4 of 6 on the power play. So, we are down to the final 9 minutes all tied up 4-4. Then Anderson scores for Bathgate to break the tie 11:30 into the 3rd and 3 minutes later Killorn scores to put it away. Rangers pull it out 6-4. STARS: 1. BGR – P.K. Subban 3 assists 2. TBN – Smith 1 goal, 1 assist 3. BGR – Killorn 1 goal |
| Jagr Mullets @ Bathgate Rangers | Top (Jagr) to bottom (Bathgate) in the Metropolitan, both teams making roster moves, Jagr ALL IN. And what happens? Rangers get 21 minutes in penalties and give the Mullets 6 PP opportunites (2nd game in a row they give 6 PP chances). But this time, the stop 5 of those attempts. Much better. And Wood scorres a PP goal for Bathgate 7 minutes in (only PP opp for the Rangers). And the 1st period ends with the Rangers up 1-0! Then the 2nd period starts and in just under 2 minutes Granlund scores to tie it up. Then Radalov scores the lone PP goal for Jagr ia minute later for a 2-1 Mullett lead. Then with 2 to go in the 2nd, Granlund knocks home his 2nd goal of the game for a 3-1 Jagr lead. Score stays the way for 20 more minutes until Ferland scores for Bathgate. Now 2-1, no goalie, but no more goals. Jagr wins 3-2, but it was a spirited effort against a far better team. STARS (all JAGR): 1. Granlund 2 goals 2. Rielly 3 assists 3. Radulov 1 goal |
| Weekly Summary: | Well 1-1 in the home stand. Not what was expected, better than expected. Yet, we still feel (in spite of team makeup), we could win more – want to win more, but know that growing pains cam come up empty on the scoreboard and still be a team working out the fundamentals. |
| Columbus Brew Jackets | |
| Weekly Preview: | Brew Jackets have a new goalie – Pekka Rinne – and hope to see his wizardry in net keep them in the hunt. Jagr looks like THE team to beat and Columbus needs to fight off Brentwood if they want any chance to get back to post-season play. Thunder Bay and Lafayette come into town …. |
| Thunder Bay NorWesters @ Columbus Brew Jackets | Miller wastes no time give Rinne a lead when he scores 26 seconds into the game. Kucherov adds a 1st period PP goal to make it 2-0. But the NorWesters cut it to 2-1 when Connor nets a PP goal with 1:12 left in the period. Near the end of the 2nd Betuzzi lights up the scoreboard when he scores to make it 2-2. Brew Jackets jump back into the lead with Couture scores a minute into the 3rd. Then Benn scores near the mid-point of the period for 4-2 lead. Pulling all stops, Saad scores for Thunder Bay with 40 seconds to go. Now down 4-3, NorWesters goalie stays on the bench, but Rinne and company hold them off for the 4-3 down to the wire win. Columbus nabbed all 3 stars as Kucherov gets #1 with a goal and 2 assists. 2. Benn scores a goal and 2 assists for star #2. And Couture, 1 goal, 1 assist gets Star #3. |
| Lafayette Homesteaders @ Columbus Brew Jackets | Homesteaders come to town and seek squatters rights and quickly gain a 2-0 lead by the 7 minute mark. And they hold it through the end of the 1st. But then over the span running through the 2nd period and 2 minutes into the 3rd, the Jackets reverse things scoring 5 unanswered points. Kucherov (2 goals), Hayes 1, Kempe 1, and Couture (1) and it’s 5-2 just into the 3rd period. . Brew Jackets serving good beer – but indulge a bit themselves, and Thunder Bay thunders back for 2 to make it close. The 1st comes 2 minutes into the 3rd, the 2nd comes with a minute and 1/2 to go to make it close (5-4) and interesting. Rinne and Jackets hold to lock down the 5-4 win. STARS (all CBJ) 1. Kucherov 2 goals 2. Hayes 1 goal, 1 assists 3. Kempe 1 goal |
| Weekly Summary: | Jackets win 2, but use offensive surge to prevail. Still working for better D. But the guys won’t lose grounds with just Ws. |
| Guentzel Gunners | |
| Weekly Preview: | The Gunners have one home game this week. It is against division rivals Chicago. The gunners are looking for their trade to help push them through and keep in the playoff picture. |
| Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Guentzel Gunners | Kraider (5) starts chicago off early. Guenzel has something to say about that with Chara (7) scoring. Chara was part of the trade for guenzel and seems to be a good move. Chicago takes a five to one lead and Guenzel fights back but stops at four.
Stars Gue Gourde 2G 3Pts Chi Baily 1G 2Pts Chi DeBrincat 1G |
| Weekly Summary: | Guenzel having a sad loss goes 0-1. |
| Brentwood Bandits | |
| Weekly Preview: | Let’s see if the trades were a good or bad idea… |
| Clearfield Bison @ Brentwood Bandits | Clearfield comes in and plays a great game… In the 3rd Clearfield with a 4-2 lead… Tavares makes it 4-3. Neal take the 2 goal lead back 5-3 Bison lead. 2 goals in 1:10 ties the game (Niederreiter and Vlasic), before Hornqvist scores his 2nd of the game in his Bandit debut, to send the crowd home happy with a 6-5 Brentwood win. |
| Columbus Brew Jackets @ Brentwood Bandits | Divison rival Columbus comes into town, trailing the Bandits in the playoff hunt, but not by much. 16 seconds in Tavares scores his 30th of the season. 1-0 Bandits.
17:08 Hayes (21) on the PP ties it 1-1. With 20 seconds left in the period Backes scores his 7th. We call these ball buster goals. Can the Bandits carry that momentum? Can the Brew Jackets stave off the bad juju of the ball buster? All Bandits as they score 5 unanswered goals the rest of the way as Vasilevskiy saves 45 of 46 Columbus shots. Final score 7-1 Bandits win. |
| Weekly Summary: | The #1 line got a new LW in Hornqvist and he answered the call with 6 points (3G, 3A) in the two home games as the Bandits continue their surprise run.
Still a lot of hockey left… can’t get comfortable in a tough race for the playoff spots. Jagr and the division title may be a long shot, but anything can happen in hockey! 🙂 |
| Lafayette Homesteaders | |
| Weekly Preview: | The Homesteaders take on the Rangers ughhh the Rangers! |
| Bathgate Rangers @ Lafayette Homesteaders | A 1-1 1st period game exploded in the 2nd
Eichel 11th LAF Tied 5-5 late in the 3rd before Perlini on a breakaway puts in his 11th for a 6-5 Homesteaders win |
| Weekly Summary: | 1-0 week for Lafayette |
| Alamo Defenders | |
| Weekly Preview: | Alamo hosts LA in a Pacific Division battle. |
| LA Great Danes @ Alamo Defenders | The first period is all Alamo, as the Defenders net 4 goals. In the second, LA scores the next 3 goals to make it interesting. With 3 seconds to go in the 2nd, Yandle scores his 7th goal on a power play and Alamo goes up, 5-3. Then, in the 3rd, Marchand and Boychuk score consecutive goals. Bonino scores late for LA. But, Alamo wins.
Alamo 7 LA 4 1st – Caggiula 2 goals |
| Weekly Summary: | Alamo 7 LA 4 |
| Thunder Bay Nor’Westers | |
| Weekly Preview: | Two home games this week both within the Atlantic division. We are hosting Charlotte and New Jersey. Our season is just about wiped out. We are still in last place in the Atlantic division and apparently just not sound enough to mount a late season rally. |
| Charlotte Buzzards @ Thunder Bay Nor’Westers | Thunder Bay came out flying and scored 3 goals inside the first 12 minutes. Barkov (12th), Connor (19th) and Couturier (12th) – leadership from our best scorers. Then the wheels fell off Muzzin goes off for tripping and Smith (11) scored, then Dougie Hamilton brought it back to a 1 goal game at 17:33. In the 2nd period Ekman-Larsson tied the game at 3-3 at 2:51.
Then this became a tight defensive (play-off style game). Both goalies made strong saves and the rest of the game was scoreless as was the 5 minute overtime. In the shoot out Vice Trocheck beat Howard to give Charlotte the advantage. After misses by Couturier, Lee and Saad, Tarasenko beat Howard for the Overtime win for Charlotte 4-3, |
| New Jersey Grizzlies @ Thunder Bay Nor’Westers | After a tough loss to Charlotte, the Nor’Westers opened the scoring with Saad scoring early (2:15 of the 1st period) netting his 12th of the year. It was not until 5:32 of the 2nd period that the Grizzlies Scott Hartnell tied the game with his 8th of the year. The turning point came when Jersey’s Byfuglien tripped Jaccob Slavin and Thunder Bay scored on the power play. Kyle Connor’s 20th of the season. Couturier add an insurance goal for the Thunder Bay 3-1 win. |
| Weekly Summary: | Head coach Mike Fischer said in the post game presser – “We are making steady progress and playing smarter. We have a very young team and this is a very strong division. We need to continue to improve but rebuilding with youth is a slow process.” When asked if he feels his job is on the line Fisher answered – “No MWHL hockey coach should feel safe, but the owner understands the plan and sees the incremental progress. I am happy where were are headed.” |
| Chicago Cosa Nostra | |
| Weekly Preview: | Chicago with 2 Home Games for the week. |
| Gilbert Sharks @ Chicago Cosa Nostra | Gilbert gets out to a 3-0 lead & walks away with the win.
Final Score: 3-Star Selection: |
| Bucks County Raccoons @ Chicago Cosa Nostra | A back & forth 2-Goal game ends that way as the Racoons beat Chicago on their home ice.
Final Score: 3-Star Selection: |
| Weekly Summary: | Chicago loses 2 games on home ice & continue to plummet & very quickly are becoming the laughing stock of the Mid-West Hockey League. |
| Cincinnati Inferno | |
| Weekly Preview: | The Cincinnati Inferno come back from the break with just two games this week, but they are the two division leaders. Jagr visits The Incinerator for a showdown between two potential playoff teams. |
| Jagr Mullets @ Cincinnati Inferno | Jagr and Cincinnati were trade partners in the preseason, are seperated by six points and are at leaders in offense (Jagr – 4.00 GPG) and defense (Cincinnati – 2.45 GAA). The game lived up to the hype.
Jagr scored the game’s ONLY goal just 2:22 in. Alex Galchenyuk scored his 16th of the year from Jordan Staal–beating goaltender Corey Crawford high to the glove side. The shots favored the Infrno in the first, 15-10. In the second, Alex Ovechkin appeared to scored at 6:58, but video review showed the net had been knocked off its moorings. Once again Cincinnati held the shots advantage in the middle frame by an 11-10 edge. The third period was free-wheeling with plenty of scoring chances–but neither team could budge the scoreboard. The Inferno had the shots lead again at 11-8. John Gibson picked up the win, stopping 37 shots and earning the first star honors. Corey Crawford was the hard luck loser, turning away 27 shots. The Inferno were unsuccessful in the game’s lone power play opportunity and a total of just ten penalty minutes were called. FINAL – Jagr 1, Cincinnati 0 |
| Weekly Summary: | The Inferno wound up losing its lone home game of the week. The new players Melker Karlsson and Tomas Nosek showed they were fitting in but will need to find their offensive touch in the weeks ahead. |
| Toledo Walleye | |
| Weekly Preview: | Only 2 games this week, one at home against division leader Yellowknife ( ). |
| Yellowknife Braves @ Toledo Walleye | Braves 3, Walleye 1 – Former MSU Spartan Ryan Miller is nearly perfect, allowing only 1 of 34 shots in for a goal. Braves get the first goal (Kuznetsov) and only goal in the first period.
Toledo evens it up with Krejci scoring early in the 2nd, only to have Yellowknife respond on the powerplay with Rantanen lighting the lamp. The 3rd sees continued success for Miller, while Panik adds an insurance goal to make the final 3-1 Yellowknife. 1st star – Rantanen 1g1a |
| Weekly Summary: | Light week at home, after the break, and the team shows signs of lethargy, scoring only one goal, which is not enough in this league.
Miller is player of the week with his 33 save performance for the visitors. |
| HOME TEAM FOR GAME FILE ATTACHED | |
| Columbus Brew Jackets @ New Jersey Grizzlies | NJ WINS 3-1 |
| Cincinnati Inferno @ New Jersey Grizzlies | NJ WINS 3-1 |
| Charlotte Buzzards | |
| Weekly Preview: | As it hovers around .500 entering the new year, the upstart Charlotte Buzzards temper their expectations, especially after the team seeks and fails to execute a mid-season trade….with its playoff prospects clearly slipping away as it finds itself mired in fourth place in the Atlantic, the Buzzards shift its sights on compiling winning record during its inaugural season. |
| Bathgate Rangers @ Charlotte Buzzards | Charlotte was stunned 5-4 as late goals by Bathgates’ Micheal Ferland and defenseman Ivan Provorov, within the final three minutes of play erased a 4-3 Rangers deficit. The Charlotte loss spoiled the performance of Jon Marchessault who had a hand in all four of the Buzzards goals, scoring twice and assisting twice. Marchessault’s two goals in the second period had lifted Charlotte to a 3-1 lead before the Buzzards endured yet another collapse among many this season. |
| Brentwood Bandits @ Charlotte Buzzards | The Buzzards rebounded with a win over the formidable Bandits, 2-1. Anders Lee’s 21st goal of the season, scored with just one second left in the first period proved to be the game winner. Marchessault’s goal 6:30 into the game broke the scoreless tie. Brentwood made it close, narrowing the lead with 11:08 remaining in the contest on a power play goal from Nino Niederreiter but that closed the scoring. Anti Raanta turned in perhaps his best game of the season with 36 saves, as the Bandits converted once in three power play opportunities. |
| Clearfield Bison @ Charlotte Buzzards | Charlotte’s hopes to gain any ground in the Atlantic took a decisive blow with a 4-3 shootout loss to division contending Clearfield. Third period goals by Lee and Alex Tuch rallied the Buzzards who had trailed 3-1. The difference in this one, however, was shootout efforts by Bisons Rickard Rakelle and Kyle Palmieri both beating Raanta — while Connor Hellebuyck stonewalled Vincent Trocheck, then Lee. |
| Weekly Summary: | In three home games to start the new year, Charlotte can only muster three of six points — a quite fitting microcosm to its season. |
| Gilbert Sharks | |
| Weekly Preview: | Gilbert has two home games against Toledo and Alamo |
| Toledo Walleye @ Gilbert Sharks | This was an overall strange game. Trevor Daley opened the scoring for the visiting Walleye in the 1st period. Gilbert came back with two goals from derek Stepan and Adam Henrique to lead 2-1 going into the 3rd. Daley scored again to tie the game with just under 8 minutes left but Stepan came back with another goal with less than 3 minutes on the clock to put Gilbert back on top. It was desperation time for Toledo as they pull the Goalie and James Van Riemsdyk comes through huge slipping one by with just 7.2 seconds left. It would be overtime but the teams would have to wait a couple days to play it!! After all the waiting Van Riemsdyk comes back just 1 minute into overtime and rips one past Cam Ward for the Game Winner!Each team gets a well deserved point. |
| Alamo Defenders @ Gilbert Sharks | A little less drama in this one as all the scoring took place before the 3rd period. Gilbert jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Nathan Mackinnon and Clayton Keller. Alamo tied it up with goals from Blake Wheeler and Joakim Nordstrom. Artemi Panarin gets the Unassisted gamewinner late in the 2nd for a 3-2 Gilbert win. |
| Weekly Summary: | Gilbert gets 3 points at home in this block but feels like they let the Toledo game slip away. |