2021-2022 PLAYER & GOALIE OF THE WEEK #9

EASTERN SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASISSTS POINTS PM  +/-  SOG S%
Auston Matthews JAG 4 4 2 6 2 0 24 17%
                   
EASTERN GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Alex Nedelijkovic PIT 2 3 1.46 74 .961
                   
WESTERN SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASSISTS POINTS PM  +/-  SOG S%
Victor Hedman GIL 4 4 2 6 4 0 10 40%
                   
WESTERN GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Linus Ullmark CAL 2 2 1 58 .967
                   

Chicago Cosa Nostra
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Two home games at the Capone Center cap off the end of the home season before the Holiday Break. Chicago has been dogging it all year. Though they would limp into the playoffs, they have no shot of going anywhere soon except to the golf course.
   
THUNDER BAY NORWESTERS

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CHICAGO COSA NOSTRA

Chicago held a lead for about 8 minutes of play in the 2nd period & the shots on goal were extremely close it was actually Thunder Bay’s game the whole way.

Final Score: Thunder Bay 4 – Chicago 3

Labatts 3-Star Selection:

Star 1: TBN – Ryan O’Reilly – 1G, 2Pts
Star 2: TBN – Gabriel Landeskog – 1G, 2Pts
Star 3: TBN – Miles Wood – 1G

Game Winner: – Ryan O’Reilly

Notables:
TBN – Ryan O’Reilly 15 Faceoff Wins
CHI – None

   
BATHGATE RANGERS

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CHICAGO COSA NOSTRA

Chicago was behind the 8-ball before the drop of the puck. They had their heads down & rumors abound that changes are forthcoming. Chicago outshot the Rangers by 15 Shots, but as usual fell 1-goal short in the end.

Final Score: Bathgate 4 – Chicago 3

Labatts 3-Star Selection:

Star 1: BGR – Jakub Vrana – 1G, 2Pts
Star 2: BGR – Tomas Hertl – 1G
Star 3: BGR – Tomas Tatar – 1G

Game Winner: – Ryan O’Reilly

Notables:
TBN – Jaroslav Halak 36 Saves
CHI – None

   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Chicago picks up Zero Points at home & actually looks worse than they have all season.
Brentwood Bandits
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Two home games against Gilbert and LA. Let’s see if we can continue our hot streak!

*Write-ups will be short this week, sorry.

   
GILBERT SHARKS

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BRENTWOOD BANDITS

The Sharks swim into town…

Brentwood outshoots Gilbert 18-9 in the first, but it ends tied 2-2. The Bandits would put up 2 in the 2nd for a 4-2 lead. Then each team would put up 2 in the 3rd which ends at a 6-4 Bandits win.

The 2nd line had it tonight, with Horvat scoring 2 goals, 1 assist and Kessel with 1 goal, 2 assists.

Brossoit gets the not pretty win.

   
 LA GREAT DANES

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BRENTWOOD BANDITS

The Great Danes take a bite out of Brentwood as they score a goal in each period while Varlamov stops all 25 shots thrown his way.

Brossoit may need a rest of his own as he gave up 2 goals on 16 shots.

LA would get an empty netter to seal the shutout 3-0.

   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Two home games, one win. The loss is a shutout. Not a great week, but I’ve been waiting for the scale to swing the other way for balance.
Toledo Walleye
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Possible playoff preview as Metro contender Jagr (21-9-1) and Pacific contender California (19-8-4) come to the Glass City for a little hockey. Jamie Farr in attendance as part of the Tony Packo’s event this weekend.
   
JAGR MULLETS

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TOLEDO WALLEYE

Kuemper and Demko rule the 1st period just like Gandalf, upholding the “None shall pass here.” credo. Each team gets one crack on the PP, but no dice. Off to intermission and those Tony Packo’s , 25% off. Oh yeah, and a little Maumee Brewing Total Eclipse. Tied 0-0.

Jagr kills off another minor 5 minutes in, and then the dam bursts. Robertson with a goal at 8 minutes in. Then Jagr bounces back with 2, Tanev and Kaprizov. Not to be out done, the Walleye respond from Trocheck, and we have 4 goals in 7 minutes. As the boys line up for the center faceoff, grins all around. Its On !!!! Period ends 2-2.

Letang and Cernak have a difference of opinion early, 2 minutes in the time out chairs. Then the words we dread, Matthews from the blue line, and Jagr takes the lead 3-2 with 15 minutes to go. Toledo gets a slight upper hand the next 13 minutes, but are unable to get many good chances. Finally, after some wild back and forth, they make a push with one minute to go, pulling Demko. Amazingly Robertson finds an opening near the front of the net, and Benn finds him on the open side of the net, goal ties the game with 46 seconds to go. Both teams get one more shot in, but no dice. Free Hockey. Go get one more Total Eclipse for the final exciting minutes of play.

Both teams throw a lot of rubber in the general direction of the goals, but each only register 1 SOG in 2 minutes of OT action, and it the one by the Walleye that finds an opening, a breakaway by Forsling who get the unassisted game winner 2 minutes into OT.

FINAL – Walleye 4, Mulletts 3, OT

1st star – Robertson 2G 3pts
2nd – Trocheck 1G 2pts
3rd – Forsling 1G 2pts

   
CALIFORNIA REGULATORS

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TOLEDO WALLEYE

Toledo weathers an early SOG storm by California, and a breakaway by Benn turns the tide on the scoreboard when he tallies 3 minutes into the period. Near the midway point, a Lauzon minor sets Toledo up for a PP, and they take advantage as Robertson gets a goal to make it 2-0. Toledo survives a 5 minute cross check penalty on Forsling and thankfully surrenders no goals, and escapes the first with their 2 goal lead intact.

2nd period sees the Regs we expected show up on ice, as Kane blasts one in just past 4 minutes into the period. California out shoots Toledo 14-7 in the period, but gets no more goals, even with a 2 minute PP session midway. We go to intermission 2-1 Toledo.

Hope for the Toledo materializes when Stone gets tagged with a minor. But the Walleye shots can’t find netting, and California celebrates the PK with a goal of their own seconds later, Huberdeau his 18th, and its tied at 2. Toledo kills off a minor of their own and play continues until Fowler breaks the tie with just over 5 minutes left. 3-2 Cal. Walleye pull out the stops and crank up the intensity, but Grubauer does his own Gandalf impersonation, and makes the 1 goal lead stand.

California 3, Toledo 2

1st star – Huberdeau 1G
2nd – Kane 1G
3rd – Fowler 1G

   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Two 1 goal games against playoff probable teams. One win, one loss. Looks about right given the records of the teams involved. Now a road game at Pittsburgh, and the team gets a little time off until the new year.

Safe and Happy Holidays All

LA Great Danes
WEEKLY PREVIEW: 2 Home games this week. After the break it’s then 11 of 14 on the road.
   
CALIFORNIA REGULATORS

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LA GREAT DANES

First place in the Pacific on the line, the teams separated by a single point. A good start for LA turns bad – 3 quick scoring chances in the first 1:15, but Varlamov gives up goals on his first 2 shots – Suter and Huberdeau scores for CAL. But Tyson Jost gets a SHG, followed by a Roope Hintz PPG and it’s tied at 2-2 after the first.

No scoring in the second, so it’s still tied as we head to the 3rd. Brock Boeser’s PPG puts LA up 3-2 at 4:27. The Danes control play in the 3rd and have a 16-3 shot advantage in the period until the final minute. The Danes’ inability to extend the lead costs them as Mark Stone’s goal at 19:11 ties the game and sends it to OT.

In overtime, Huberdeau beats Varlamov, and California pulls out a 4-3 OT win. The Great Danes outshoot California 50-27 for the game and outchance them 32-16.

But Grubauer outplays Varlamov, the Danes don’t score at even strength, but at least California only gains one point instead of two in the standings.

   
PORTLAND STORM

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LA GREAT DANES

The Great Danes start strong in this one, getting goals from Giroux and Heiskanen in the first 7 minutes, and have a 15-3 shot advantage after one.

In the second, there is no scoring as LA once again can’t convert on their chances – back-to-back short-handed chances are stopped by Oettinger, and Mark Scheifele is stopped on a 3 on1, his 9th scoring chance of the first two periods. 2-0 LA after two.

And of course, the first shot of the 3rd beats Varlamov, Farabee on a long slapshot 19 seconds in. But Claude Giroux responds with his second of the game at 2:58 to restore the 2-goal lead.

Once again, LA looks to close out the game with a late lead. Connor Brown shoots from a bad angle – he scores with 1:05 left and it’s now a 3-2 game. 22 Seconds later, Portland ties it up on a goal by Matt Grzelcyk.

In the next final 43 seconds after Portland ties it, LA gets 3 more scoring chances (34 for the game), but they cannot convert and regulation plays end with a 3-3 tie.

Overtime heads to the final minute, and Mark Scheifele finally solves Jake Oettinger on his 10th chance of game and 9th SOG, and the Great Danes survive and sneak by Portland 4-3. Scheifele gets his team-leading 16th goal and his fourth OT winner of the season.

As with the California game, LA dominates the shots and chances but can’t convert on many of their chances and blow a late lead. In this one, SOG 49-26 and chances 34-11.

   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Boy what a frustrating 2 games, dominating play in both games, not converting their chances, not getting the key saves from Varlamov, and blowing late leads twice. The Danes get 3 of 4 points, but don’t feel good about it. They head to the break wondering what’s going on, how do they avoid games like these as it seems like this has been an ongoing issue for this team.
Alamo Defenders
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Alamo hosts Charlotte and Bathgate.
   
CHARLOTTE BUZZARDS

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ALAMO DEFENDERS

No scoring in the 1st period.

Draisaitl scores 2 goals in the 2nd period. In the 3rd period, Tolvanen scores and is assisted by Zegras.

Korpisalo does a great job as he earns a shutout.

Alamo 3 Charlotte 0

1-Korpisalo 24 saves
2-Draisaitl 2 goals
3-Tolvanen 1 goal

   
 BATHGATE RANGERS

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ALAMO DEFENDERS

This game was the opposite of game 1, as the Rangers dominate the Defenders on the scoring board. Zibanejad scores 2 goals for Bathgate to lead the way. Georgiev with the shutout.

Bathgate 5 Alamo 0

1-Georgiev
2-Zibanejad
3-Buchnevich

   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: 2 shutouts this week. Alamo scores one against Charlotte and Bathgate gets one against Alamo.
California Regulators
   
 PITTSBURGH MINERS

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CALIFORNIA REGULATORS

California Regulators shut down the Miners 1-0.
   
THUNDER BAY NORWESTERS

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CALIFORNIA REGULATORS

California beats Thunder Bay 5-2.
   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Two home games, two wins.
Yellowknife Braves
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Cellar Dwelling Yellowknife hosts Thunder Bay, Pitt and Jagr
   
THUNDER BAY NORWESTERS

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YELLOWKNIFE BRAVES

The Braves squeeze one out 3-2
Stars #1 YEL Aho 1G 3pts
#2 YEL Rantanen 1G 2pts
#3 YEL Duclair 3A
   
PITTSBURGH MINERS

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YELLOWKNIFE BRAVES

The Braves squeeze out another one 2-1
Stars #1 YEL Morrisey 1G 2pts
#2 YEL Duclair 1G
#3 YEL Fleury 24 saves
   
JAGR MULLETS

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YELLOWKNIFE BRAVES

The Braves get squeezed out 3-2
Stars #1 JAG Matthews 2G
#2 JAG Kuemper 45 saves
#3 JAG Giordano 1G
   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Yellowknife takes 2 of 3
Jagr Mullets
WEEKLY PREVIEW: One game – but a big one – at home this week.
   
BATHGATE RANGERS

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JAGR MULLETS

ROY Kaprizov scores his 18th of the year just 12 seconds into the game, and the Mullets tag on 2 more thanks to Lindholm (11) and Ovechkin (13) to go up 3-0.

The Rangers rack up 3 unanswered goals to tie it up and make things interesting… but then Tkachuk (6) and Matthews (19) take over in the 3rd to seal the 5-3 win.

1 2 3 F
2021-22 Bathgate 20-8-0-4 0 3 0 3
2021-22 Jagr 22-9-0-1 2 1 2 5

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 :12 EV JAG Kaprizov (18), assisted by Matthews (16) and Svechnikov (18)
1 13:09 EV JAG Lindholm (11), assisted by Tkachuk (7) and Ekholm (10)
2 1:15 EV JAG Ovechkin (13), assisted by Bergeron (14) and Miller (15)
2 1:55 EV BGR Oleksiak (2), assisted by Zibanejad (9) and Buchnevich (9)
2 10:28 EV BGR Carlo (2), unassisted
2 18:11 EV BGR Strome (2), assisted by Vrana (4) and Reimer (1)
3 16:40 EV JAG Tkachuk (6), assisted by Lindholm (6) and Ekholm (11)
3 19:17 EN JAG Matthews (19), assisted by Letang (24)

Star 1: JAG Lindholm 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 2: JAG Matthews 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 3: JAG Tkachuk 1 G, 2 Pts

GWG: Matthew Tkachuk

Notables: BGR None
JAG Matthews 24 faceoffs won

   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Huge win vs our division rival.
Gilbert Sharks
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Two Home Games this week versus Yellowknife and Cincinnati
   
YELLOWKNIFE BRAVES

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GILBERT SHARKS

Bjorkstrand opens the scoring for Yellowknife less than a minute into the game but Hedman ties it up late in the 1st period. Rantanen gives Yellowknife the lead again late in the 2nd period and that lead dolds until late in the 3rd. Gilbert with the goalie pulled gets the game tying goal from Backstrom with just over 1 minute left and Hedman ends the game in OT with his 2nd of the game.
   
CINCINNATI INFERNO

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GILBERT SHARKS

Kiviranta scores in the 1st to give Gilbert the 1-0 lead. Nichushkin ties it up for Cincinnati early in the 2nd but Kubalik puts Gilbert back in front. Point ties it up again for the Inferno and Karlsson scores the game winner in the 3rd for Cincy.
   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Gilbert needs to string together more wins to compete for the division.
Bucks County Raccoons
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Three game home stand prior to the break against Alamo, Portland and Gilbert
   
ALAMO DEFENDERS

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BUCKS COUNTY RACCOONS

After Alamo scored late in the 2nd and mid way through the third to take the lead, TJ Oshie tied it up with 1:04 left in regulation, and Connor McDavid scored in OT to give the Bucks County Raccoons a 4-3 victory over Alamo.
   
PORTLAND STORM

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BUCKS COUNTY RACCOONS

The first two periods produced zero goals, but each team scored in the 3rd to send the contest into OT tied at 1. Victor Olofsson scored for Portland at 3:15 of OT and secure the win for Portland. Bucks County dipped their hand in the candy dish for the thanks for coming point. In the tell your statistics to shut up, BCR had 30 scoring changes on 32 SOG, and scored all of 1 goal.
   
 GILBERT SHARKS

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BUCKS COUNTY RACCOONS

After figuring out that the best way to put the puck in the net was to shoot towards the opening, Bucks County enjoyed a back and forth game with Gilbert and came away with the 6-5 win. The top BCR line of Oshie, McDavid and Meier totaled 4 goals and 5 assists as the Racs held on when Gilbert scored with the goalie pulled to cut the deficit to 1, but were unable to get the equalizer.
   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: A 2-0-1 homestand sends the boys into Christmas in a good mood. The fact that during the homestand they had 81 scoring chances on 105 SOG is very disturbing.Finisher anyone?
Charlotte Buzzards
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Charlotte hosted a challenging slate of three home games from teams outside its division this week; in addition to entertaining a Chicago squad that is very much in the battle for a playoff spot, it also hosted LA and Brentwood, two teams both atop their respective divisions.
   
BRENTWOOD BANDITS

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CHARLOTTE BUZZARDS

Led by Jake Allen who stopped 31 of 32 shots, the Buzzards played one of their signature games of the season in stealing a win from the Bandits 4-1.

The game was tied as late as 1-1 into the second period before Ryan Johansen’s goal, assisted by defenseman Philippe Myers and Carter Verhaeghe at the 3:39 mark of the period, put the Buzzards ahead to stay.

Johansen’s game-winner was followed up by even-strength goals early in the second period and then early in the third period by Pavel Zazcha and Brad Marchand that extended the lead and closed the scoring.

The Bandits fired 22 shots in the latter two periods of this matchup and Allen stopped all of them. The lone Brentwood goal came when Joe Pavelski knotted the game at 1-1 16:42 into the first off an assist from Roman Josi and Anze Kopitar.

Along with Allen’s great showing, Tyler Myers and Scott Mayfield spearheaded Charlotte’s spectacular defensive effort by blocking seven and five shots respectively.

Three stars all Charlotte:
Star 1: Allen 31 saves
Star 2: Marchand 1 G
Star 3: Alex Killorn 1 G

   
CHICAGO COSA NOSTRA

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CHARLOTTE BUZZARDS

Charlotte suffered a 4-3 setback to the Cosa Nostra, with Chicago withstanding a furious third period three goal rally effort after jumping out to a 4-0 lead.

Early indications were this was not to be Charlotte’s evening: Just 8:30 in, Buzzards defender Dougie Hamilton hooked Marcus Foligno breaking in on net and Foligno was awarded — then subsequently converted — the penalty shot past Chris Driedger that gave Chicago the 1-0 lead, an advantage it would never relinquish.

From there, Ondrej Palat would ignite Chicago with two of the team’s next three goals, capped off by a tally at 18:06 of the second period that gave the Cosa Nostra what seemed to be a safe 4-0 lead.

Charlotte, however, scored all three of its goals in the first half of third and outshot Chicago 19-3 during a furious rush. But Juuse Saros — no stranger to lots of shots — kept the Buzzards off the scoreboard the second half of the period to secure a Cosa Nostra win.

Three stars: all Chicago
1. Palat 2 G
2. Foligno 1 G
3. Pierre-Luc Dubois: the fourth line left winger accounted for the other Chicago goal that put the team ahead 3-0

   
LA GREAT DANES

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CHARLOTTE BUZZARDS

For the second time in as many nights at home, the Buzzards suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat — this time surrendering three unanswered goals and coughing up a 3-1 lead to fall to the Pacific-leading Great Danes of LA.

Mark Scheifele provided the game winning goal 8:29 into the third on assists from Darnell Nurse and Roope Hintz. That capped off a three-goal rally with defenseman Samuel Girard and Nikolaj Ehlers scoring earlier goals to erase the Great Danes’ 3-1 deficit.

LA goalie Igor Shesterkin saved 25, including nine in the third period in shutting out Charlotte during the period as LA rallied.

Alex Killorn had scored back-to-back goals in the second period to snap a 1-1 tie and give Charlotte the short-lived 3-1 lead; he was first star in a losing effort.

Three stars
Star 1: CHA Killorn 2 G
Star 2: LGD Brock Boeser (scored the opening goal of the game just 48 seconds in)
Star 3: LGD Ehlers goal that tied the game at 3-3

   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Charlotte suffers a gut-wrenching week entering the Christmas break, losing three of four in regulation — two defeats by a 4-3 score at home and a 3-0 blanking at Alamo. This team needs some offensive spark in its stocking, with just 10 goals in these four games: more is clearly needed. Could a shiny new center that is desperately needed arrive under the tree?
Cincinnati Inferno
WEEKLY PREVIEW: The Cincinnati Inferno closed out the 2021 portion of their schedule with visits by Jagr and Chicago to The Incinerator.
   
JAGR MULLETS

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CINCINNATI INFERNO

CIN 6, JAGR 3

Tomas Nosek notched a pair of power play goals in the third period, to highlight a three-for-six man-advantage night for the Cincinnati Inferno in a 6-3 win against the Jagr Mullets. Max Pacioretty and Brett Pesce each had a goal and an assist for the Inferno.

Alex Ovechkin, Eric Staal and Chris Tanev all scored for Jagr, which got eight scoring chances out of Auston Matthews.

Max Talbot turned aside 29 shots for the win, while Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves in the loss.

   
 CHICAGO COSA NOSTRA

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CINCINNATI INFERNO

CIN 2, CHI 1 (OT)

Dustin Brown’s sixth goal of the season at 4:06 of overtime, gave Cincinnati the 2-1 win over Chicago.

Brayden Point’s 18th score of the season put the Inferno ahead in the first period, while Zach Werenski’s third goal in the second, levelled the scores. There was no scoring in the third, setting up Brown’s heroics.

Juuse Saros turned away 38 shots in the loss, while Connor Hellebuyck re-directed 25 shots in taking the victory.

   
WEEKLY SUMMARY: The Cincinnati fans head home for the holidays happy with the four points.