SKATER & GOALIE OF THE WEEK #19

Final Score: Ohio 8 – Chicago 3

Three Star Selection:
Star #1 – Brett Callighen – 2 Goals
Star #2 – Mark Kirton – 1 Goal, 3 Points
Star #3 – Garry Lariviere – 1 Goal, 3 Points

Eddie Mio – 34 Saves for Ohio
Game Winning Goal – Blair MacDonald

Final Score: Syracuse 7 – Chicago 6

Three Star Selection:
Star #1 – Stan Smyl – 2 Goals & 3 Points
Star #2 – Terry Martin – 2 Goals
Star #3 – Bill Derlago – 1 Goal, 2 Points

Mike Veisor – 33 Saves for Chicago
Terry Fraser 12 Penalty Minutes & Bill Derlago 16 Face Off wins for Syracuse
Game Winning Goal – Stan Smyl

Final Score: Mackinac Island 4 – Chicago 1

Three Star Selection:
Star #1 – Rene Robert – 1 Goal & 3 Points
Star #2 – Pat Boutette – 1 Goal, 2 Points
Star #3 – Don Lever – 1 Goal

Game Winning Goal – Rene Robert

The Cyclone got on the scoreboard first with Doug Risebrough (11) connecting on a feed in the slot from Dave Maloney, but Don Marcotte erased the leadway with a power play marker midway through the period and then scored again late in the period with his 2nd power play goal of the game and 16th of the season to give the Foresters a 2-1 lead heading to the dressing room after 20.

The 2nd period was no different from the first with lots of tight checking and good goaltending. The Cyclone’s right winger Rick Vaive tied things up 3 minutes in on a wraparound that fooled Don Beaupre. It was Vaive’s 20th of the season. Late in the period, Mike Foligno’s Jofa helmet must have been screwed on a little too tightly as he took a dumb tripping penalty that resulted in Dave Taylor notching his 40th on the ensuing power play to give Saskatoon the lead.

Saskatoon got into trouble around the 5-minute mark of the 3rd period when Merlin Malinowski took a very non-magical boarding penalty while the two teams were playing 4-on-4. Some guys thrive with open ice and Gretzky is probably about the best there ever with that even if he has the upper body strength of a sea sponge and after winning a faceoff just outside the Foresters’ blueline he skated across the line and blasted a puck past Beaurpre glove side to give Saskatoon a 4-2 lead. the short-handed goal was his 52nd of the year.

Some guy named Butler then got it into his head he was the next Paul Coffey and pretty much skated end-to-end and finished his rush with a slapshot that went off the glove of Saskatoon goalie Reggie Lemelin and into to net to narrow it to 4-3. It was Butler’s 2nd of the year! Good job, dude! Marcotte got a rare assist on the play giving him four on the season compared to 16 goals. Can you spell P-U-C-K-H-O-G?

Joel Quenneville celebrated the nearing end of his last useful season as a player by wristing a shot past Beaupre at 15:53 to get back the two-goal lead, but that lasted all of two minutes as Kent Nilsson couldn’t be held back any longer. Mark Howe intercepted a clearing pass at the Cyclone blueline, passed the puck to winger Foligno who slid it into the slot where Nilsson made no mistake snapping it through Lemelin’s pads to make it 5-4.

The Foresters peppered Lemelin with six shots in the dying 75 seconds of the game, but the puck somehow stayed out despite the Cyclone being skated around like they were just frigging pylons on the ice.

Final shots in the game were 38-32 for Vermont with Saskatoon getting the faceoff edge 33-23. Not a lot of 5-4 games have the phrase “good goaltending” used in the same breath, but Beaupre and Lemelin were awesome throughout the game even though not credited with that “great save” stat every time a great save was made.

Game Stars:
1. VER, Don Marcotte 2 goals, 1 assist
2. SAS, Wayhe Gretzky 1 goal, 1 assist
3. SAS, Joel Quenneville 1 goal, 1 assist

FIRST PERIOD
A chippy game from the outset saw a flurry of goals from start to finish in the first period that ended with Charlestown goaltender Michel Plasse getting pulled with severe sunburn to the back of his neck from the goal light’s constant glow. A weird game and a weird turnaround for Plasse who up until now had been one of those goalies that constantly had tormented and thwarted Saskatoon shooters all season.

Saskatoon nudged opened the floodgates at 3:13 when Rick Vaive (21) connected on a pass from Wayne Gretzky. Fast forward about 5 minutes and Dave Taylor eludes Paul Coffey and wrists his 41st high past Plasse with Gretzky and Jacques Richard getting helpers. At 9:55, Bob Gainey and the checking dudes sneak one past Plasse for the former Canadiens’ left winger getting his 21st of the year to make it 3-0. The Chiefs no sooner had killed a penalty to Mario Tremblay than Gretzky pounced on a loose puck in the Charlestown end and with Taylor as his assistant bamboozled the Chiefs’ defenders then passed the puck to wide open Jacques Richard who rifled it past Plasse to make it 4-0. It was Richard’s 37th of the season and Gretzky’s 3rd assist of the period. Saskatoon’s 20th shot of the period was a cheap one with Richard (38) getting his 2nd goal of the period on a tip in of Joel Quenneville’s slapshot. Pat Riggin replaced Plasse after that. Final shots for the period favored Saskatoon 20-8.

SECOND PERIOD

It took all of 75 seconds for the Cyclone to figure out Mr. Riggin with Taylor (42) scoring his second goal of the game on another rush towards the net. Gretzky got helper #4 on the day on that goal.

Kent-Erik Andersson (19) made it 7-0 at 5:13 of the period off a faceoff deep in the Chiefs’ end as the Cyclone continued to pour it on without mercy (actually no lead was considered safe with Glen Hanlon in nets for Saskatoon). That freaking Quenneville guy must have been possessed by the spirit of bobby Orr or something as he made it 8-0 at 6:26 with a low slapshot from the point.

Finally the Hanlon bubble burst though and at 7:40 the Chiefs figured out that as long as they put the puck in the general vicinity of the ‘toon nets they had a decent shot of scoring. Alan Haworth was the first Chief to have the eureka moment, whipping the puck from near the Saskatoon blueline past Hanlon to make it 8-1. It was Haworth’s 5th on the year with Mike McEwen (one of the most under-rated defencemen of the 80s I always thought) drawing the assist. “Hell yeah” agreed blueliner Denis Potvin (anyone notice the clown that manages this team wound up with Potvin, Ray Bourque and Paul Coffey on his team?) and he took a pass from Coffey and blasted it past Hanlon for his 18th of the year to make it 8-2 not yet at the midway point of the 2nd period. It was unnervingly quiet (well, if you ignore the constant bashing during play and after whistles were blown) for about 10 minutes and then Gretzky won a faceoff deep in the Chiefs’ end and on a give-and-go with Dino Ciccarelli converted with his 53rd of the year on a wrist shot into the top corner making it 9-2.

THIRD PERIOD
Steve Tambellini (11) knocked Gretzky off the puck (kind of like knocking a puppy off a Milk Bone) and combined with Guy Charron and McEwen to make it 9-3 with my favorite stupid narrative of this game … “he should have had it but he never saw it”. Is that kind of like he would have won the lottery but didn’t buy a ticket?

Anyway, the Chiefs kept pouring it on and the goals kept a-comin’. Paul Gardner won a faceoff deep in the Saskatoon end and Potvin took a pass from Wilf Paiement and blasted it past Hanlon to make it 9-4 with 13:30 to go. It was Potvin’s 19th and 2nd of the game.

Ciccarelli checked Maxwell into the boards near centre ice and freed up the puck for Gretzky who dashed in with Dino and Gaston Gingras. Gretzky made a great pass at the last moment on the 3-on-2 rush and Ciccarelli easily tapped the puck past Riggin to make it 10-4. Ciccarelli’s 3rd came at 9:24 and marked Greztky’s 6th point of the game. Gretzky extended the lead to 11-4 when he blasted a shot past Riggin on the power play at 11:24. That brought about the return of Michel Plasse in nets for Charlestown.

Hanlon the Magnificent got beaten by Maxwell at 11:55 to make it 11-5 when Maxwell dashed past Gingras and backhanded it past Mr. H. Again off a faceoff deep in the Saskatoon zone, Tony McKegney (27) made it 11-6 with just over five minutes to go with a long wrist shot that eluded Hanlon. The Chiefs made it 11-7 with just under three minutes to go with Tomas Gradin’s 11th of the year with Anders Kallur and McEwen drawing assists. The Chiefs fired 22 shots at Hanlon in the period and although 5 goals in the period was a lot it was all that they would get and that’s how it ended.

A wild game with lots of shots (47-36 for Saskatoon), cruddy goaltending, and lots of hitting (64 minutes in penalties).

STARS:
1. SAS, Gretzky 2 goals, 5 assists
2. SAS, Richard 2 goals, 1 assist
3. SAS, Taylor 2 goals, 2 assists

1st star – Barber 3g 1a hat trick
2nd – Kurri 1g 1a
3rd – Palmateer 34 saves 1 ga

The Moose claw back, scoring 3 (Napier, Smith, Barber) against one (Hunter) by the Owls to close the gap to 1 heading into the last 10 minutes of the game. Myre and the defense stand tall the rest of the way and keep the Moose off the board. Payne adds and empty netter late to seal the win. 6-4.

1st star – Ogrodnick 1g2a
2nd – Goulet 1g1a
3rd – Stoughton 1g1a

Barber is the star of the week with 4 goals and 2 assists.

Ogrodnick with 3 points is the leading visitor this week.

Talfous (6) and Stastny (25) each score within the 1st 4:10 of the game. Yikes. The 2nd goal came as Barnes was going to be whistled for roughing and the extra skater comes on – Rangers pay, Rats say hay!

Score stays 2-0 until deep, deep into the 2nd period when Trottier wins a faceoff in the Brooklyn end, Gare gains control back to Trottier, he moves it to Vadnais – drives, shoots and beats Millen top shelf to cut it to 3-1.

Third period – Rangers press the attack and setting up for major assault when Stastny steals the puck. Out to Gartner who brings it into the Ranger end, back to Stastny to Smith, to Stastny – shoots, scores (2nd and 26th of the year), he gets Roggie on the glove side and it’s now 3-1 Rats with 16 to go.
Game winding down, Rangers still attacking, about 6 to go. Wilson and Crowder go off for roughing. DeBlois wins the faceoff, Lonsberry takes it into the Rats end, to Lapoints – slap shot, sails high and over the glove of Millen for the goal (9) and it’s now 3-2 with 6 to go. Rats keep playing it tight as Rangers fire away (16-8 SOG in 3rd) but Millen is holding on. Final minute – Roggie heads to the bench, Trottier in as extra attacker. Siltanen a slap shot – denied, Crowder shoots – denied, Trottier gets it, to Croweder, the one-timer, Millen again denies the shot, can’t control it but it’s knocked away by Reinhart. MacMillen gets it, the wrap-around – Millen save again, loose in front. MacMillan to Trottier, to Lonsberry, Siltanen – he passes to Crowder who has slipped free, SHOOTS – GOAL!!!! #6 for Crowder as he scores with 17 seconds left. Rangers win the faceoff, but no one gets anymore shots, 3-3 tie.
STARS: (all BRO)
1. Stastny 2 goals
2. Talafous 1 goal
3. Smith 2 assists
And Millen makes 36 saves.

1st star-Zuke 2 goals
2nd star-Murdoch 1 goal
3rd star-Silk 1 goal

But Andre Savard (29) beats “Rico” Sauve at 18:23 to snag the victory.

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 2:35 EV CHA Haworth (5), assisted by Gardner (44)
1 6:47 EV SCW Bourne (29), assisted by Korab (30) and Beck (21)
2 2:07 EV CHA Paiement (28), assisted by Gardner (45)
2 8:02 PP CHA Bourque (17), assisted by Gardner (46) and Paiement (68)
2 11:09 PP CHA Giles (5), assisted by Potvin (37)
3 12:26 EV SCW Sutter (32), assisted by Bourne (46) and Korab (31)
3 16:59 EV SCW Johnson (4), assisted by Miller (14) and Plett (12)
3 17:37 EV SCW Miller (13), assisted by Korab (32) and Murphy (60)
3 18:23 EV CHA Savard (29), assisted by McDonald (33)

Star 1: CHA Paiement 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 2: SCW Bourne 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 3: SCW Miller 1 G, 2 Pts

GWG: Andre Savard

Notables: SCW B.Sauve 31 saves, Korab 3 assists
CHA Plasse 40 saves, Gardner 3 assistsBig win against our division rival. Next up – division leading Vermont.

Charleston makes a (late) statement, chopping down the Foresters 7-2.

Vermont’s period starts are very Ent-like: Chiefs get goals from Paiement (29) and Savard (30) just 30 and 57 seconds into the game! And then Gardner (24) scores 49 seconds into the 2nd. It takes Kallur (23) a full 3:23 to score into the 3rd, so Isengard is put on watch.

We could have had an interesting season if Paul Gardner wasn’t injured for 1/3 of it…

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 :30 EV CHA Paiement (29), assisted by Bourque (21) and Gardner (47)
1 :57 EV CHA Savard (30), assisted by Mike McEwen (22) and Bourque (22)
2 :49 EV CHA Gardner (24), assisted by McKegney (22)
2 8:23 EV CHA Gardner (25), unassisted
2 8:41 EV VER Howe (19), assisted by Vail (31) and Leach (24)
2 11:21 PP CHA Gardner (26), assisted by Potvin (38) and McKegney (23)
3 3:23 EV CHA Kallur (23), assisted by Steve Tambellini (9) and Coffey (18)
3 14:54 EV VER Leach (29), assisted by Vail (32) and Murray (28)
3 19:00 EV CHA McKegney (27), assisted by Charron (8)

Star 1: CHA Gardner 3 G, 4 Pts
Star 2: CHA McKegney 1 G, 3 Pts
Star 3: VER Leach 1 G, 2 Pts

GWG: Paul Gardner

Notables: VER None
CHA Plasse 32 saves, Gardner hat trick

Ohio jumped out to a pair of first period goals to take a two-goal edge into the first intermission. Tiger Williams delivered his 32nd goal of the year (this one on the power play) at 8:04. A little more than four minutes later Don Maloney cashed in his 26th to give the Legends the lead.

Late in the second (16:36), Bill Clement got the Saints on the board with his third of the campaign and it was 2-1 after 40 minutes.

In the third, Duane Sutter scored at 3:35 (his second) to knot the game at two apiece. Ohio did not need long to regain the lead, as Mark Kirton scored at 5:04 for the game-winner. Glen Currie’s first lamplighter of the year at 14:48 closed out the scoring in the win.

Shots on goal favored St. Clair Shores, 26-17. Ohio was two-of-seven on the power play, while the Saints were zero-for-three. Denis Herron picked up the win in goal, stopping 24 shots, while Mike Liut turned away 13 shots in the loss.

Mark Kirton was the number on star with a goal and an assist. Willy Lindstrom was the number two star with three assists and Duane Sutter of the Saints was the number three with a goal and an assist.

Denis Herron turned away all 33 shots and Tim Kerr had a pair of first period goals to lead Ohio to a 5-0 win over Columbus. The Legends held a 3-0 lead after the opening frame and held on for the win.

Once again, Ohio’s power play came to the rescue, collecting three scores in seven opportunities, while the Owls went zero-for-three with the extra attacker.

Gordie Roberts handed out three assists for Ohio.

1st Star – Bob Bourne (SCW), 2G
2nd Star – Borje Salming (SCW), G, 3A
3rd Star – Mario Lessard (SCW), 35 saves

1st Star – Paul Reinhart (BRO), 2G, A
2nd Star – Bengt-Ake Gustafsson (BRO), G & A
3rd Star – Kevin McCarthy (BRO), G

SCS 3 Columbus 0

1st – Liut 27 saves
2nd – Nilsson 1 goal
3rd – Fidler 1 goal

With 23 seconds left to go in regulation, Babych scores his 30th goal of the year to win the game.

SCS 3 Philadelphia 2

1st – Babych 1 goal, 1 assist
2nd – Wilson 1 goal
3rd – Ftorek 1 goal

1st – Lambert gets the Ducks on the board with his 26th (nedomansky/Bathe)
Philly answers with less then a minute left on a Breakway as Dionne goes topshelf for his 41st ( martin/lee)

2nd – Ducks again take the leade as Vautour tips in his 10th (Kasper/Allison) but on the PP Lee ties it up again with his 33rd (Dionne/Martin)

3rd – The 3rd is all Firebirds as Dionne gets his 42nd and Homer gets is 15th of the year and Philly outshoots New Castle 15-4

Stars

1. Dionne
2. Lee
3. Holmgren

PHILLY 4 New Castle 2