1982/83 SKATER & GOALIE OF THE WEEK #1

Thomas_GradinMurray_BannermanDenis_SavardBilly_Smith

CLARENCE SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASSISTS POINTS PM  +/-  SOG S%
Gradin, Thomas CHA 4 5 6 11 2 9 17 29%
                   
CLARENCE GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Bannerman, Murray TEX 2 6 3.05 43 .878
                   
WALES SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASSISTS POINTS PM  +/-  SOG S%
Savard, Denis CHI 4 2 7 9 0 1 8 25%
                   
WALES GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Smith, Billy NEW 2 3 1.51 77 .963

Chicago Underground
WEEKLY PREVIEW: The Underground look to make a killing this year as they are a favorite to make the playoffs & could if things fall right, even go a long way in those said playoffs. One home game at the Capone Center starts the year off for Chicago.
Syracuse Bulldogs @ Chicago Underground: Norris Division rivals the Syracuse Bulldogs head into the windy city for the home opener.
The Underground spark the crowd with four (4) early goals & hold a 4-0 lead through 2-Periods of play.
Then the Bulldogs remind Chicago they are not invincible. 3 Goals in the 3rd for Syracuse make it a 4-3 game with 30 seconds left to play. Chicago holds on. But the home crowd was not impressed.Final Score: Chicago 4 – Syracuse 3

Labbat’s 3-Star Selection:
Star 1: CHI – Lindsay Carson 2 G
Star 2: SYR – Brian Bellows 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 3: CHI – Pierre Mondou 1 G

GWG: Lindsay Carson

Notables: CHI Marty Howe 5 blocks

WEEKLY SUMMARY: Chicago picks up the 2 points at home, but it wasn’t pretty at the end.
Syracuse Bulldogs
WEEKLY PREVIEW: New Castle and Dallas travel to Syracuse
New Castle Ducks @ Syracuse Bulldogs Billy Smith is outstanding in New Castles 4-1 win
Stars #1 NEW Smith 42 saves
#2 NEW Tardif 1G 2pts
#3 NEW Lindstrom 1G
Notables NEW Smith 42 saves
SYR Broten 16 faceoffs won, Sevigny 30 saves
Dallas Drakes @ Syracuse Bulldogs Dallas wins in a blow out 7-4
Stars #1 Dal Secord 2G 3 pts
#2 Dal Maruk 2G
#3 SYR Leach 2G
Notables Dal: Bridgeman 12 PIM, Wamsley 38 saves
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Here we go again. Syracuse drops both home games
Charlestown Chiefs
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Two home games to start the season.
Catoctin Cardinals @ Charlestown Chiefs Old tyme hockey! Charlestown wins it 8-6 behind Gradin’s two goals and an assist. Both goalies seek therapy after the game.

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 :29 EV CAT Messier (1), assisted by Kehoe (1) and Salming (1)
1 11:48 EV CHA Gradin (1), assisted by Potvin (1) and Tremblay (1)
1 13:17 SH CAT Lapointe (1), unassisted
1 16:01 PP CHA Coffey (1), assisted by McCarthy (1) and Bourque (1)
2 4:15 EV CHA Gradin (2), assisted by Tremblay (2) and Baxter (1)
2 5:09 EV CAT Carpenter (1), unassisted
2 7:10 PP CAT Murphy (1), assisted by Lapointe (1)
2 8:18 PP CAT Murphy (2), unassisted
2 14:44 EV CHA Gould (1), assisted by Krushelnyski (1)
2 17:21 PP CAT Foster (1), assisted by Flockhart (1) and Bullard (1)
3 3:21 PP CHA Nicholls (1), assisted by McDonald (1) and Coffey (1)
3 4:20 EV CHA McCarthy (1), assisted by McDonald (2)
3 16:08 EV CHA McKegney (1), assisted by Gradin (1) and Tremblay (3)
3 19:28 EN CHA Murphy (1), assisted by Krushelnyski (2) and Boyd (1)

Star 1: CHA Gradin 2 G, 3 Pts
Star 2: CAT Murphy 2 G
Star 3: CHA McCarthy 1 G, 2 Pts

GWG: Tony McKegney

Notables: CAT Jensen 36 saves
CHA Tremblay 3 assists, Micalef 38 saves

North Carolina 89’ers @ Charlestown Chiefs And you thought the first game had a lot of offense?!

The Chiefs win it 9-7; Goulet nabs a hat trick in the losing effort, while Paul Coffey pots a pair (3 already this season).

I suspect this will be a common Charlestown theme – all out offensive assault, and let the goalies pray.

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 5:35 EV CHA Tremblay (1), assisted by Gradin (2) and Boyd (2)
1 11:54 EV CHA Krushelnyski (1), assisted by Gould (1) and Murphy (1)
1 16:45 PP CHA McDonald (1), assisted by McCarthy (2) and Gradin (3)
2 :59 EV NOC Goulet (1), assisted by Fox (1) and Wickenheiser (1)
2 11:25 PP NOC Fox (1), assisted by Naslund (1)
2 13:56 PP NOC Goulet (2), assisted by Novy (1) and Smith (1)
2 18:45 PP NOC Goulet (3), assisted by Chouinard (1) and Ogrodnick (1)
3 1:01 EV CHA Nicholls (2), assisted by Bourque (2) and McCarthy (3)
3 1:22 EV NOC Milbury (1), assisted by Babych (1) and Goulet (1)
3 4:32 EV CHA Coffey (2), assisted by McCarthy (4)
3 8:49 EV CHA McDonald (2), assisted by Nicholls (1) and McCarthy (5)
3 10:49 EV NOC Broten (1), assisted by Naslund (2) and Babych (2)
3 11:05 EV CHA Coffey (3), assisted by McKegney (1) and Gradin (4)
3 11:19 EV CHA McKegney (2), assisted by Coffey (2) and Gradin (5)
3 18:19 EV CHA Tremblay (2), assisted by McKegney (2) and Gradin (6)
3 19:08 EV NOC Gardner (1), assisted by Brownschidle (1) and Broten (1)

Injuries: Lupul(NOC)-game Murphy(CHA)-game

Star 1: NOC Goulet 3 G, 4 Pts
Star 2: CHA Coffey 2 G, 3 Pts
Star 3: CHA Tremblay 2 G

GWG: Tony McKegney

Notables: NOC Goulet hat trick
CHA McCarthy 4 assists, Gradin 5 assists, Gradin 15 faceoffs won, Gradin 5 points, Micalef 33 saves

WEEKLY SUMMARY: The good – we score 17 goals in 2 games.

The bad – we allow 13.

The ugly – who are we kidding – this isn’t ugly, it’s awesome! Screw the neutral zone trap…

New Castle Ducks
WEEKLY PREVIEW: The New Castle Ducks went to Game 7 of the Conference Championship last season before losing to Philadelphia. The Firebirds are now gone – and the Ducks are back stronger than ever – and looking forward to what they hope is a championship season. Three tough home games this week – against newcomer Dallas, the MUCH improved Chicago Underground and the always strong Pittsburgh Spirit
Dallas Drakes @ New Castle Ducks The Ducks turned a 2-2 game into a rout as last year’s rookie sensation, Barry Pederson, picked up where he left off. The Ducks Center had the best game of his short career, scoring the HAT TRICK and adding three Assists for SIX points – in the highest single game scoring performance in Ducks history.
The #1 line of Ryan Walter – Pederson- and Rick Middleton was on fire as Middleton scored FIVE points, on 2 goals and 3 assists and Walter added 3 points on a goal and 2 assists. New Castle scored on 3 of 5 power plays as Rick Wamsley struggled in goal for the Drakes, allowing 8 goals on 28 shots. Billy Smith was sensational in goal for the Ducks as he stopped 35 shots. Dallas outshot the Ducks 30-17 in the first two periods and 37-28 on the game. Benning and Bridgman scored for Dallas.NEW 8 DAL 2THREE STARS:
1- Pederson – SIX POINTS (3G, 3 A)
2- Middleton – FIVE POINTS (2G, 3 A)
3- Walter – THREE POINTS (1 G, 2 A)
Chicago Underground @ New Castle Ducks The Ducks came out flying against the Underground as their #1 line went at it again. Ryan Walter opened the scoring only 2:27 into the game (unassisted). Then Pederson struck again at 5:55 with his FIFTH of the season, assisted by Hardy and Eloranta. And then at 2:58 of the second Pederson lit the lamp yet again! As Hardy and Eloranta assisted again!
But then the tide turned — about 1 minute after Pederson’s second goal, the great Mike Bossy got a complete breakaway and beat Don Edwards to make it 3-1. That fired up Chicago and 6 minutes later rookie Jeff Larmer scored to make it 3-2. The score remained 3-2 going to the third period. In a tightly played period, it was Chicago that struck again as Mike Blaisdell, at 8:39, put the puck past Edwards, assisted by Serge Savard and Pierre Mondou. 3-3!! And that is how it endedNEW 3 CHI 3Chicago had the edge in SOG 32-26, including 13-5 in the second period. Bob Froese, Chicago’s rookie goalie, made 23 saves.THREE STARS:
1- Pederson 2 G
2- Bossy 1 G
3- Larmer 1 G
Pittsburgh Spirit @ New Castle Ducks The Spirit came out flying, scoring three times in the first 14 minutes. Jorgen Petterson started things off only 49 seconds into the game as he beat Don Edwards, assisted by #1 pick Steve Larmer. Then Petterson did it again, scoring at 7:49, assisted again by Larmer along with D Bryan Maxwell. Six minutes later it was Maxwell putting the puck into the net, assisted by Gare and Barber. 3-0 Pittsburgh

And then with 1:54 left in the period, a long shot from the point by D John Barrett slipped past rookie Pelle Lindbergh in the Pittsburgh goal to make it 3-1. Momentum had shifted.

In the second period, the Ducks made it 3-2 when Steve Bozek scored on a pass from Tardif. Then less than 3 minutes later Craig Ramsay scored his second of the year, assisted by Andre Savard to TIE THE GAME! As the clock wound down in the second period, Larmer showed why he was a #1 pick as he put the puck past Edwards and Pittsburgh had the lead back at 4-3 going to the third period.

And what a third period it was- as the Spirit OUTSHOT the Ducks TWENTY to TWO! And yet the only goal of the period was scored by the Ducks – and it was a SHORTHANDED GOAL, no less, by Craig Ramsay at 13:26 of the period. For Ramsay, it was his second goal of the game and third of the season. Pretty good for a checking forward on the fourth line!

NEW 4 PIT 4

THREE STARS:
1- Ramsay 2 G
2- Pettersson 2 G
3- Larmer 1 G, 2 A – 3 points

Pederson won 15 faceoffs

WEEKLY SUMMARY: The Ducks win one and tie two – against three tough teams. The Norris Division will be very tough this year and the Ducks get off to a good start in the division with a win against Dallas and a tie against Chicago.
Dallas Drakes
Chicago Underground @ Dallas Drakes Denis (the mustache) Savard has a 4 point night and Dave Roulston scores the game-winner. Pete Peeters turns away 40 shots as Chicago takes the game 5-3
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Dallas loses its only home game of the first set.
Catoctin Cardinals
Portland Sasquatch @ Catoctin Cardinals Score: POR 3 CAT 5
Preston gets Portland on the board first but Butch Goring answered shorthanded.
Unanswered goals by Messier and Kehoe in the second proved to be the difference.
Fun stat: face-offs were a 50/50 split (23 each)
Texas Brahmas @ Catoctin Cardinals Score: TEX 4 CAT 4
Catoctin manages to match goals with Texas to eek out a tie.
Messier scored 2 goals on the power play.
Fun stat: We had a Sutter on Sutter crime!
Charlotte Dynamo @ Catoctin Cardinals Score: CHD 5 CAT 2
4 goals in the first two periods leave the Cardinals buried.
Fun stat: Catoctin had double the shots on goal (40 to 20)
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Cardinals open at home with a 1-1-1 record.
CapJack Rangers
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Rangers – just back from the Stanley Cup finals (which we lost) and hopes for another good season – well maybe, but we have to win games for that to happen. But we start out with 3 home games in the opening week!! WooHoo, we better do well…
Charlotte Dynamo @ CapJack Rangers Sure can’t complain about a 3 goal outburst in the 1st 16 minutes – Neufeld, Daust, and DeBlois. But then giving up 2 goals in the next minute and a half was not in the game plan. Evans and Perreault get Charlotte right back into it and the 1st period ends 3-2 Rangers.

Then Reeds gets Charlotte a PP goal 4 minutes in period 2 and we’re all tied up. Time to start the season over again. And CapJack does as Cloutier gets a PP goal halfway through the period and the Rangers are back in front.

3rd Period, Crowder and Shutt score within the opening 5-minute to cap the Rangers 2nd set of 3 unanswered goals (and if you stick the Dynamo goals in there, there were 3 such sets!). Hawerchuk however quiets the crowd 2 minutes later scoring for Charlotte and it’s 6-4 Rangers with 13 minutes to go. But then defense sets in and no more goals are scored! Rangers win 6-4.
STARS (all CAP)
1. Daoust 1 goal, 2 assists in his 1st Rangers game!
2. Crowder 1 goal, 1 assist
3. Cloutier 1 goal, 1 assist

Brooklyn Harbor Rats @ CapJack Rangers Working our way through the Patrick division we now host Brooklyn – those RATS!! Well, the Rats strike 1st with Osborne netting one 5 1/2 minutes in but Shutt gets a PP goal in the 2nd half of the period to tie only to see the RATS score 2 more late in the period (Gartner and Osborne) for a 3-1 lead as the period ends.

Then in the 1st minute of the 2nd period, Stastny strike for Brooklyn, and RATS are up 4-1! But Allison responds for CapJack with 2 goals in the 2nd, but the period ends with Brooklyn up 5-3 because McCarthy scored for the RATS between the 2 Allison goals.

But 5-3 is a manageable deficit with 20 minutes to go, especially when Cloutier scores 36 into the final period! Now 5-4, we’re smelling blood. Turns out its just RAT smell as Brooklyn scores a PP goal after Siltanen gets whistled for checking from behind – the goal by Peterson and it comes at the 2-minute mark. So it’s back to a 2 goal deficit and now just 18 minutes left. Make that 3 goal deficit as Gustufsson scores at the 9-minute mark. And that was too much for the Rangers as the RATS clamp things down to win 7-4!
STARS
1. BRO – Osborne 2 goals
2. CAP – Allison 2 goals
3. BRO – McCarthy 1 goal, 1 assist
Penalties – RATS got 38 minutes, Rangers got 41 including 15 from DeBlois

Chicago Underground @ CapJack Rangers Commissioner’s Cup – Game 1
Chicago hoping for a good year come to the Square Garden looking to get their season going strong. And they take a conservative approach in the 1st period and it works to a 2 goal lead as Brown and McNab each score. Brown’s was a PP goal, McNab’s a SH goal!!2nd period however goes the other way. Shutt gets the PP goal early and DeBlois follows less than 2 minutes later scoring to tie the game at 2-2. And that’s with 14 minutes to go – but no one else lights it up. So we go to the 3rd all tied up at 2.A minute in, Savard sets up Roulston (his name is familiar in Ranger land) for a quick goal and Chicago takes a 3-2 lead. 5 1/2 minutes later, however, Leinonen scores for CapJack and it’s all tied up again. Blomqvist then gets nabbed for hooking and Savard decided he needs to score and he does – set up from Bossy and Stastny (we seem to face a lot of them this week). For Savard that was his 3rd point of the game. However, it’s just 4-3 Chicago so we got this. Except the Underground digs in and keeps the Rangers away from the goal. It wasn’t for lack of trying but the game time was waning so out goes Resch – and in goes the EN goal scored by Carson in the final minute of the game. Chicago then holds on easily to the 5-3 win.
STARS (all CHI)
1. Savard 1 goal, 2 assists
2. Brown 1 goal
3. Roulston 1 goal
Stastny and Bossy each had 2 assists and Peeters fended off 36 shots in the game!
WEEKLY SUMMARY: So, we started hot with a win in the home opener then fell short against the RATS and the Commissioner. Also noted that shot totals in the opening week were seemingly normal to light (especially compared to an opening week in MWHL) and a couple of game updates. But we still have lots of games to improve!
Texas Brahmas
Dallas Drakes @ Texas Brahmas The Dallas Drakes and the Texas Brahmas start the Metroplex rivalry with a fight-filled game in Fort Worth. Texas dominates the shot count 41-26, but Dallas scores 2 early goals against Bannerman in the first period. Texas was able to cut the lead to 1 on two occasions, but Langway potted an empty-net goal to seal the win for Dallas 4-2.
Charlestown Chiefs @ Texas Brahmas Charlestown took a 1-0 into the second period before Texas scored 3 to claim a 3-1 advantage. Charlestown came out strong in the 3rd, scoring 2 to tie the game before Nilsson scored his second of the game to put Texas back on top. Tremblay scored for Charlestown to tie it up and the game was scoreless from there.
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Not a good start for the good guys as Texas goes 0-1-1 but its better than 0-2.
North Carolina 89’ers
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Carolina, with only one home game this period, hopes to get off to a good start.
Saint Clair Shores Saints @ North Carolina 89’ers The game starts off with a bang, with the 89ers scoring 4 in the first, 2 of them belonging to Wickenheiser. In typical Carolina fashion, they let the Saints even it up in the second period, and we head into the third in a tie. The Saints add 3 more to Carolina’s 1, and win the match 7-5.
THREE STARS:
McClanahan – SCS – 2G, 1A
Wickenheiser – NC – 2 G
Duchesne – SCS – 1G, 2AGOALTENDERS:
Liut – SCS – 5 GA, 20SV
Fuhr – NC – 6 GA, 20SV
Soetaert – NC – 1GA, 3SV
Charlotte Dynamo
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Charlotte enters its third season in the MWOTHL seeking relevance and its first-ever winning season. It hosted division rival Brooklyn in its only home contest during opening week.
Brooklyn Harbor Rats @ Charlotte Dynamo The Dynamo’s home slate starts in disappointing fashion. Charlotte squanders an opening 2-0 lead and falls to the Harbor Rats, 4-3.

Brooklyn was powered by a flourishing 3-1 third period, to hand rookie goalie Andy Moog his first loss on home ice. Rookie Phil Housley, Mike Gartner, and Brent Peterson scored goals during the final period, with Peterson’s game-winner coming with about eight minutes left in the game.

Three stars: Gartner who finished with two goals
Second star: Housley, 1 goal and six blocks
Third star: Peterson

Noteworthy: Brian Hayward outplays Moog, saving 30 shots while Moog managed to just save 23.

WEEKLY SUMMARY: Not the start that Charlotte was seeking. Moog and the Charlotte defense come up short late in the game against a formidable division rival.
Saint Clair Shores Saints
WEEKLY PREVIEW: The Saints host Mackinac Island, Ohio, and Brooklyn for three home games
Mackinac Island Moose @ Saint Clair Shores Saints SCS loses Babych and Murray during their first shifts to injury. Mackinac Island scores two goals very early in the first period -Lysiak and MacLean. The Saints rebound with two goals of their own – Francis and Delorme. Then, on a PP, MacLean scores his second.

There are no goals in the 2nd and 3rd periods.

Mackinac Island 3 SCS 2

1st star MacLean 2 goals
2nd star Meloche 44 saves
3rd star Lysiak 1 goal

Ohio Legends @ Saint Clair Shores Saints Ohio dominates the shots on goal but loses as the Saints were more proficient at scoring. Doug Wilson scores early in the 1st, but the Legends tie it up on a Maloney goal. It’s 1-1 after 1.

In the 2nd period, Huddy scores his 1st goal of the season. It’s 2-1, Saints after 2. In the 3rd, Anderson scores and Ohio ties it up. The Saints score two consecutive goals to take a 2 goal lead. Frycer makes it close, but the Legends fall short.

SCS 4 Ohio 3

1st star -Huddy
2nd star – Babcych
3rd star – Wilson

Brooklyn Harbor Rats @ Saint Clair Shores Saints Brooklyn scores early in the 1st. Ramage scores his 2nd goal of the season to tie it in the 2nd. In the 3rd, Gartner scores for Brooklyn twice and the Harbor Rats win.

Brooklyn 4 SCS 3

1st star – Gartner
2nd star – Smith
3rd star – Sulliman

WEEKLY SUMMARY: SCS loses 2 out of 3. All three games were one-goal games.
Brooklyn Harbor Rats
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Brooklyn’s home opener features Nathan’s hot dog giveaway and rumor has it that Pittsburgh’s Bill Barber downed 7 himself!
Pittsburgh Spirit @ Brooklyn Harbor Rats As for the game action, Darryl Sittler and Behn Wilson trade first-period goals before the Harbor Rats open things up with a 3 goal second period. Mark Osborne, Dave Christian, and Wilson’s second of the night in the first half of the middle frame give Eddie Mio (33 saves) the lead he would not relinquish.
Sittler (1-2-3) is in on all 3 Pittsburgh goals while Big Behn picks up a pair of goals and drops the gloves to welcome rookie Steve Larmer to the league!
WEEKLY SUMMARY: 2 points in the home opener with plenty of well-fed fans!
Mackinac Island Moose
WEEKLY PREVIEW: The Moose open the season, hanging the 81-82 Adams Division Title Banner right next to the 80-81 banner. Happy Times. Wanting to add a Conference Banner and Cup Banner this season.

The first week we see 2 division foes and a conference foe, so 3 big games to kick this one-off. Ohio, North Carolina, and Syracuse come to the Island.

Ohio Legends @ Mackinac Island Moose Moose 6, Legends 1 – A somewhat tentative 1st period sees the goalies, Hanlon and Melanson, control the play, and we go to intermission tied 0-0. Ohio with 14 SOG. Cochrane and Ruskowski get the first fighting penalties of the season. The Moose with a gritty 5-minute penalty kill thanks to an early spearing call on Terrion.

The home team finds its groove in the 2nd, rattling off 3 consecutive tallies, as Propp, Tambellini, and Kurri get goals. The visitors draw some figurative blood later on as Frycer puts a number up for the Legends, and the period ends 3-1 Moose.

The Moose put this one away early with goals by MacLean and Terrion to make it 5-1 with 13 minutes left. Napier adds one more near the end to make it 6-1. Penalties by Jarvis, Cochrane, and Rochefort keep the visitors on the defensive 7 minutes of the period, but the penalty kill is flawless and all Moose tallies are at even strength.

Balanced attack for the Moose as every forward on every line gets at least 1 pt. , can’t say I’ve ever seen that before.

1st star – MacLean 1G 2pts
2nd Propp 1G, 2pts
Melanson 30 saves

North Carolina 89’ers @ Mackinac Island Moose Moose 7, 89’ers 2 – Moose offense comes out smoking hot, scoring 5 goals in 14 minutes. Smyl, Eaves 2, Terrion, and Napier all light the lamp in the barrage on Fuhr, who stops 6, but misses 5 and gets the early shower. Lupul pops one in for the visitors just before intermission to get that zero off the board, and it’s 5-1 Moose after 1.

A more typical 2nd period sees each team tally just one goal; Fox for the 89ers and Dunlop for the Moose, and we go to intermission at 6-2 Moose.

Melanson closes his net for business the final period, and Lysiak adds one more for the Moose mid-period, and as a pretty quiet 3rd period ends, the scoreboard reads Moose 7, Visitors 2.

Another balanced attack for the Moose, with 10 forwards scoring. Melanson stops 30 of 32, and Soetaert stops 17 of 19 in relief of Fuhr.

1st star – Eaves 2G
2nd – Smyl 1G 2pts
3rd – Napier 1G 2 pts

Syracuse Bulldogs @ Mackinac Island Moose Bulldogs 7, Moose 7… A true slugfest that would make any goalie cringe. Both teams had leads of 2 or more at some point in the game. Just fitting that it ended in a draw decided in the last 20 seconds

Bulldogs dominate period 1, 4-1 with goals by Young, Halward (PP), Holmgren, and Mullen. The Moose manage just one on a goal by Bothwell. Shots on goal even at 11-11.

2nd period is all Moose as they score 5 unanswered goals in the period. Lysiak with a one-period hat trick, Propp, and Smyl one each. Home team looking good after 2, leading 6-4.

3rd period, Syracuse cuts it to 1 when Bellows scores 5 minutes in. The home team breathes easier when Lemay scores at the halfway mark, giving the Moose a 2 goal edge at 7-5. Millen gets pulled. But the Bulldogs control play the final 10 minutes, getting the Lion’s share of SOG, Broten scores with 9 minutes to go cutting their deficit to one, and in the final minute, pulled goalie, its Larouche with the seeing eye puck into the net with only 18 seconds left to tie it at 7 when the final horn sounds.

Oh yeah, and that 3-1 final period comeback all without Ivan Boldirev who left the game with an injury.

1st star – Lysiak 3G HAT TRICK
2nd – Propp 1G 3pts
3rd – Broten 1G 2 pts

WEEKLY SUMMARY: 5 points in 3 games, but we hoped for all 6 after outscoring the opposition 20-10 in these 3 games. Encouraged by the balanced scoring, with 11 forwards each with at least 1 goal after only 3 games. I really like this year’s team.

Melanson 2-0 with 1.52 GAA and .952 SV % would give any team hopes each time he starts.

Pittsburgh Spirit
WEEKLY PREVIEW: The Spirit host last year’s Division champ CapJack as well as Charlotte.
CapJack Rangers @ Pittsburgh Spirit CapJack scores 14 seconds in (Trottier) and never really looks back, scoring 5 straight goals. But in the 3rd, the Spirit shows that they have some spirit and net 3 to make it a game, but CapJack nets 2 more to win it 7-3.
Charlotte Dynamo @ Pittsburgh Spirit After getting their butts handed to them against CapJack, the Spirit find that spirit and win 3-0. St. Croix saves 37 for the shutout.
WEEKLY SUMMARY: Two games, one win. Pretty much how we see the season going.
Ohio Legends
WEEKLY PREVIEW: The Ohio Legends open their third season of MWOTHL plays at home against the North Carolina 89’ers.
North Carolina 89’ers @ Ohio Legends Ohio opened the scoring 12:38 into the contest when Bernie Federko fired a shot past the outstretched glove of Doug Soetaert to give the Legends the early lead. The goal was assisted by Ray Allison and Don Maloney off a delayed penalty. There was no more scoring in the opening frame and the shots ended deadlocked at ten apiece.

The lead extended to 2-0 at 5:21, as Mark Pavelich finished a 3-on-2 rush with the lamplighter. Gordie Roberts and Glen Currie had the helpers. The two-goal edge was short-lived, as North Carolina got on the board 30 seconds later with a delayed penalty goal from Bill Gardner, who went glove-side low past Glen Hanlon.

Ohio would score the next three goals before the stanza would end. Miroslav Frycer netted one through traffic at 7:37, Pavelich cutting through traffic went top shelf at 19:51 on the power play and Jerry Korab delivered from the left point with a man-advantage marker a=at 16:54. The dizzying display of offense left it at 5-1 Legends after two periods. The shots once again were even at eleven apiece in the middle period.

Federko got the only lamplighter of the third, tallying his second of the night at 13:12. That made the final, 6-1. Shots favored the 89’ers in the period, 10-4, and 31-25, for the game. North Carolina also won the faceoffs (29-24), hits (18-16), and scoring chances (23-22). Ohio was able to cash in twice on the power play in four chances, while the 89’ers were zero-for-one with the man-advantage.

Glen Hanlon took the win with 30 stops, while Doug Soetaert kicked away 19.

WEEKLY SUMMARY: Week one is in the books for Ohio, but two early road losses take the edge off this victory.
Portland Sasquatch
WEEKLY PREVIEW: Portland opens their first season has a franchise with games against Texas, Charlestown, and Ohio
Texas Brahmas @ Portland Sasquatch In the first-ever home game in Portland Sasquatch history, with a loud arena of die-hard hockey fans in attendance Portland wins the first game 4-3 against Texas. 12:30 into the first period Cicarelli scores the franchise’s first goal. Texas responds at the 16:05 mark with a goal from Sutter.

Quickly in the second period, Wayne Gretzky scores 56 seconds in but Texas once again evens the score on a goal by Acton with 1:19 remaining in the period. With the score tied 2-2 entering the third Gretzky gets his second goal of the game to put Portland ahead 3-2. With 1:02 remaining in the game Hamel scores to give Portland a 4-2 lead. Texas got a goal Jonsson with 18 seconds remaining but there was not enough time to even the score

Star #1 – Gretzky 2 goals, 3 points, 15 FO won
Star #2 – Cicarelli 1 goal, 2 points
Star #3 – Acton 1 goal, 2 points

Charlestown Chiefs @ Portland Sasquatch After a thrilling opening night, Portland returns to the ice three nights later against Charlestown and loses 5-3.

Gradin gets a hat trick for the Chiefs with a goal in the second period and two more in the last 1:51 in the third to ice the game. Charlestown’s other goals were by McCarthy and Gardner while Portland got goals from Gringas, Rota, and Cicarelli (2). Portland had jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period but Charlestown responded with 5 goals in the last two periods.

Star #1 – Gradin 3 goals
Star #2 – Rota 1 goal, 3 points
Star #2 – McCarthy 1 goal

Gretzky had 3 assists and 22 faceoffs won for Portland in the loss

Ohio Legends @ Portland Sasquatch Ohio opened the scoring in the first with a goal from Allison but Portland responded in the second to tie on a goal by Riseborough. In the third Pavelich scored for Ohio and Portland once again responded with a goal by Gretzky (3). With 7:33 remaining Frycer found the back of the net for the Legends as they took a road win 3-2

Star #1 – Pavelich 1 goal, 2 points
Star #2 – Frycer 1 goal
Star #3 – Allison 1 goal

Weeks had 33 saves for Ohio

WEEKLY SUMMARY: Portland starts a disappointing 1-2 at home