2017-2018 PLAYER & GOALIE OF THE WEEK #2

Nikita_KucherovCraig_AndersonTyler_SeguinSergei_Bobrovsky

EASTERN SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASISSTS POINTS PM  +/-  SOG S%
Kucherov, Nikita CBJ 4 1 9 10 2 2 6 16.7
             
EASTERN GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Anderson, Craig CLE 2 0 0 50 1.000
             
WESTERN SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASSISTS POINTS PM  +/-  SOG S%
Seguin, Tyler ALA 4 2 8 10 4 3 14 14.3
             
WESTERN GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Bobrovsky, Sergei MIN 3 6 1.95 124 .954
             

Corktown Suds Busy week for the Suds who will host 3 home games.
Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Corktown Suds A fury of Corktown goals came in the 3rd period. Cosa Nostra goaltender Mike Condon gave up all 5 goals.

Corktown 5-3 (Chicago won the penalty minute battle 10-4)
Chris Kreider scored 2 goals for the Cosa Nostra

Toledo Walleye @ Corktown Suds The Walleye come in with only 1 win on the season, and leave the same way. It was the 3rd period once again where the Suds busted loose scoring 4 of their 6 goals. Wayne Simmonds had 2 goals (3). Devan Dubnyk gave up 5 goals.

Corktown 6-3

New Jersey Grizzlies @ Corktown Suds It took overtime but the Grizzlies get their first win of the season (depending on the their other games this week). Corktown was comfortable with a 3-1 lead that they had since the 1st, but everybody knows how dangerous a 2 goal lead is in the 3rd period. The Griz went back-back. Draisati (4) and Gionta (1) were the guys that tied it up. Arvidsson (1) scored the game winner with 32 seconds left in Overtime.

New Jersey 4-3 (OT)

Weekly Summary: Corktown scored 13 goals in three games and managed an impressive 5 points.

Chicago Cosa Nostra Chicago had a tough 1st week in the Mid-West Hockey League, they look to bounce back in week #2.
Jagr Mullets @ Chicago Cosa Nostra A back & forth affair in the Capone Center in downtown Chicago.
Chicago scored on the Power Playearly on a nice tip from Galchenyuk (3) on a shot from Maatta.
A late goal in the 1st with :46 left by Kadri (3) tied the score at the end of one.
A early goal 1:32 into the 2nd by Kadri (4) put the Mullets up 2 goals to 1.
Both of the Jagr goals were on the power play there.
Jonathan Toews tied it midway though the 2nd period knotting the score up at 2 a piece.
Jagr took the lead less than a minute later as Kessel (1) notched his first of the year.
A Third Period goal from Horvat (1) at 4:43 tied the score once again.
But a wrist shot from the point by Manson (1) gave Chicago a lead with just under two minutes to play in the 3rd.
Chicago held on to win it 4 to 3.Three Start Selection:
Star 1: JAG Kadri 2 G
Star 2: CHI Galchenyuk 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 3: JAG Kessel 1 G, 2 PtsGWG:
Josh MansonNotables:
JAG Vasilevskiy 38 saves, Braun 5 blocks, Martinez 7 blocks
CHI Condon 32 saves, Toews 20 faceoffs won
Weekly Summary: Chicago gets the win as this was their only home game of the week.

Clearfield Bison The Bisons look to stay hot behind Craig Anderson as they face two division rivals. With Clearfield already looking to manage playing time (sitting the likes of Little and Subban), this would seem to be an opportunity for the visiting squads. Two very different games ensued…
Thunder Bay Nor’Westers @ Clearfield Bison Looks like Thunder Bay may have been out partying too late the night before – or at the very least, perhaps goalie Ben Bishop was, because the Nor’westers got off to a VERY slow start. The 4th, 5th, and 6th shots of the game by Clearfield all found the back of the net – two from long range – and TB was in a deep hole they would never get out of.

The defensive-minded Bison sat on that 3-0 lead until the third, when ageless wonder Jaromir Jagr potted two more to get himself an HT! The hats rained down, delaying the game for some time. Someone tried to throw a walker and a cane on the ice, but that didn’t work out.

Anderson was in net for a (relatively) easy shutout.

Shots were 35-19 for Clearfield; chances were 16-5. 3 stars were Jagr, Anderson, and Chimera.

Hampton Blizzard @ Clearfield Bison Carey Price was the story of this game.

Hampton took the first 4 shots of the game…and then Clearfield took over. Shots were 26-10 after 30 minutes in favor of the Bisons…but they could not dent Price. Clearfield poured it on in the third, outshooting the Blizzard 18-9 in the frame (aided by a steady stream of Hampton penalties)…still no joy. To OT we went, still scoreless…the teams traded chances but both goalies stood tall. So we went to shootout, still scoreless.

Anderson stoned all three Hampton shooters, but James Neal finally broke the spell and beat Price high glove.

Final stats: shots 54-31, shot attempts 94(!!!)-51, attack time 10:49-3:41, all favoring the Bisons. Clearfield managed to go 0-9 on the man advantage.

Stars: It should be Price for all three, but #2 was Anderson (31 saves) and #3 to Neal for lighting the lamp.

Weekly Summary: Back-to-back home shutouts for Anderson keep the Bison Stampede rolling. Now we wait to see how the team did in front of ‘Bobby Lu’ in the 2 road contests!

LA Great Danes 3 home games for the week for the Great Danes, starting with Pacific Division foe Gilbert, followed by Brentwood and Lakeland.
Gilbert Sharks @ LA Great Danes The Great Danes never trailed in this one and came out on top 3-2 on a late goal by Mark Scheifele at 18:07 of the 3rd period. LA scored first on a PPG by Jamie Benn, but the lead lasted all of 16 seconds when Ryan Spooner scored for the Sharks. The Sharks were unable to convert on a 5 on 3 PP in the period, thanks to 3-4 huge saves by Frederik Andersen, and Ryan Kesler gave the Danes another lead at 5:01 of the 2nd period. This time, the Danes held the lead for less than 5 minutes when Nathan MacKinnon tied it up. That was it until Scheifele’s late goal. The Danes dominated the faceoffs at 66% in a tight game that was tied for about 53 of the 60 minutes. Benn/Scheifele/Kesler were the game’s 3 stars.
Brentwood Bandits @ LA Great Danes Another tight game with Brentwood pulling it out 2-1 on a late PPG by David Backes. Patrick Marleau opened the scoring for Brentwood at 16:41 of period 1, and Brayden McNabb scored LA’s only goal midway through the 2nd period. The fans enjoyed a fight between the Danes’ Jamie Benn and the Bandits’ Dion Phaneuf in the last 20 seconds of the 2nd period, but LA did not want to lose Jamie Benn for the first 5 minutes of the 3rd period. Benn ended up with less than 15 minutes of ice-time in the game. Backes’ game winning PPG came at 18:10, exactly 2 minutes after Ehler’s late penalty. It was a strong PK until a Backes deke and low shot past Andersen’s glove right as Ehler was about to come out of the box. At the end, the Great Danes came close, with the best chance coming from Jamie Benn after the Bandits somehow gave the Danes and odd-man rush with 20 seconds left. But John Gibson stoned Benn on the chance and stopped a shot by Mark Scheifele at the buzzer to steal a win for the Bandits. Gibson earned the game #1 star, as the Danes registered 43 SOG, plus 22 blocks by Brentwood. Goal scorers Marleau and Backes were the other stars.
Lakeland Flying Tigers @ LA Great Danes Looking to put the loss to Brentwood behind them, the Great Danes came out strong against the Lakeland Flying Tigers. After 2 periods, the Danes were in full control with a 3-0 lead on goals by Toffoli/Scheifele/Benn and a 29-12 shot advantage. It looked like backup goalie Steve Mason would coast to victory. Lakeland goals in the first 5:35 of P3 by Connolly and Lowry made it a one-goal game, but Ryan McDonagh’s goal at 8:17 restored a little breathing room at 4-2 for the LA. That cushion was gone at 10:43 on a goal by Ryan Hartman. At that point, LA held a 41-20 SOG advantage and held Lakeland without a SOG for the next 8 minutes. Then, the Danes were shocked by Michael Grabner’s goal at 17:52 to tie it at 4-4. Fleury saved the game in the last minute on a scoring chance by Jamie Benn, and we headed for OT despite a 45-22 shot advantage for the Danes. With a 6-1 advantage in OT, the Danes finished with a 51-23 SOG advantage for the game. Backup Steve Mason had a third period meltdown with the 4 goals against, and the inevitable occurred as Grabner and Henrique beat him in the shootout and Fleury only had to make 2 shootout stops for the victory. Grabner earned the #1 star with his late tying goal, an assist, and a shootout goal. Adam Lowry was star #2 with 1G-1A, and Jamie Benn’s 1G-1A night gave LA the game’s 3rd star. Fleury’s 47 save performance and 2 shootout stops warranted consideration for one of the game’s 3 stars, but he was happy to leave with a win instead.
Weekly Summary: A 1-1-1 record in 3 home games for the Great Danes. A disappointing outcome where they could have/should have gained at least 5 of 6 possible points and end up with 3. The Danes’ stars are producing – Scheifele and Benn with 8 points each in the first 7 games and the Suter/Pietrangelo D duo at +6. But they have blown 3 goal leads at home in the 3rd period twice already (in week 1 they blew a 3-0 lead to Cal before coming back to win 5-3), so the team needs to regroup a little. It may be good to be on the road next week for 3 of 4 games before another homestand the following week.

Bathgate Rangers Rangers have 1 home game this week – against the high powered Thunder Bay Nor’Westers. Nor’Westers still seething over the way last year ended have been in a funk, will this be their breakout? Rangers enjoyed a good opening week – they did last year as well. How will things go the rest of the way?
Thunder Bay Nor’Westers @ Bathgate Rangers Summing up this game you could say it was belonged to Malkin and Kane. And that’s even after considering that Erik Karlsson scoring 2 goals. The Malking and Kane combo worked to setup 3 goals – the 2 from Karlsson and the opening goal scored by Michael Ferland.
Period 1 – Ferland and Karlsson both scored before the game was 5 minutes old. Both goals set up by Malkin and Kane. Thunder Bay’s Nyquist capitalized on Dillon hooking penalty, to score in the last two minutes of the period to close the gap to 2-1. But by then it was too little, too late.
Period 2 – Just over a minute into the period, Korpikoski scored (and Malkin and Kane had nothing to do with it).
Period 3 – Tyutin gets called for hooking at 2:07. Thunder Bay however, gave up the PP when Nyquist is whistled for interference 44 seconds later. And then just after Tyutin’s penalty expires, Karlsson (from Kane and Malkin) nets the Rangers 2nd power play goal of the season and makes it 4-1. Pekka Rinne was near flawless stopping 23 of 24 shots.STARS:
1. Karlsson 2 goals
2. Malkin 3 assists
3. Kane 3 assists
Weekly Summary: One game at home and the Rangers prevail 4-1 over Thunder Bay.

Columbus Brew Jackets One home game this week agains Chicago
Chicago Cosa Nostra @ Columbus Brew Jackets Absolutely no defence in this one boys. Columbus thought they had it won after a back and forth goal fest. But Chicago hit the back of the net twice in the last minute of play to get out of town with a win.

FINAL SCORE: CBJ 7 – CHI 8

Stars:
Kreider (hat trick)
Nylander
Miller

Weekly Summary: Columbus couldn’t hold serve at their one home game with week

Hampton Blizzard Hampton hosts Toledo and has a make up game versus Thunder Bay because last week the team bus driver got high on peyote and drove to Chicago instead of Thunder Bay for a surprise visit with the Cosa Nostra.
Thunder Bay Nor’Westers @ Hampton Blizzard The Blizzard had a hard time with Thunder Bay all last season and braced themselves for an even harder battle this season as it is obvious the Hampton defence of 2017-18 is a much different beast than it was in 2016-17. Gone are the days of outshooting opponents and holding them to less than 30 shots a game. The new Blizzard not only have trouble keeping shots off Mr. Price and Company, but also have a hard time themselves finding the opposing team nets. Weaker defence, a lack of discipline and weaker offense does not bode well for a successful campaign.
Thunder Bay and Hampton played it close in the first period with most of the action in the corners as the two teams tried to outgrind each other. The shots reflected the grindfest with Thunder Bay, of course, edging Hampton 9-8 in the scoreless opening period. Thunder Bay’s Charlie coyle came the closest to scoring, beating Carey Price high but dinging the puck off the crossbar.
Things opened up a bit in the second period and what got things going was a matching pair of roughing penalties to Tomas Tatar and Frans Nielsen handed out as they scuffled after the whistle.
Thunder Bay struck first when during the four-on-four Seth Jones (1) took a cross-ice pass from Gabriel Landeskog and blasted it low and under Price’s glove to give the Nor’westers a 1-0 lead. Jake Muzzin also assisted on the goal.
Just over a minute later, Thunder Bay stretched the lead to 2-0 when a weak shot by Jaccob Slavin from the point was deflected out of the air by Tatar (1) and down through Price’s frozen legs. Henrik Sedin picked up an assist on the play as well.
The two teams exchanged some nice end to end rushes for the next five minutes until on one of the Thunder Bay rushes their forwards were caught out of position after a shot and Hampton goaltender Price fed the puck to Erik Johnson at the blueline and the defenceman raced up the ice with Nathan Beaulieu and Mikko Rantanen on an unlikely three-on-one on Slavin. Johnson slipped a pass over to Beaulieu as the quarter converged on the net and Beaulieu made no mistake, launching the pick top shelf for his first goal of the season.
The 2nd period ended with Thunder Bay up 2-1 and the shots in the period even at a more enthusiastic 12-12.
At 6:16 of the 3rd period with Shayne Gotisbehere and Alex Goligoski off for yet another set of roughing penalties, Hampton evened things up with a backhander by Mikael Backlund (2) from just outside the crease that Ben Bishop could not handle. Beaulieu and Filip Forsberg got the helpers on the goal.
Thunder Bay then dominated the next 10 minutes of the game, but Price was on his game and the visitors could not find the back of the net.
Rantanen (1) broke the deadlock at 14:40 when he raced in on Bishop with the second coming of Bobby Orr (Beaulieu) sliding the puck through the legs of the last man back (once again poor Jaccob Slavin) and then deking around Bishop and slipping the puck over the goal line. For Beaulieu, the unexpected offensive juggernaut, it was his 2nd assist and third point of the game.
Ander Lee (5) added a little padding to the lead when Thunder Bay centreman Sean Couturier won the draw but kicked the puck back and onto the stick of Lee who dropped it back to Andrej Sekera who in turn made a nice feed back to Lee who rifled it through Bishop’s legs to make it 4-2.
Thunder Bay pulled Bishop with just under two minutes left and it took only 30 seconds for the gamble to pay off. Cam O’Reilly faked out a couple of defenceman and then with only Price to face slid the puck across the crease to Coyle who was waiting beside the net to easily tap in the puck and make it a one-goal game.
The last minute of the game was a flurry of activity with Thunder Bay pelting Price with shots and then Hampton twice failing to hit the empty net. The puck stayed out of both nets actually with Hampton winding up the winner 4-3 although getting outshot 13-9 in the final period.Game stars – Nathan Beaulieu (1 goal, 2 assists), Mikael Backlund (1 goal, 15 faceoffs won), Jaccob Slavin (2 assists, 29:17 ice time and for being the only player at times concerned about playing defence).
Toledo Walleye @ Hampton Blizzard Hampton was hoping that for Toledo’s first game ever in town that frozen fish would be on the menu.
Carey Price suffered an attack of “I don’t want to play tonight” and at the last minute Antti Raanta was pressed into action between the posts.
Price needn’t have worried as the game was for the first time all season dominated by Hampton.
The Blizzard outshot the Walleye 13-8, 17-9, and 16-5 but were only able to beat Devan Dubnyk twice.
Two goals was all that they would need, however, as Raanta’s first home ice appearance this season was a memorable one – he made 22 saves to earn the team’s first shutout in history as the Blizzard won 2-0.
Vincent Trocheck (2) opened the scoring at 5:35 of the first period when he tipped Nathan Beaulieu’s shot past Dubnyk.
Patric Hornqvist (2) closed things down with a goal at 5:05 of the 3rd period when he converted Brayden Point’s pass for a slapshot tally.
Things got interested in the wee hours of the game thanks to lunatic Andrew Shaw of Hampton taking a double-minor penalty for high-sticking at 7:14. Fortunately Toledo was not able to do much of anything on the power play registering just one shot in the four minutes.
The Walleye’s last gasp was all but silenced when Mike Green was handed a penalty for hooking with just over two minutes to go.Game stars – Patric Hornqvist (1 goal, 6 shots, 3 hits, 1 blocked shot, 1 takeaway), Devan Dubnyk (44 saves), Antti Raanta (22 saves, shutout)
Weekly Summary: A week of firsts for Hampton as the Blizzard record their first shutout, they host Toledo for the first time ever, they outshoot a team for the first time this season, and Nathan Beaulieu emerges as an offensive force.

Gilbert Sharks Gilbert plays just 1 game at home in the 2nd session
Game #1: Jacob Voracek opens the scoring a little over 3 minutes into the game to put Gilbert up 1-0 but bathgate would come back with 2 goals before the end of the first period, one from Tyutin, one from Karlsson. Bathgate would extend the lead with 2 more in the 2nd period. Goals scored by Eriksson and Anderson. Derek stepan gives Gilbert some hope late in the 3rd with a goal to cut the lead to two but Bathgate adds an empty netter by Sissons. Final Score Bathgate 5 Gilbert 2
Weekly Summary: Gilbert loses their only home game of the session

Jagr Mullets Jagr starts the season in a free-fall… will their luck change?
Lakeland Flying Tigers @ Jagr Mullets Jagr draws first blood late in the 1st on a Patrik Laine PP goal, and is up 2-1 at the halfway point. But Lakeland scores late on the PP in the 2nd and then adds two very late goals in the 3rd to cruise to a 4-2 win.

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 18:50 PP JAG Laine (3), assisted by Ovechkin (5)
2 4:23 EV LAK Lowry (1), unassisted
2 7:46 EV JAG Kadri (5), assisted by Martinez (3) and Kessel (4)
2 14:27 PP LAK Hagelin (1), assisted by Thornton (1) and Seabrook (2)
3 18:12 EV LAK Connolly (1), assisted by Thornton (2) and Orlov (1)
3 19:53 EV LAK Henrique (3), assisted by Seabrook (3)

Star 1: LAK Fleury 40 saves
Star 2: LAK Connolly 1 G
Star 3: LAK Henrique 1 G

GWG: Brett Connolly

Notables: LAK Orlov 5 blocks, Ristolainen 5 blocks, Fleury 40 saves, Myers 5 blocks
JAG None

Weekly Summary: As of now Jagr is 1-5 and digging a deep hole. If things don’t turn around soon, expect a salary-clearing fire sale.

Toledo Walleye Coming off a 1-3 first week the Walleye look to play tough against division leading Minneapolis (3-1-0) and struggling Jagr (1-3-0). Toledo hopes a few tweaks to the gameplan will work before they look at roster changes.
Minneapolis Deep Freeze @ Toledo Walleye With 2 top notch netminders in goal, Bobrovsky and Dubnyk, a high scoring game was definitely not in the plan for this game.

Period one sees Toledo dominate in SOG 12-6 and PP opportunities 3-1 but Minneapolis is more efficient as they get the only goal of the period on their lone powerplay as Pavelski lights the lamp and the Deep Freeze go to intermission up 1-0

Period 2 is a repeat of period one as Toledo is more active on offense, dominating SOG 23-9, but the visitors tally the only goal of the period as Byron puts the Deep Freeze up 2-0.

Period 3 follows form as Toledo SOG advantage is strong 16-6, but Dubnyk is able to keep the net empty, and Foligno has a dominant period scoring one even strength goal and another power play goal to tie the game 2-2 and send the game to overtime.

OT – both teams get shots on the net by none convert and the game goes to a shootout

SO – Dubnyk continues strong while the home team gets goals from Anisimov and Foligno again to take the SO victory.

Final – Toledo 3, Minneapolis 2

1st star – Foligno 2G plus one in the SO
2md star – Bobrovsky – 52 saves in the loss
3rd star – Pavelski – 1G

Jagr Mullets @ Toledo Walleye Another low scoring game expected as Murray and Dell guard the nets today against teams with losing records.

Period 1 – Toledo is on attack most of the 1st period outshooting the Mullets 15-4, but once again the visitors tally the only goal as Ovechkin deflects one in mid period. Jagr does a great job on the kill shutting down 3 PP by Toledo. 1-0 Jagr at the intermission.

Period 2 – Defense is the story as both teams manage only 9 SOG total and the lamps stay dark the entire 20 minutes. Clean play with no penalties or goals. Jagr holds the lead at 1-0

Period 3 – Players got some good rest during intermission and come with with improved energy, as both teams combine for 28 SOG in period 3. For the Walleye, Dell is up to the challange and he continues to keep his lamp powerless the entire period. For the Mullets, Murray is not quite as successful and his lamp gets illuminated twice, by Rieder and Anisimov, and the visitors are unable to pick up their 2nd win of the season. Toledo 2-1

1st star Rieder 1g
2nd star Anisimov 1g
3rd star Dell 23 saves

Weekly Summary: Toledo gets wins #2 and #3 with 2 come from behind wins, holding the opposition to 3 goals over 2 games. In the process they gain some ground on the division leading Deep Freeze. Things are starting to look up on the banks of the Maumee River.

Long Beach Ice Dogs  
Lakeland Flying Tigers @ Long Beach Ice Dogs This game had an exciting 3rd period. It was 1-1 after 2 but after some back and forth Lakeland appeared to wrap up the win when Hartman scored with 1:06 left. Long Beach pulled the goalie and Zetterberg tied the game with 7.1 seconds left forcing OT. The game went to a shootout which Lakeland won 3-1 for a 4-3 victory.

1st: Granlund
2nd: Brown
3rd: Hartman

Weekly Summary: Long Beach lost their only home game this week on a shootout.

Brentwood Bandits Brentwood has a chance to make some noise in a division that has seen Jagr off to a horrible start. 3 home games. Let’s see how it plays out.
Columbus Brew Jackets @ Brentwood Bandits Halak in net to spell starter Gibson. This game was all Brentwood. Tavares opened the scoring with #3 on the year assisted by Merrill (1) and Marleau (1). 3 minutes later Niederreiter (2) from Forbort (2) and Crosby (4) makes it a 2-0 Brentwood lead after the 1st.

2nd period was back and forth. Very even period. No scoring.

3rd period saw Brentwood score on the Power Play – Marleau (3) from Hainsey (1) and Tavares (3) to make it 3-0.

Halak held up the score for his first shutout in his first start for the Bandits.

1 2 3 F
2017-18 Columbus 2-3-0-0 0 0 0 0
2017-18 Brentwood 3-2-0-0 2 0 1 3

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 10:39 EV BWB Tavares (3), assisted by Merrill (1) and Marleau (1)
1 13:37 EV BWB Niederreiter (2), assisted by Forbort (2) and Crosby (4)
3 5:10 PP BWB Marleau (3), assisted by Hainsey (1) and Tavares (3)

SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3
Columbus 9 11 11
Brentwood 11 12 8

CBJ BWB
SOG 31 31
FOW 29 34
FO% 46.0 54.0
Hits 24 25
Blocks 16 15
Missed Net 17 6
Shot Attempts 63 53
Scoring Chances 12 16
PIM 8 4
PP 0-1 1-3
TOA 3:15 4:44

Star 1: BWB Halak 31 saves
Star 2: BWB Tavares 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 3: BWB Marleau 1 G, 2 Pts

GWG: John Tavares

Notables: CBJ None
BWB Halak 31 saves

Columbus GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate
G Budaj -L 3 28 .903 60:00 1 3 0 6.6 (-0.3)

Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate
G Halak -W 0 31 1.000 60:00 1 0 0 6.9 (0.0)

Minneapolis Deep Freeze @ Brentwood Bandits The Deep Freeze come to Brentwood to put the Bandits on ice…

Bobrovsky vs. Gibson

No score in period 1. Very even play. Shots were Bandits 11, Deep Freeze 10.

Period 2. Bandits come out firing. Niederreiter scores his his 3rd from Phaneuf (4) and Crosby (5).

10 minutes later Radulov scores his first of the campaign from Vermette (1)

2 minutes later Cammalleri scores his first as a Bandit frmo Forbort (3) and Radulov (1).

At 15:57 Minneapolis finally gets on the board when Fisher scores on a breakaway to make it 3-1 Bandits.

We go into the 3rd with Brentwood up 3-1. They dominate the entire period, out-shooting Minneapolis 21-6, but Bobrovsky does everything in his power to keep his team in the game as he only allows one more goal, on the PP from Vatrano (1) assisted by Krug (7) and Crosby (6).

Brentwood skated the rest of the way to the 4-1 victory.

1 2 3 F
2017-18 Minneapolis 3-2-0-0 0 1 0 1
2017-18 Brentwood 4-2-0-0 0 3 1 4

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
2 1:08 EV BWB Niederreiter (3), assisted by Phaneuf (4) and Crosby (5)
2 11:51 EV BWB Radulov (1), assisted by Vermette (1)
2 13:34 EV BWB Cammalleri (1), assisted by Forbort (3) and Radulov (1)
2 15:57 EV MIN Fisher (1), assisted by Kuznetsov (1) and Byron (1)
3 8:49 PP BWB Vatrano (1), assisted by Krug (7) and Crosby (6)

SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3
Minneapolis 10 4 6
Brentwood 11 10 21

MIN BWB
SOG 20 42
FOW 29 31
FO% 48.3 51.7
Hits 23 24
Blocks 16 13
Missed Net 8 17
Shot Attempts 41 75
Scoring Chances 4 16
PIM 16 6
PP 0-0 1-4
TOA 3:42 6:26

Star 1: BWB Radulov 1 G, 2 Pts
Star 2: BWB Niederreiter 1 G
Star 3: BWB Vatrano 1 G

GWG: Alexander Radulov

Notables: MIN Bobrovsky 38 saves
BWB None

Minneapolis GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate
G Bobrovsky -L 4 38 .905 60:00 3 2 0 8.9 (+0.3)

Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate
G Gibson -W 1 19 .950 60:00 3 1 0 8.1 (+0.2)

Gilbert Sharks @ Brentwood Bandits What a WILD game! Back and forth action. Cam Ward tries to halt the train that is the Brentwood Bandits of late. Gibson in goal again for the Bandits.

1st Period 7:54 Guentzel (3) on the PP from Crosby (7) and Niederreiter (4).

Less than a minute later Tavares pots his 4th of the season assisted by Vatrano (1) and Backes (2) to give the Bandits a 2-0 lead that holds until the end of the 1st.

2nd Period 2:56 Cogliano scores his 1st of the season from Josi (2) and Iginla (1) to cut the lead to 1.

Gilbert at 14:20 scores on the PP with Getzlaf getting his first of the season, assisted by Panarin (4) and Atkinson (3). Tied 2-2.

27 seconds later, Tavares scores his second of the game (5) from Backes (3) – 3-2 Bandits lead

That lead holds until the 3rd period.

At 3:28 in the 3rd, Iginla scores his 2nd of the season from MacKinnon (3) to tie the game at 3.

With under 4 minutes to go in regulation, Geztlaf cuts in and around a defender and top shelfs a wrister to take the lead with his 2nd of the game and the season, assisted by Panarin (5) and Atkinson (4).

Gilbert seems poised to take the road win when Atkinson fires a puck over the glass for a Delay of Game penalty, putting Brentwood on a PP with under 2 minutes to play.

Brentwood has some trouble getting setup, even giving a short handed chance that Gibson stoned. Play goes back the other way and Gibson heads to the bench. Crosby comes on as the extra attacker. Brentwood can’t get set up. Gilbert keeps intercepting and clearing. Looks like they are cruising to a win when Crosby cuts across the blue line, makes a move and dekes a defender to the left at which time he fires the puck and SCORES!! With 10.5 seconds left, Sid ties the game at 4 with his 5th of the season (from Forbort with his 4th assist).

We are headed to OT!!

Lots of back and forth. Surprisingly Cam Ward matches Gibson’s performance as both face 4 shots and make 4 saves.

Off to the shootout!

First shooter for Gilbert is Atkinson… he bears down on Gibson, dekes left, then goes right… scores! Gilbert up 1-0 on in the shootout.

First Brentwood shooter is Crosby. He gets up some speed and fakes a shot high then goes five hole, but Ward closes the door at the last minute. Gilbert still up 1-0.

Gilbert sends Panarin to the line. He comes in wide. Whips a lightning fast wrister that Gibson gloves in spectacular fashion. Still 1-0 Gilbert.

Patrick “Old man take a look at my life…” Marleau slowly chugs right down the middle of the ice. He patiently waits as Ward flinches first and goes down, rooftop tickler… Tied 1-1.

Voracek checks himself before he wrecks himself and skates toward Gibson, but before he can make a move Gibson poke checks the puck off of his stick! Still 1-1 in the shootout.

“El” Nino Niederreiter wastes no time… flying down the right side of the ice. He dekes one way, shoots the other… SCORE!!!! Brentwood wins in a shootout to go 3-0 on the home stand!

1 2 3 4 SO F
2017-18 Gilbert 3-1-0-1 0 2 2 0 1 4
2017-18 Brentwood 5-2-0-0 2 1 1 0 2 5

Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 7:54 PP BWB Guentzel (3), assisted by Crosby (7) and Niederreiter (4)
1 8:27 EV BWB Tavares (4), assisted by Vatrano (1) and Backes (2)
2 2:56 EV GIL Cogliano (1), assisted by Josi (2) and Iginla (1)
2 14:20 PP GIL Getzlaf (1), assisted by Panarin (4) and Atkinson (3)
2 14:47 EV BWB Tavares (5), assisted by Backes (3)
3 3:28 EV GIL Iginla (2), assisted by MacKinnon (3)
3 16:11 EV GIL Getzlaf (2), assisted by Panarin (5) and Atkinson (4)
3 19:50 PP BWB Crosby (5), assisted by Forbort (4)

Shootout: Gilbert 1-Brentwood 2
Shooter Goaltender Result
GIL Atkinson Gibson G
BWB Crosby Ward X
GIL Panarin Gibson X
BWB Marleau Ward G
GIL Voracek Gibson X
BWB Niederreiter Ward G

SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3 SOG 4
Gilbert 7 14 8 4
Brentwood 8 10 9 4

GIL BWB
SOG 33 31
FOW 21 51
FO% 29.2 70.8
Hits 27 26
Blocks 19 11
Missed Net 13 14
Shot Attempts 57 64
Scoring Chances 8 17
PIM 4 6
PP 1-3 2-2
TOA 3:16 5:48

Star 1: BWB Tavares 2 G
Star 2: GIL Getzlaf 2 G
Star 3: GIL Iginla 1 G, 2 Pts

GWG: Nino Niederreiter

Notables: GIL None
BWB Crosby 23 faceoffs won, Tavares 16 faceoffs won

Gilbert GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate
G Ward -OL 4 27 .871 65:00 1 0 1 6.0 (0.0)

Brentwood GA SV Save% TOI W L OL Rate
G Gibson -W 4 29 .879 64:19 4 1 0 7.9 (0.0)

Weekly Summary: Brentwood takes some early ground in the division and wins all three games on the home stand. A good chance that when this week is over we may be leading the division.

Perhaps the new found philosophy of a good balanced team with solid defensive play from all on the ice was the right way to go. Everyone seems to have bought into it and it’s working. Even when it doesn’t “work” the team seems to be stepping up and scoring when needed.

“Very early in the season, but we like where we are so far…” – Coach Tom Atkins


Alamo Defenders Bathgate and Bucks County travel south to lovely San Antonio for two games.
Bathgate Rangers @ Alamo Defenders Alamo puts on an offensive show by scoring the first four goals of the game. The first 3 goals were on power plays. Lots of penalties in this game. The Rangers with 35 minutes of penalties and the Defenders get 19 penalties in the box. Seguin with 1 goal and 3 assists for Alamo. He also wins 18 faceoffs. Alamo out-shoots Bathgate,46-28.

Alamo 8 Bathgate 2

1 star – Seguin
2 star -Eaves
3 star – Wheeler

Bucks County Racoons @ Alamo Defenders Alamo coming off a big win against Bathgate takes on Bucks County.

The Defenders start Ryan Miller in goal.

In the 1st period, Pysyk scores 2:27 into the game. In the 2nd period, fellow defenseman Aaron Ekblad scores his 3rd goal of the season. Then, Jay Beagle scores an empty netter to put the way away.

Alamo 3 Bucks County 0

1 star – Miller
2 star – Beagle
3 star – Ekblad

Perrault goes 12 for 12 on faceoffs – wow.

Weekly Summary: Alamo is hot at home as they outscore their two opponents by the score of 11-2. Some good tacos were had in celebration.

Weekly Preview:Thunder Bay Nor’Westers After starting the season 1-2, Thunder Bay plays 5 games this week. A little early to get too concerned but we need to finish. We are getting the puck to the net but not lighting the lamp.
Clearfield Bison @ Thunder Bay Nor’Westers This game was all Thunder Bay from start to finish. Final score was 7-2. Ben Bishop in net played a very strong game and Calle Jarnkrok scored twice with Nyquist, Slavin (GW), Saad, Jones and Barkov also scoring. For Clearfield goals were netted by Drouin & Weal.
Minneapolis Deep Freeze @ Thunder Bay Nor’Westers Minneapolis (3) Thunder Bay (0) We outshot them, had more scoring chances, out hit them and in general out played them. Except for Sergi Bobrovsky, he was the star of the day. He stonewalled the Nor’Westers, frustrated the fans and should be Goalie of the week after this performance.
Weekly Summary: 1-1 again, so after two weeks we are just 2-2 with 4 points at home. Head Coach Jeri Fischer is confident that we can change these results around in the future weeks.

California Regulators  
Long Beach Ice Dogs @ California Regulators Long Beach squeaks one by the Regulators, 3-2.
Columbus Brew Jackets @ California Regulators Columbus destroys the Regulators, 6-2
Corktown Suds @ California Regulators California takes it 7-2, finally.
Weekly Summary: California is 2-4, and not playing well.

Lakeland Flying Tigers Alamo @ Lakeland. Lakeland has been having a balanced attack and above average goaltending from the backup Fleury. Would it continue?
Alamo Defenders @ Lakeland Flying Tigers Not at all. Lakeland is called for 38 Penalty Minutes in the game and can never regain the team’s composure in a 4-0 Alamo win. (More like an Alamo ass kicking!)
Weekly Summary: Only 1 home game this week and it is a game decided by the referees. Can only hope to get more than 15 shots in future games! 

Minneapolis Deep Freeze Minneapolis gets only one game at home this week after going 3-0 at home last week. The Gilbert Sharks come to The Pond with a little inside information on the Deep Freeze courtesy of their last season’s leading point scorer Ryan Getzlaf and goaltender Cam Ward.
Gilbert Sharks @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze Gilbert Sharks (2) @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze (3)
—————————
Corey Crawford gets his first start of the season in net while Bobrovsky gets a day off for the Deep Freeze.Not a good start for Minneapolis, as the Sharks score early on a wrist shot from Panarin (3). Minneapolis evens the score with 3:07 left in the period when Turris (2) perfectly redirected a shot from Gagne. The period ends with the score tied at 1 and shots relatively even at 10-9 in favor of the Sharks.The Deep Freeze come out strong to start the second, and Markov blasts a shot past Rask… but after review they determine that it never crossed the line, and the score stays tied for now. The teams trade mostly unproductive powerplays in the first half of the period, thwarted by defense and goaltending. Orpik blasts a shot towards the Sharks’ net and Turris (3) gives Minneapolis the 2-1 lead on another deflection that Rask had no chance of stopping. The Deep Freeze would get a powerplay opportunity late in the period with Panarin in the box for a dirty hit on Seidenberg, but fail to capitalize on their chances and go to the locker room still leading 2-1.The Sharks open the third period with 18 seconds left on the penalty to Panarin, but they kill that off easily to return to even strength. Minneapols goes back on the powerplay 2 minutes later, and this time is able to make Gilbert pay the price. The Deep Freeze extend their lead and Marchessault gets his league-leading 6th goal of the season on a slap shot through a crowd in front just as the penalty was expiring. Gilbert pulls the goalie down by 2 with just over a minute to go, and it pays off when Atkinson fires a shot into a crowd that gets tipped by Stepan to make it 3-2. They’ll keep the net empty and try to tie it up! MacKinnon gets a clean shot for the Sharks with under 5 seconds to go, but Crawford is there to make the save and the Deep Freeze hang on to win 3-2.Scoring Summary
Per Time Str Team
1 3:13 EV GIL Panarin (3), assisted by Bouwmeester (1) and Josi (2)
1 16:53 EV MIN Turris (2), assisted by Gagner (3) and Markov (4)
2 8:04 EV MIN Turris (3), assisted by Orpik (3) and Gagner (4)
3 4:12 PP MIN Marchessault (6), assisted by Manning (3) and Pavelski (4)
3 19:30 EV GIL Stepan (3), assisted by Atkinson (3) and Voracek (4)SOG 1 SOG 2 SOG 3
Gilbert 10 12 7
Minneapolis 9 13 11

GIL MIN
SOG 29 33
FOW 30 27
FO% 52.6 47.4
Hits 22 19
Blocks 16 13
Missed Net 9 11
Shot Attempts 51 60
Scoring Chances 5 15
PIM 8 2
PP 0-1 1-4
TOA 4:37 5:08

Star 1: MIN Turris 2 G
Star 2: MIN Marchessault 1 G
Star 3: MIN Gagner 2 A

Notables: GIL Rask 30 saves
MIN None

Weekly Summary: Minneapolis wins their only home game of the week to move to 4-0 at home on the season. Corey Crawford earns his keep as the most overqualified backup goaltender in the league.

Bucks County Racoons Racs host 3 teams this week, division rival Wausau, division leader Long Beach, and unbeaten division leader Clearfield……
Wausau Lumberjacks @ Bucks County Racoons Connor McDavid scores twice and Evander Kane notches the game winner at 12:16 of the third period to lead the Raccoons to a win over Wausau by a score of 3-2. The Racs have 82 shot attempts to the LumberJacks 43 and pile up 16 scoring chances to 7 for the visitors, but Smith keeps Wausau in the game with 34 saves. McDavid, Kane and Schwartz are the 3 stars of the game.
Long Beach Ice Dogs @ Bucks County Racoons For the second time this month the Raccoons gave up a late third period lead and eventually lost to the visiting Long Beach Ice Dogs in OT by a score of 3-2. Neither team could dent the nets in the first two periods, but Duncan Keith scored his first of the year at 1:27 of the 3rd on a PP to give the Racs the lead. 13 minutes later Markus Johansson scored his 2nd of the year and a 2 goal lead for the home team. With 3:14 left in the 3rd Grandlund scored for Long Beach to trim the lead to 1, and then 26 seconds later Fabbri notched his 3rd and we were tied at 2. In the OT Grandlund scored again at 3:06 to give LB the improbable win. Naturally, Grandlund was the 1st star of the game, followed by Fabbri and Keith.
Clearfield Bison @ Bucks County Racoons Still smarting from the point they didn’t get against Long Beach, the Raccoons let Clearfield open the scoring at 12:34 of the first to fall behind 1 nothing. After that, it was all BCR, as the Racs scored 5 unanswered, spread out over Schwartz, Palmiere, Kane, Keith and Hyman. The Bison tried to recover, but Smith scored for BCR between Bison goals by Williams and Neal and Bucks County held on for a 6-3 win. Schwartz, Hyman and Kane were the 3 stars, supported by decent goaltending by Darling.
Weekly Summary: The Raccoons take 5 of 6 points from a formidable trio of visitors, but the blown late 3rd period lead and eventual OT loss to Long Beach left a bad taste in the Raccoons mouth. And when you are a raccoon, that is saying something…..

Wausau Lumberjacks The Lumberjacks will play 3 home games this week. LA. , Long Beach and California.
LA Great Danes @ Wausau Lumberjacks Four first period goals by the lumberjacks put this game on ice early. The stars of the game were. Star # 1 -Howard 30 saves. Star # 2 -Zuccarello 1g. 2pts. Star # 3 Dumba 1g.

Wausau 4 LA. 0

California Regulators @ Wausau Lumberjacks The Lumberjacks score 4 goals thru 2 periods. The Regulators mount a furious 3 period comeback that falls short. Star # 1 -Niskanen 1 g. 2 pts. Star # 2 – Giroux 1g. 2 pts.
Star # 3- Brown 1 g.Wausau 4 California 2
Long Beach Ice Dogs @ Wausau Lumberjacks The Lumberjacks never solve Markstrom.
Star 1 #- Markstrom 42 saves. Star # 2 – Roussel-1g. Star # 3-Nash 1 g.Long Beach 3 Wausau 0
Weekly Summary: The Lumberjacks win 2 of 3 at home. Howard play very strong game in first home game of the block.

New Jersey Grizzlies  
Hampton Blizzard @ New Jersey Grizzlies Hampton wins 3-2.
Jagr Mullets @ New Jersey Grizzlies Jagr wins 6-5.
Bathgate Rangers @ New Jersey Grizzlies New Jersey wins 3-0
Weekly Summary: Games were tough and Jersey need to score.