2019 EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI FINAL

Series Preview:	Conference Finals start in Brentwood as New Jersey comes to town!
Game #1:	This was a feeling out game to start. Scoreless 1st period. Both teams firing pucks on net though with NJ with 11 and BWB with 13. Head to the 2nd. Draisaitl (2) draws first blood to give NJ the 1-0 lead. That is how the 2nd would end. Head into the 3rd… 1:42 into the period El Nino scores his 3rd of the playoffs to tie it 1-1. 3:26 Hornqvist (2) puts the Bandits ahead 2-1. 4:23 Kessel (2) makes it 3-1 Bandits. NJ on the PP at 15:51 pulls within one making it 3-2… But try as they might with Kincaid pulled, it ends with a Bandits win 3-2. Game 1 goes to the good guys. Game 2 coming up!
Game #2:	NJ comes out firing! Kase (5) makes it 1-0 before Brentwood can even get a shot on goal! 21 seconds later Kerfoot (5) ties it 1-1. At 5:17 Niederreiter (4) puts one past Kincaid making it 2-1 Bandits. 6:35 Kessel (3) tickles the twine to make it 3-1 Bandits. Scott Hartnell (1) pulls the Grizzlies within one making it 3-2 Bandits. That’s how the period would end. 2nd Period… Arvidsson (6) ties it 3-3. Bandits go on another run… Hornqvist (3) – Kincaid pulled for Holtby – , Niederreiter (5), and Krug (1) make it 6-3 Bandits in short order. With 17 seconds left in the 2nd Pulock (1) stops the bleeding and makes it 6-4 Bandits. The 3rd was ALL Bandits as they score another 4 unanswered goals with Horvat (3), Krug 2 (2), Kessel 2 (4), and Kessel 3 (5) again for the Hat Trick! Your final is a lopsided 10-4 Bandit win. The Bandits make a statement winning handily 10-4. Interesting to see how NJ responds at home down 2-0!
Game #3:	The series shifts to New Jersey with Brentwood up 2-0. Let’s see if Jersey’s amazing home cooking can continue. 1st Period Brentwood really puts the pressure on to the tune of 18 SOG in the 1st. Getting two behind Kinkaid with Lindholm (3) and Hornqvist (4) finding the back of the net, but Johansen (2) scores on a breakaway to end the period 2-1 Bandits. 2nd Period This period saw Jersey get the edge in shots 13-7, but Brentwood getting another goal, this time from Maatta (2) to make it 3-1 Bandits. 3rd Period Hornqvist (5) gets his 2nd of the game to make it 4-1 Bandits. A little over a minute later Konecny (5) makes it a game pulling NJ within 2 as it’s now 4-2 Brentwood. Kessel posts his 6th of the playoffs to get the 3-Goal lead back, 5-2 Bandits. Time ticking down. Pulling Kinkaid allows Debrusk (2) to pull Jersey within 2, but that’s how it would end.5-3 Bandits win and take a very commanding 3-0 lead in the series.
Game #4:	Jersey being down 3-0, will they at least be able to stave off elimination, and play “one game at a time” to avoid getting swept? Let’s find out… 1st Period Brentwood comes out firing, but Kinkaid is up to the task early as Brentwood is up 9-2 in shots in the early going. Then the tide turned when Werenski (3) draws first blood to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead. The Bandits couldn’t even get another shot on goal in the period (missing the net often) and we end the 1st with a 1-0 Jersey lead. 2nd Period This time Jersey comes out firing as they continue riding their wave of energy, but this time Vasilevskiy is up to the task stopping everything thrown at him (10 shots) while Lindholm (3) ties the game 1-1. With 30 seconds left, Kessel (7) gets a ball-buster of a goal to go into the 3rd with the Bandits up 2-1. 3rd Period Facing elimination, the Grizzlies really put it to the Bandits, who give it right back, which could prove costly… Kase (6) ties it up at 5:16. Score now 2-2 At 14:12 Konecny (6) gives NJ a rare lead in the series, 3-2. Time ticking away… it’s looking like NJ will live to fight another day… Vasilevskiy pulled. Can’t get any shots on goal. Jersey tries to jump on a puck and head into the offensive zone for the empty netter, but lose control of the puck, which Eberle picks up and is off to the races!! He crosses the blue line with speed, bares down on Kinkaid… one on one. He dekes, shoots… SCORES!!! The Bandits have tied the game with 38 seconds remaining!!! Eberle with his 1st of the playoffs, and boy it was needed! The air was really let out of the building after that. We head to OT… New Jersey would not be deterred as they fire puck after puck at Vasilevskiy, but he stands tall. In and OT playoff game, you always ask “Who’s gonna be the hero?” At 11:19 into OT, we get that answer… Bandits 4th line on… they don’t get much ice time, but Coach Tom Atkins has a feeling… Maatta fires the puck in around the boards. Byron picks it up and finds a wide-open Pearson, who shoots… SCORES!!! That is the game and the series!!! Bandits win!! Sweeping the near impossible to beat on home ice New Jersey Grizzlies to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals to face the California Regulators!! Congrats to New Jersey on a good season in a tough Atlantic Division and pulling of the huge upset of Jagr!! We welcome California to Brentwood for Game 1 as soon as possible. 😊
Series Results:	Brentwood wins the series 4-0. No files were ever sent from New Jersey.