2016-2017 PLAYER & GOALIE OF THE WEEK #3

Thomas_Tatar16Ben_Bishop16Kris_Letang16Tuukka_Rask16

EASTERN SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASISSTS POINTS PM  +/- SOG S%
Tatar, Tomas TBN 4 4 2 6 5 3 10 40%
EASTERN GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Bishop, Ben JAG 4 9 2.27 102 .919
WESTERN SKATER TEAM GP GOALS ASSISTS POINTS PM  +/- SOG S%
Letang, Kris SCC 4 3 5 8 2 3 11 27%
WESTERN GOALIE TEAM GP GOALS AGAINST G.A. AVERAGE SAVES SAVE %
Rask, Tuukka SCC 3 3 1 68 .958

Blizzard

Hampton Blizzard

Weekly Preview:
The Corktown Suds head north to Hampton to face their division rivals as they try and get their season on track while Hampton in its only home game this week tries to keep up the momentum from their solid three-win second week.
Game #1:  The Corktown Suds struck first on a grotesque giveaway at centre ice but then met a wall of defenders anytime they wound up to take a shot as they were blocked and special teamed to death by the Blizzard 6-1.
Corktown shooters had 22 of their 59 shot attempts blocked in the game with Jason (Stonewall) Demers getting in the way of six shots just himself.
The Suds clearly had the momentum early trying to intimidate the Blizzard with hit after hit and pressing on offense with a flurry of shots in the first few minutes on besieged Hampton goaltender Brian Elliott. Blizzard winger Patric Hornqvist panicked with burly Deryk Engelland barrelling down on him at centre ice and appeared to abandon the puck and jump for cover leaving the defenceman with a clear path up ice. Engelland calmly waited for his teammates to catch up while the Blizzard scrambled back to their zone (save for Hornqvist who was tending to soiled equipment on the bench) and then shuffled the puck across the ice to defence-mate Zach Trotman who marched in from the point, beat Blizzard blueliner Jake Gardiner and tossed a backhand off the glove of Elliott and into the Hampton net.
Not intimidated by the scoring skills of Corktown snipers like Vladimir Tarasenko, Wayne Simmonds or James Neal the Blizzard (except Hornqvist) clicked into gear and began hitting back.
Only 90 seconds later the hitting led to a turnover in the Suds’ zone with Filip Forsberg blasting a shot that was blocked by Mark Stone, but the rebound went straight to Andre Burakovsky who passed out of a screen to Paul Stasny who in turned threaded a cross ice pass to Mattias Ekholm as the Swede raced in and fired a shot from the faceoff circle over the trapper of Suds’ goalie Chad Johnson.
Only 17 seconds later on a faceoff deep in the Suds’ end, Vincent Trocheck won the draw against Sean Monahan and drew the puck back to Gardiner who fired a laser that was barely saved by Johnson’s outstretched pad. Unfortunately for Johnson the rebound dropped right at his skates and Trocheck’s waiting stick and the super hot Panther draftee made no mistake and banked home the puck for a 2-1 Hampton lead.
A minute later a botched Corktown dump-in resulted in a 2-on-1 break for Hampton that saw Jannik Hansen rifling a one-timer from Frans Nielsen through Johnson’s legs for a 3-1 lead.
The second period offered a frenzy of shooting by Corktown on three consecutive power plays. With Tyler Myers off for hooking late in the period, a huge rebound off Elliott’s pads went out to the blueline where it was picked up by Mikael Backlund who outraced the Suds’ defenders for a breakaway and a backhand deke past Johnson for the team’s first short-handed goal of the season.
The cylinders were clicking for the Hampton defencemen in the game as not only were they blocking shots left and right, but also had great success in finding the back of the Corktown net. Gardiner increased the lead to 5-1 in the 3rd with a cannon shot from the point on the power play and then Ekholm added his 2nd of the game on a wrist shot from 20 feet off Johnson’s glove.
A very frustrating game for Corktown who outplayed Hampton in long stretches, but could not catch a break or get quality scoring chances on Elliott thanks to the wall of defenders in front of him. Some sketchy goaltending by Johnson certainly didn’t help as he allowed 6 of the 28 shots he faced to go in.SUMMARY:
First Period
1. CRK, Trotman 1 (Engelland) 6:34.
2. HAM, Ekholm 2 (Stasny, Burakovsky) 7:52
3. HAM, Trocheck 6 (Gardiner) 8:09
4. HAM, Hansen 3 (Nielsen, Gardiner) 9:26
Penalties-CRK, Simmonds (roughing), HAM, Ribeiro (roughing) 12:12.Second Period
5. HAM, Backlund 3 (unassisted) 17:05 (SHG)
Penalties-HAM, Hornqvist (interference) 7:15; HAM, Myers (hooking) 16:37; HAM, Stasny (hooking) 18:37.Third Period
6. HAM, Gardiner 2 (Forsberg, Stasny) 1:25 (PPG)
7. HAM, Ekholm 3 (unassisted) 2:36
Penalties-CRK, Martin (hooking) 1:07; CRK, Neal (roughing), HAM, McGinn (roughing) 1:39.FINAL Hampton 6, Corktown 1Shots on goal:
Corktown 6 10 6 = 22
Hampton 10 7 11 = 28Hampton wound up out-hitting Corktown 32-23; Corktown had 22 of their 59 shot attempts blocked compared to 9 of 50 for Hampton.Some Miscellaneous stats to throw at you:
Corktown
Marc Methot was a -3 for the game.
angry Kevan Miller lead all players with five hits.
Tarasenko and Martin each had three giveaways.
Ryan Kesler was on fire in the faceoff circle winning 10/11 … Monahan was not winning only 5/13Hampton
Paul Stasny had 3 giveaways
Jannik Hansen blocked three shots, Jason Demers had 5
Demers was also a +3 on the day
Frans Nielsen was a putrid 2/11 on faceoffs while Trocheck was 8/10
Weekly Summary:
Hampton gets another high octane offensive outburst, but dodges a bullet or rather steps in front of them blocking their way to victory.

 

Grizzlies

New Jersey Grizzlies

Game #1:  Chicago defeats New Jersey 3-2 in a game clearly dominated by NJ

Chicago opens up scoring from Bo Horvat with his 4 th goal of the season. Craig Smith adds his 1st to give Chicago a 2-0 lead thru 1 period. New Jersey as clearly out playing Chicago having 23-10 shot breakdown after 1 but the scoreboard reflected in favor Cosa Nostra. Cosa Nostra goalie Petr Mrazek was simply fire in the second period stopping another 20+ shots from a very angered and snake bit Grizzlies team. Alex Chaisson with his 1st goal got New Jersey on the board mid way thru the 3rd Period. Late in the 3rd period Andrew Copp added his second marker of the year. Henrik Sedin scores with ten seconds left but it proves to be all for naught as Chicago wins 3-2 despite being outshot 56-20.
Three Stars
1st-Petr Mrazek
2nd Craig Smith
3rd Adrew Copp

Game #2: Kinkaid leads NJ to victory over Brentwood Bandits 4-2

Brentwood Bandits and New Jersey Grizzlies square up at the Pru-Center where New Jersey looks to get back on track. Keith Kinkaid will get the start. Sven Baertschi opened the scoring iht eh 1st period with his second of the year. After the 1st twenty minutes Brentwood leads 1-0. With nine seconds remaining in the 2nd period Baertschi adds his second goal which gives the Bandits a 2-0 lead going into the intermission. In the third, Shea Weber got New Jersey on the board with pass from Henrik Sedin and Kyle Okposo. Bobby Ryan then proceeds to tie the game at 2 on the power play. A late penalty by Evgeni Malkin proved costly Ryan netted his 7th from Sedin and Okposo. Seconds later P.A. Parenteau took a cross checking penalty which sent the Grizzlies back on the power play which on the ensuing faceoff Dennis Wideman scored is 1st goal which was assited by Ryan Johnasen and Miikka Salomaki. New Jersey has taken the 3-2 lead and is looking to close it out. Miikka Salomaki added a empty net to seal the deal 4-2 and give NJ a win and Keith Kinkaid his 1st win of the season.

Three Stars
1st-Sven Baertschi
2nd Miikka Salomaki
3rd Bobby Ryan

Game #3: Lakeland suffers a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the Grizzlies

New Jersey and Lakeland take to the ice in the final game of the MWHL week. Kyle Okposo opens the scoring with a tough shot early in the first. The Grizzlies strike again with a goal from Sven Andrighetto who was just inserted back into the lineup. This was his second of the season a second in so many games. After period 1 New Jersey 2, Lakeland 0. Shots on goal were 14-5 in favor of NJ. Early in the 2nd period Ryan Johansen gave NJ 3-0 lead on a power play goal. Minutes later NJ got a goal from “ Big Buff” Dustin Byfuglien, his 4th of the year. NJ 4, Lakeland 0. Finally after some hard work along the boards Lakeland was able to get a goal from center Jason Spezza who made the score 4-1. Thru two periods the Grizzlies still have a commanding lead 4-1 over the Flying Tigers. Sticking to the trend New Jersey was able to secure a early third period goal from Viktor Arvidsson, his 4th of the season. New Jersey is ahead 5-1. New Jersey added another marker at 8:14 of the third from Valtteri Filppula his 1st of the season on a deflection from the slap shot of Victor Hedman. New Jersey has a commanding lead 6-1 with still tiem to play. Matt Belesky added a late goal for Lakeland. Final Score 6-2 New Jersey.
Three Stars
1st- Valtteri Filppula
2nd Ryan Johansen
3rd Kyle Okposo

Weekly Summary:
New Jersey clearly has the fire power to put shots on the board. They need to work on hitting the new consistently. This weeks practice will focus on developing the team further.

 

Chiefs

Second City Chiefs

Weekly Preview:
Second City has their first three games of the week at home as they look to build on last week’s 2-2 mark after a rough first week.
Game #1:
Chicago vs Second City
The visitors from across town get two power play chances in the opening period but cant slip one past Tuuka Rask. Late in the period it is the fourth line for the Chiefs that opens the scoring with Pakarinen netting his first goal of the season set up by the newly acquired Gorges along with Marcus Kruger. 1-0 Chiefs after one.
In the second period it’s the home side getting a couple of opportunities with the man advantage. First a four minute power play that is successfully rubbed out by the Cosa Nostra. But later in the period it’s Shayne Gostistbehere from the point beating Mrazek for his third goal of the year to make it 2-0 Second City.
Not much action in the third until a Chicago turnover leads to an odd-man rush for Second City. Hayes and Burrows set up Gostisbehere for his second of the game to make it 3-0 with 7:31 to play. The Chiefs tack on another goal in the waning minutes from Palmieri to make it 4-0 and that’s the way it ends. Rask stops all 21 shots for the shutout.
Game #2:
Brentwood vs Second City
Scoreless first, although each team had power play chances, including 45 seconds of 5-on-3 for Second City. Shots were 9-8 in favor of the Chiefs.
Still scoreless until late in the second when Letang winds up from the blue line and lets one rip, Palmieri redirects it into the twine behind Lundqvist for his fifth goal of the season. Letang and Panarin with the helpers. 1-0 Chiefs after two periods.
Brentwood’s attempt at a comeback hits a snag midway through the third when Malkin is sent off for five minutes. The Chiefs are unable to light the lamp during the major penalty, but time is running short for the visitors. Second City controls the game the rest of the way and Tuuka Rask records his second straight shutout. Chiefs win it 1-0.
Game #3:
Lakeland at Second City
This one starts fast as John Moore blasts a one timer past Jones on the first shot of the game just 32 seconds into the first to give the Chiefs an early lead. Panarin with the sweet setup for his 13th assist of the year. Tigers tie it up not long after as Paquette puts one off the crossbar and in behind Rask ending the scoreless streak for Tuuka. First of the year for Paquette.
Lakeland then takes the lead on Andrew Ladd’s second goal of the year just a few minutes later. Tigers then get a power play as Moore heads to the sin bin. But it is the Chiefs that strike while short handed as Laich and Lewis get a breakaway and Lewis finds the twine for his first of the year.
Another two-on-one for the Chiefs and this time its Burrows from Lewis to give Second City the 3-2 lead not even halfway through the first yet. Second City gets a power play late in the first and they capitalize as Letang powers one home from the high slot for his first of the year. 4-2 Chiefs after the first on just 10 shots.
Four minutes into the second it’s Lakeland cutting the lead in half. Gudbranson fired one that Rask fought off but Belesky picks up the loose change and cashes in his third goal of the year. Second City answers with a little over seven minutes left in the second as Atkinson gets his second of the year from Letang and Moore. Back to a two goal lead at 5-3.
Chiefs add another goal just a few minutes later as Panarin redirects Benn’s slapper for his second goal of the season. 6-3 home team. Then about a minute later on a delayed penalty call it’s Palmieri with the defection on a Tavares shot. 7-3 Chiefs and Martin Jones is sent to the showers as Quick takes over in net. Seven goals allowed on 18 shots for Jones.
In the third it is Lakeland racking up the penalty minutes, including handing Second City a 5-on-3 for over a minute. The Chiefs make them pay as Karlsson gets his first of the year from Letang and Burrows to make it 8-3 and that’s how this one ends. Letang with four points, Panarin and Burrows with three points each for Second City.
Weekly Summary:
Second City starts the week off well at home with three wins at the Wigwam. The Chiefs have now won five straight at home and are 5-1 in the Wigwam overall. They are yet to notch a road victory though. Overall Second City outscored their opponents 13-3 in their three home games this week. There may be hope for them yet.

 

FlyingTigers

Lakeland Flying Tigers

Weekly Preview:
Lakeland got off to a surprising fast start at home and I am still wondering what is going on, if they are for real or not.
Game #1:

Brentwood 0 @ Lakeland 3.

Jones with the SO and Seabrook finally catchs on with a G and an assist.

Star 1 – Jones SO, 30 Saves
Star 2 – Seabrook 1G 1A
Star 3 – Beleskey 1G

Game #2:

Bathgate 1 @ Lakeland 10

This one got out of hand. I tried to play all lines equally, but the good lines came out of the woodwork and probably wasted all its offense for the next 20 games. 🙂

Star 1 – Domi 2G, 2A
Star 2 – Oshie 2G, 1A
Star 3 – Henrique 1G, 2A

Weekly Summary:
Well, Lakeland win 2 division games but I have seen the other 2 games results and we got kicked in those, so not sure what is going on.

 

Defenders

Alamo Defenders

Weekly Preview:
Alamo comes in as a struggling team. They have 3 home games. First, its Ripon followed by Columbus. Then, game 3 will be Chicago visiting the Alamo City.
Game #1:

Ripon at Alamo

Wild game. Goalies were not on top of their games. Ripon outshoots Alamo, 39-34. With 1:30 left in the game, Pacioretty scores the game winning goal.

Alamo was fortunate to win as they had 16 penalty minutes to Ripon’s 8.

1st star – Tanner Pearson (2 goals)
2nd star – Taylor Hall (3 points)
3rd star – Kuznetsov (3 points)

Alamo 6 Ripon 5

Game #2:

Columbus at Alamo

No scoring in the 1st period. Alamo outshoots Columbus, 16-8. Then, the tables turn as Columbus dominates the second period, and really, the rest of the game. Holden, Miller and Burns score in the second for Columbus. Then, in the 3rd, Tyler Johnson scores 2. However, Alamo avoids the shutout, as Blake Wheeler nets one.

1st star – Tyler Johnson (2 goals)
2nd star – Crawford (36 saves)
3rd star – Burns (2 points)

Columbus 5 Alamo 1

Game #3:

Chicago at Alamo

In the 1st, Pacioretty scores a goal, and Chicago quickly counters with a Copp goal. With 6:02 remaining in the 1st, Wheeler scores. Its 2-1 after 1.

In the 3rd, Seguin scores for an insurance goal.

Alamo outshoots Chicago 39-28.

1st star – Seguin (1 goal, 1 assist)
2nd star – Greiss (27 saves)
3rd star – Pacioretty (1 goal)

Alamo 3 Chicago 1

Weekly Summary:
Alamo 6 Ripon 5
Columbus 5 Alamo 1
Alamo 3 Chicago 1Alamo takes 2 of 3.

 

IceDogs

Long Beach Ice Dogs

Weekly Preview:
Long Beach hosts 3 games against tough teams over the weekend.
Game #1:
Long Beach hosts California in a battle of 6-2 teams. California lit the lamp first when Zibaneiad scored 14 minutes into the 1st period. Carlson tied the game on a power play goal with 1:30 left in the 1st period. Long Beach took a 2-1 lead on a Perrault PP goal with 8:42 to go in the 2nd. That was all the scoring as the goalies took over. California outshot Long Beach 36-20 but Andersen made 35 saves in the Ice Dogs win.
Game #2:
Long Beach hosts Hampton. After a scoreless first period, Ekblad gave Hampton the lead with a PP goal :12 into the second period. They increased the lead to 2-0 6 minutes later in Trocheck’s 6th goal of the year. Hampton increased the lead to 3-0 when Hansen tallied with 3 minutes to go in the period. Hampton dominated the period outshooting Long Beach 15-5 in taking a 3-0 lead. Hampton put the game away on a Trocheck PP goal with 8 minutes left in the game. Backlund added a goal with 5 minutes left. Nugent-Hopkins broke up the shutout :15 later. Nielsen tipped in a goal with 1:00 left to make the final score 6-1.
Game #3:
Long Beach hosts Thunder Bay. The Ice Dogs opened scoring when Teravainen tipped in a shot by Ellis 5 minutes into the game. Fabbri gave Long Beach a 2-0 lead when he scored on a wrist shot 4 minutes into the second period. That was all the scoring as Andersen made 27 saves in the shutout.
Weekly Summary:
Long Beach wins 2 of 3

 

Suds

Corktown Suds

Weekly Preview:
Corktown gets a couple home games this week to try to improve their slow start.
Game #1:
More offense as we continue to see with a high powered O and no D whatsoever. Lansing falls 2-0 early but rallies to take a 5-4 victory. Backstrom breaks a 4-4 tie with about a minute left for the 2 points.
Game #2:
The Suds took down Minneapolis 4-2. the 1st period ended scoreless. Cam Ward gave up 3, and the Suds added an empty netter late for the W.
Weekly Summary:
The fans will see scoring action when Corktown is playing.

 

Rangers

Bathgate Rangers

Weekly Preview:
Bathgate – after a great week 1 is now in an pattern of occasional close wins and some big blowout losses. But hey, it’s hockey. Maybe resting the stars early will pay off at the end.
Game #1:
Thunder Bay stormed into Madison Round Garden (MRG) and soon found themselves behind 1-0 when King scored his 1st goal of the season at 6:18 of the 1st period. But then the Nor’Westers took command. 3 goals in the 1st including 2 from Saad and then O’Reilly chips ones in early in the 2nd and that 4 goal onslaught was never overcome. Kane tried to rally the hometeam, but Slavin and Barkov’s 3rd period goals were too much. King ended the game with a shorthanded goal at 19:15 to make it look closer.
Thunder Bay 6
Bathgate 3
Stars: 1 – Saad 2G, 3 Pts; 2 – King 2G; 3 – O’Reilly 1G, 3 PTs
Under the notables – Marincin for Bathgate got 15 PIM
Game #2: The Chiefs from Second City make an appearance at MRG and it’s a battle of backup goalie – Anderson from Second City and Hutton from the Rangers. Hutton actually comes out on top, he only had 22 shots to contend with – fortunately only 3 go in.
1st Period – King continues his goal production with 1 at 10:52, Donskoi follows with a one at 18:42 and the Rangers leave period 1 up 2-0.
2nd Period – Jordie Benn (Chiefs) cuts the lead to 2-1 at 7:17 with an even strength goal but Jamie Been (Rangers) gets it back to a 2 goal lead when he takes one from Kane and Marincin at 17:09. So far all goals have come at even strength. That ends when Letang knocks in a PP goal at 19:38 to pull the Chiefs back within 1.
3rd Period – Rangers open the final period clinging to a 3-2 lead but that evaporates at the 3:02 mark when Letang gets his 2nd goal of the game (EV). But the Rangers come back when Tierney gets his 1st of the season at the 13:42 mark. Rangers try to hang tough in the final minute when Anderson leaves the Chiefs net – Second City is trying to fire at the net, but only 4 shots end up on goal in the 3rd for the Chiefs (including Letangs goal). And while short handed, Kane is able to fire one into the empty net to seal the deal and give Bathgate the 5-3 win.
Second City 3
Bathgate 5
Stars: 1 – Letang 2G; 2 – Jamie Benn, 1G, 2Pts; Kane 1G, 2Pts
Notable, Staal (Bathgate) won 15 or 18 faceoffs! Rangers managed to win 75.5% of the faceoffs in this game.
Weekly Summary:
Thunder Bay 6 – Bathgate 3
Bathgate 5 – Second City 31-1 split of the two games, looking forward to having Russell back in uniform for next week.

 

Mullets

Jagr Mullets

Game #1:  Hampton at Jagr

Tough battle of two evenly matched teams. It’s a tightly contested game until Jagr busts through with a goal by The Big Pavelski (3) at 5:47.

Hampton ties it up 1-1 at 17:32 with a goal by Hansen (3). Then at nearly the same time in the 2nd Shaw(1) gets his first goal to give Hampton a 2-1 lead.

In the 3rd Jagr strikes back with force. First Jordan Staal(5) pots a goal at 6:27, and then less than 30 seconds later Steven Stamkos (5) puts one in as well to give the Mullets a 3-2 lead.

Hampton throws the kitchen sink at Ben Bishop in the 3rd, but ends up surrendering an empty net goal to Phil Kessel (1) at 19:08 to ice the game for Jagr.

Game #2:  Thunder Bay comes to town and like Hampton plays a tight, tough checking game.

Jagr draws first blood, with Stamkos netting his 6th goal of the season at 8:45 of the 1st.

Nyquist (1) scores at 13:14 of the 2nd to tie it up. Then very late in the 3rd, Thunder Bay goes up 2-1 on a goal by Gallagher at 18:13.

The Mullets pull Ben Bishop to try to tie the game, but surrender an empty netter at 19:37 to Slavin (1).

…but we’re not done yet!

Bishop stays out of the net, and at 19:50 Abdelkader (4) puts one in the back of the net to make it 3-2! The Mullets win the ensuing faceoff and get a shot off before regulation expires… but it’s wide and Thunder Bay takes the 2 points on the road.

Weekly Summary:
Jagr splits 1-1 at home.

 

Deep Freeze

Minneapolis Deep Freeze

Weekly Preview:
The Minneapolis Deep Freeze get ready to take on the red hot Jagr Mullets in their only home game of the week.
Game #1:
Jagr Mullets @ Minneapolis Deep Freeze: JAG 2 – MIN 1
The Jagr Mullets got the best of the Deep Freeze despite 34 saves from Cam Ward.
Weekly Summary:
Minneapolis loses their only home game of the week to the Jagr Mullets.

 

Capitals

Lansing Capitals

Weekly Preview:
Lansing came into the weekend with a record of 3-4-1 sitting right in the middle of their division. With 2 highly skilled teams in Columbus and Wausau hitting the Captial Center it is sure to be a high flying weekend of hockey in Michigan!
Game #1:

Lansing started flat and was outshot 5-0 through the first few minutes of the game but Lansing netminder Devan Dubnyk came up big to keep the score tied up. Lansing’s first shot on goal would be from Rakell, and he would make it count as he opened the scoring for the Capitals and gave them an early 1-0 lead. Ansimov would add another tally just a few minutes later, and Rakell completed the sandwich adding his second of the game to put the Caps up 3-0. Late in the first period C-Bus would get a much needed goal to cut the margin to 2-1 at the ed of the first 20 minutes of play.

The second period saw Columbus come out with a much more physical style of play to try and get momentum on their side, but the Capitals D held strong blocking 7 shots in the period and getting out of the stanza still leading 3-1.

Columbus’ Nick Holden would take advantage of a Lansing turnover on the Power Play to create a breakaway chance, and was hauled down from behind resulting in a penalty shot for the visiting squad. Dubnyk came up with a big glove save at the 11 minute mark of the third to maintain a 2 goal lead for the Capitals.

After killing off the Lansing PP, Columbus’ Ryan McDonagh would fire one by Dubnyk to cut the lead to 3-2, and Columbus netminder Corey Crawford was absolutely stellar to keep his team in the game.

Despite a late fury, Columbus couldn’t tie things up and Lansing held on to a 3-2 victory to get the home stand started out on the right foot.

Game #2:

After an up and down battle just 48 hours ago Lansing would host Wausau, a highly skilled squad with some great fire-power up front. The Lumberjacks came out strong taking it to the Capitals early on, but goaltender Devan Dubnyk and some stellar defense kept Wausau off the board during the initial onslaught from their top 2 lines.

During a delayed penalty, the home team would take advantage of the extra attacker and sneak one by Lumberjacks goalie Mike Smith to get out in front 1-0. Just over a minute later though Zuccarello would unleash a one-timer from Zucker over the glove side of Dubnyk to tie the score at 1 apiece. Before Lansing could get things settled down, Palat continued the intense forecheck, stole the puck and burried a breakaway past Dubnyk to put the visiting squad up 2-1. Lansng then headed to the PP, and after some nifty passing, Tomas Vanek was able to carry the puck through the slot and bury the biscuit past Smith to get things all squared up at 2 to end the second period.

Whatever adjustments Wausau made in the locker room between the second and third were quite effective over the last 20 minutes of play. Anze Kopitar and Mike Fisher would each score in the first 5 minutes to put the road team up 4-2. Lansing thought they had answered back as Tyson Barrie fired one off the glove of Smith, but the call came in from Toronto, and after further review, the puck never fully crossed the line and momentum was quickly snatched back away from the Caps. Zukcer and Brown would each notch goals for the Lumberjacks on more odd-man rushes to put the nail in the coffin of the Capitals. Joel Ward would score one to give the home fans a glimmer of hope, but it was too little too late, and the Caps split their 2 home games dropping one to Wasau by a final of 7-3.

Weekly Summary:

The Capitals came out of the weekend splitting at home 1-1. Backstrom, Rakell and Ward all played solid for the Caps, but the same can’t be said of Devan Dubnyk between the pipes. He struggled in both games over the weekend, and Head Coach Don Cherry did not look pleased leaving the arena on Saturday night. Will we see a change in the guard for the Capitals coming up?

Wausau also proved that they are one of the top teams in the league getting quality net-minding from Mike Smith and dominating both ends of the ice with Perry, Zuccarello, Zucker and Chara leading the way for the Lumberjacks.

 

X-Men

Scottsdale X-Men

Game #1:
Halloween night was truly of horrors for the X-Men. What began looking very promising as Joe Colborne put a goal past Antti Raanta just over a minute into the game, 10 minutes worth of penalties lead to 2 2nd period power play goals for Hampton. Scottsdale simply could not overcome being out shot over the 1st two period 24-12. Pulling the goalie down 2 goals with 2 minutes left lead to a barrage of shots for the X-Men and a goal cutting it to one, but they could not find the game tying goal before time ran out.
Game #2:
A reverse of fortune for the X-Men tonight as Bathgate piled up significant penalty minutes leading to 2 power play goals over the first 23+ minutes of the game with young superstar Connor McDavid scoring on one and assisting on the other. Bathgate then went into extreme aggressive mode which lead to Scottsdale domination. Pekka Rinne could not fend off odd man rush after odd man rush allowing the games first 5 goals over 38 shots. Jacob Markstrom lost out on potential star of the game honors by allowing 2 meaningless goals in the last minute and a half, but Scottsdale went on to win easily 5-2.
Game #3:
Scottsdale got off to a fast start lead by Derek Stepan’s 2 first period goals, but the 2nd and 3rd periods were all Long Beach. Jake Allen allowed 4 goals on 14 shots over those last 2 periods leading to the 4-2 Long Beach victory. Teuvo Teravainen and Leon Draisaitl lead Long Beach with one goal and one assist each.
Weekly Summary:
A poor 1-2 showing for the Scottsdale X-Men this week.

 

Brew Jackets

Columbus Brew Jackets

Weekly Preview:

Atlantic leading Indiana visits Columbus hoping to keep its streak going.

Minneapolis Deep Freeze also comes Columbus.

Game #1:
Indiana Sycamores @ Columbus Brew Jackets
IND 2 – CBJ 1
Game #2:
Minneapolis Deep Freeze @ Columbus Brew Jackets
MDF 4 – CBJ 5
Weekly Summary:

Luongo had a relatively quiet night just facing 29 shots compared to the onslaught of 42 shots Ryan Miller faced. Ultimately letting up to goals to Jagr and Williams.

Minneapolis vs Colmbus had a lot less goal tending and turned into a goal fest. Getzlaf scored 2 for Minneapolis, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 5 total goals of Columbus. Stars of the game: Getzlaf 2G 3PTs, Kutcherov 1G 2Pts, and McDonaugh 1G 2Pts

 

LumberJacks

Wausau Lumberjacks

Weekly Preview:
The first place Lumberjacks look to add to their division lead this week.
They have games with New Jersey and Alamo.
Game #1:
In a hard fought game the lumber jacks fall to New Jersey. Nursing a 3-2 lead in the 3 period. New Jersey strikes for 2 goals by Arvidsson and Chiasson. Winning the game 4-3 Arvidsson had 2 goals in the game.
Game #2:
Wausau prevails in a defensive battle 1-0. Fischer scores a goal in the second period. And Smith makes it stand up with 26 saves. Alamos Greiss gave up a goal and had 30 saves.
Weekly Summary:
Wausau goes 1-1 at home this week.

 

Rockets

Ripon Rockets

Weekly Preview:
Week #3: Ripon has a chance to get to .500 with three home games against Lansing, Minneapolis, and California.
Game #1:
Ripon 3 Lansing 2
Game #2:
Ripon 3 California 1
Game #3:
Ripon 3 California 2 (SO)
Weekly Summary:
Ripon manages to sweep the home stand and move to 6-5 on the season.

 

Nor'Westers

Thunder Bay Nor’Westers

Weekly Preview:
The Nor’westers are still trying to find that right team chemistry. The play has been solid but inconsistent. Good 60 minute / 200 foot efforts should put a few more game in the win column. Just a single home game this week against the Scottsdale X-men. On paper we look stronger, and a couple of line-up changes hopefully will turn things around in Thunder Bay
Game #1:
Scottsdale (2) Thunder Bay (5) – Our first Hat-trick of the season by Tomas Tatar scoring goals 2, 3 & 4 of the season. Eberle and Gallagher score the other two for Thunder Bay. Lucic and Stephan score for the X-men.
Rookie defenseman Jaccob Slavin continues to play strongly on defense and 2nd line center Ryan O’Reilly is a monster winning 65% of his faceoffs.
Weekly Summary:
Counting the away games, Thunder Bay won 3 of 4 games this week and appear to have settled down into a solid offensive team. The defense has been adequate. One Roster change was made moving forward as goalie Steve Mason has returned after a brief rehab stint in the Great Lakes league. Rookie Joonas Korpisalo heads back to Great Lakes league where he can polish his game.

 

Regulators

California Regulators

Weekly Summary:
Some bad ice at home prevented there games from being played by home team – so they were Simmed.

 

Sycamores

Indiana Sycamores

Weekly Summary:
No Files or write ups from Indiana this week.  There home games were Simmed.