SMJHL S43: Game 52
GAME LINK

St. Louis Scarecrows 2 vs Anchorage Armada 1

3 Stars
1- Nicky Pedersen Jr. (STL)
2- Adam Taylor (STL)
3- Aleister Cain (STL)

This game was a nailbiter, tied up through most of the second and third periods. The Scarecrows were assessed a multitude of penalties, taking three hooking calls...in one period. The Armada, however, largely failed to capitalize on their fortune, and were outshot by St. Louis 28 to 23. In a goaltending duel, with Anchorage's Benjamin Blue posting a solid .929 save percentage, St. Louis's netminder Aleister Cain was the final standout to tip the scale. He carried the Scarecrows to victory with a sparkling .957 save percentage; his record improved to 7-3-2.

1st Period

St. Louis got on the scoreboard just past the halfway mark, when Antonio Calculon intercepted an errant pass by Jax Aittokallio. After a series of passes up ice, center Steven Moyer fired a shot that was wickedly deflected into the net by winger Adam Taylor. It was Taylor's sixth goal of the season.




2nd Period

St. Louis's top line chipped in to bolster their lead 5:29 into the second. The Armada dumped the puck and went for a line change. Nicolas Williams fetched the puck and fed it up ice to right winger Nicky Pedersen Jr.. Pedersen Jr. skated briskly into the Armada's zone and hammered the puck past Benjamin Blue to give his team a two goal lead.



3rd Period

On the powerplay, needing two goals to tie, and with time dwindling down, Anchorage center Dean Colt III won a crucial faceoff in the Scarecrows' end with less than eight minutes remaining in the period. After cycling the puck around the zone, defenseman Jordan Von Matt fired the puck past Aleister Clain to end his claim to a clean sheet. Assists were awarded to Doug Dimmadome and Dean Colt III.



In spite of their last-ditch effort, the Armada were unable to equalize the score, and the Scarecrows took a narrow win. The Anchorage powerplay was a dismal 1 for 7 on the night, so there were many missed opportunities to make up ground. It was not a blowout, so the Armada will look to put this game behind them and to revitalize their powerplay going forward. St. Louis's primary takeaway will likely be to avoid being baited into penalties, and the coaches likely railed the players on discipline for the next few practices.

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