Login

Lynxfire · 01-06-2019, 11:44 PM

Anchorage Armada VS Colorado Raptors: Raptors

Armada Comes Out As Top Dog In A Close 3-2 Shootout Win

Welcome to our post-game show. Top story tonight was the all out overtime battle between the Anchorage Armada and the Colorado Raptors. These two teams have both been at the top of the standings in the first part of the season and tonight was the first time they got to sink their fangs into each other. And while the Raptors showed their sharp claws with two early goals, they were no match for the Armada's tempered steel resolve as the game was fought into shootout. Armada's Dean Colt III was the only player to score in shootout as goalie Peter Larson was perfect on all 5 shots, bringing victory to Anchorage. But lets take a closer look at the highlights of this tense nail biter...

Period 1:
The first half of the period was a subdued affair until a missed shot by Eero Niemi sprung the puck all the way around the boards and out of the zone, where Colorado's Knut Knurtsson collected it and raced down on goalie Peter Larson. Knute used the defenseman as a screen and buried the puck 5 whole with 9:17 gone in the first period. Later in the 1st period, Colorado's first line winger Konstantin Voloshin jarred the puck loose with a great hit, allowing Jakub Novak to get a free shot on goal. Although Peter Larson was up to the task, the puck rebounded right to Daniel Smeb who buried it for a 2-0 lead. After 20 mins, the Raptors were up 2-0 and were leading in shots 9-6.

Period 2:
Period two was a back-and-forth affair with both teams getting quality looks at the goal. the turning point came, however, whenKonstantin Voloshin, who was largely responsible for Colorado's 2nd goal in the first period, was called for a 2 min hooking penalty. Backed up into their zone, Colorado was able to win the faceoff but fast skating and forecheck by Mika Mayfield regained possession for the Armada. Mayfield got a shot off on net and was deflected by Maxime Bouchard. The puck went wide, but bounced straight back to Mayfield who took a quick second shot on goal. The puck went wide again but the 3rd bounce again landed on the stick of Armada's Jacob Geza who buried the puck into a wide gaping net. The shots in the 2nd period were 7-6 in Armada's favor.

Period 3:
The powerplay goal of the 2nd period seemed to spark the Anchorage team as they came out buzzing in the 3rd. Halfway through the period they had 7 consecutive shots on net that were blocked by Raptor goalie Yuri Ushakov or by one of the defenders, but the last shot by Mika Mayfield barely squaked by Ushakov as all the players converged on goal. However, after review, the referee disallowed the goal due to goalie interference. The Raptors were still up 2-1. However, just one minute later the Armada won the faceoff in the Raptor zone and Kalevi Karhunen, a rookie defender with the Armada this year, buried a rebound to make the game tied at 2. Even with an Armada shot advantage of 12-8, the game remained tied through to overtime.

Overtime:
In overtime both teams locked down on their defense and between the two teams, only one shot made it on goal. Neither team seemed willing to extend out of their defensive formations to make much of an impact. The game went to shootout.

Shootout:
Dean Colt III was the hero of the shootout and the only one to score a goal. Armada goalie Peter Larson stood on his head to keep the Raptor's out of the net.

Full shootout stats below:
5:00 of 1st overtime period - Anchorage Armada, Mika Mayfield. Shot Misses the Net.
5:00 of 1st overtime period - Colorado Raptors, Jakub Novak. Stopped by Peter Larson.
5:00 of 1st overtime period - Anchorage Armada, Xena. Shot Misses the Net.
5:00 of 1st overtime period - Colorado Raptors, Alexander Selich. Stopped by Peter Larson.
5:00 of 1st overtime period - Anchorage Armada, Maxime Bouchard. Stopped by Yuri Ushakov.
5:00 of 1st overtime period - Colorado Raptors, Lunga Gumba. Stopped by Peter Larson.
5:00 of 1st overtime period - Anchorage Armada, Dean Colt III. Goal by Dean Colt III.
5:00 of 1st overtime period - Colorado Raptors, Konstantin Voloshin. Shot Misses the Net.

The three stars of the match were three of the goal scorers:

1 - Armada

Jacob Geza (ANC)
2 - Armada

Kalevi Karhunen (ANC)
3 - Raptors

Daniel Smeb (COL)

Lynxfire · 01-06-2019, 11:46 PM

Hold on having some weird formatting issues formatting isn't being saved, will fix soon

Flareon · 01-07-2019, 02:40 AM

double post

Flareon · 01-07-2019, 02:53 AM

Welcome to the Arbys™ Three Stars for the close competition between the Anchorage Armada and the Colorado Raptors.

Arbys First Star - Jacob Geza Armada

Your first star of the game is Anchorage's Jacob Geza. The Armada defence-man was a huge presence on the Alaskan top line all over the ice. His highlight of the game was undoubtedly his second period goal. His screen on Mayfield's shot allowed him to net in the rebound from the Colorado goaltender. However he was throwing around his weight all day and was pivotal in the penalty kill, which Anchorage pulled off on all 3 attempts.

Arbys Second Star - Kalevi Karhunen Armada

Your second star is the Armada defence-man Kalevi Karhunen. His third period goal was the game tying goal that ultimately lead to his team's shootout win. Tensions were high as Mayfied's goal went to video review, but ultimately refused by the referees. The momentum stuck in the Raptors zone and just a minute later found the net for a non-disallowed goal. Some decent penalty kill time also helped contribute to the 100% record in the game.

Arbys Third Star - Daniel Smeb Raptors

This is an interesting pick for the third star of the game from the game overseers. Mayfield and Bouchard both had two points for the Armada. Smeb's goal put the Raptors into the lead for the first and only time of the game. He also lead his team with 4 shots over the match.

StadiumGambler · 01-07-2019, 02:00 PM

COMMENT ONE: Lack Of Aggression With A Lead?

-The Raptors started with the lead 2-0, after outshooting the Armada 9-6. However, the Raptors shifted to more defensive tactics with the lead and then the Armada outshot them over the last two periods 19-14. The Raptors work best when playing a consistent even strength system, and deciding to focus more on defense and letting the Armada have the run of the play was a mistake that helped cost them a point. The Raptors also had the best chances in overtime, but weren't willing to overcommit to set up good chances and it degenerated in 1-on-1s and 2-on-2s at both ends.

COMMENT TWO: Special Teams Not So Special

-The Raptors poor special teams this year let them down again, as they gave up a goal on the PK and failed to score on 3 powerplay opportunities. The Raptors mess of a powerplay unit does not make sense, given that they have the veteran core of guys like leading scorer Alexander Selich, playmaker Zivan Zidek, and a good puck-moving defenseman in Cassius Darrow. Theres a lot of talent in what is looking like the best rookie harvest of the S45 draft to back that up too. What is going on here? Is it bad strategy, or puck luck, or the core being overused at even strength? Whatever it is it needs to be fixed fast, or the Raptors might be left in the cold amongst this 8 team playoff race.

COMMENT THREE: Shootout Did Not Go To The OK Corral

-Ultimately, despite all the problems the Raptors had keeping the lead and doing anything on the powerplay, they still had a chance to win it all via the shootout, and couldn't do it. Ushakov did his part by stopping the first 3 shooters, but didn't get support back. OBviously the penalty shot is less of a focus in practise at the J level, with prospects wanting to improve their basic skills to impress the pro team brass and get the callup. But in a shootout, your best players have to be your best players. Konstantin Voloshin had to at least make the Armada earn it by forcing a save out of Peter Larson, and instead he missed the net. For a veteran who is supposed to be leading the youth and showing them the best example to create a Golden Generation for the Raptors, thats just not good enough.

Trautner · 01-07-2019, 11:59 PM

First comment

Knute Knurtsson tallied his second goal of the season to start off the scoring for the game. Knurtsson has been playing hard on the 4th line of the Raptors, as a result of how the Raptors seem to have a strength at center and drafted plenty of them this season. Moreover, this marked the first assist of the season for winger Nick Brain, who has been looking to be a big playmaker for others on the energy lines for the Raptors. This marks the first combination between these two, naturally, so it's a promising start to their careers and hopefully the start of a nice connection for seasons to come.

Second comment

It's a tough start to the season for Lunga Gumba. Although the young forward came into Raptors training camp with significant skill and hype, even as a late rounder, due to hype around untapped potential, the young winger has struggled to make his mark. Gumba continued his pointless streak to his 10th game. It is clear that Gumba requires more refinement in his positioning on the ice, as he seems to not be available in front of goal for goal scoring opportunities. Meanwhile, Gumba also was stopped on goal in the shoot out, so when it rains it pours for Gumba.

Third comment

Two of the Smebs combined for their first points together, in Daniel Smeb and Parker Smeb. Daniel Smeb recorded his first career SMJHL goal for the Raptors, while Parker Smeb also recorded his first SMJHL assist. Naturally, this was also their first combination. The two brothers have come a long way in their careers from youth hockey together, and now, privileged with the opportunity to play professionally together once more, the dynamic duo hope to continue their telepathic and biological connection on the ice. We'll see if the other Smeb brothers can get in on the action and so we can get a Smeb to Smeb to Smeb goal!

Kylrad · 01-09-2019, 11:56 PM

Comment 1:
A trend that can be seen in a couple raptors game now is that they have good starts right out of the gate and come ready to play in the 1st period often jumping out to early leads. This is a good trend that Colorado needs to maintain, one trend however that they cannot afford to maintain is their letting up on the pressure and throwing of these leads to the other teams. Perhaps they are playing too defensively trying to sit on the lead or don't have to energy to continue at that pace over a full 60 minutes and cool down.

Comment 2:
Daniel Smeb has been struggling in the early parts of the season but is slowly getting better and had one of his most offensively involved games here. He got a goal and contributed 4 shots finishing with a +/- of 1. One thing that Daniel continues to be below average at however is face offs going 2/6 on the dot in this game as well as his lack of a physical presence with 0 hits and 0 shots blocked. But that also means he had 0 pims as he isn't a hooligan like his brother Parker who contributed an assist on Daniels one goal.

Comment 3:
A showdown between two up the top upcoming rookie goaltenders happened tonight, with both goalies having similar great games. Yuri Ushakov for Colorado had a good night stopping 23 of 25 shots for a .920 save % slightly one upping that of Peter Larson of the Armada who had a .917 save % stopping 22 of 24 shots. Both also were solid in the shootout with Larson in the end giving his team the edge stopping 4 out of 4 shots while Ushakov stopped 3 of 4 with Dean Colt ultimately getting the shootout winner. Larson is now 2-0-0 at the time on the season slowly stealing the starter job while Ushakov moves to 6-2-2

Ason94 · 01-12-2019, 06:45 AM

Colorado's rookies falling short against the Armada.

Even though Colorado opend the first period strongly by scoring two goals, both from rookies they could not manage to hold on to the lead and eventually fell to the Armada in the shootout. Knute Knurtsson opened the scoring at 9:17, assisted by Nick Brain and Nick Novak. A while later at 17:17 Daniel Smeb scored assisted by Parker Smeb. All the offense in this game came from great plays from the rookies and they combine for 5 points. If colorado wants to make the playoffs both veterans and rookies will have to show up on the scoreboard every game. Tonight they did not.

Nerio · 01-12-2019, 11:27 PM

Looking in a Mirror
In a game where scoring was obviously matched up tightly as a shootout was required, it's interesting to see that these two teams were almost exact copies of one another throughout the game. The shot differential was only 1, with shots being 21-20 before the shootout. The two teams also finished close in the faceoff dot, with Anchorage taking the edge 37-34. Hits were 15-16 in favor of Colorado, and even blocked shots were fairly tight at 5-7 in favor of Colorado. Both teams killed 3 penalties, with Anchorage scoring the only power play goal on their extra powerplay. All in all, tight stats after a tight game.

Off the Draw
In a game where both teams mirrored each other in goals and nearly did the same in shots, they also mirrored each other in another interested stat - scoring off faceoffs. Every goal in the game was scored within a minute of a faceoff being taken, with some hapening nearly immediately after the draw. This stresses the importance both teams put on their faceoff taking, especially in their own end, as they nearly matched eachother in the dot over the course of the game. Even the goal by Mika Mayfield that was disallowed came after Yuri Ushakov was peppered with shots, all after a faceoff.

Pris · 01-13-2019, 07:44 PM

Russian highlight reel: goaltending. Russia

In tonight’s Russian highlight reel, we focus on Colorado’s rookie goaltender Yuri Ushakov, and the phenomenal game he had tonight. Though Colorado would go on to lose in the shootout, Ushakov came out of this game with a 0.920 save percentage, and it’s games like these that show how Ushakov is quickly becoming a star in the league despite Colorado’s mediocre record.

Highlight of the night:

[Image: 7fF3.gif]

Quote:16:30 of 1st period - Shot by Maxime Bouchard.
16:30 of 1st period - Stopped by Yuri Ushakov without a rebound.

Ushakov had many beauties tonight in 23 saves made. However, this absolute gem at the very beginning of the game, against Anchorage’s second-line star Maxime Bouchard, might have been his finest.

It is still early in their career, but the question has to be asked sooner or later: how will the fight for #2 (and an eventual starting role) in Russia play out between Ushakov and legacy son of the motherland, Aleksi O’Koivu-Volkova? Only time will tell, as both of them find their place in the SMJHL.

Ask · 01-15-2019, 04:30 PM

Comment #1: The Smebs (110 words)
Both before and after the S45 SMJHL draft there has been a lot of talk around the Smeb family. You can find several of them in the Colorado Raptors and there's no secret that they do indeed have some good chemistry amongst them. After Knute Knurtsson gave the Raptors the lead in the first period, it was Parker Smeb who assisted Daniel Smeb to make it 2-0 at the end of the first period. Daniel Smeb earned the third star of the game with that goal and it is not an uncommon sight to see the family assisting one another in each others success both on and off the ice.

Comment #2: Power Play? (108 words)
This game saw the teams scoring in just one out of seven Power Plays combined, with the Anchorage Armada scoring in 1 on 4 attempts and the Colorado Raptors going for 0 on 3 attempts. With a low scoring game ending at 2-2 in full time this could have been a key part for either team to win. The only player who looked hungry enough and who actually scored on the Power Play was the Armadas Jacob Geza, a goal that earned him a well deserved first star in the tight game. But with nobody else stepping forward the game eventually went into both overtime and a shootout.

Comment #3: Goalie Battle (103 words)
With a tight low scoring game the goalies were obviously busy. Both the Armadas Peter Larson (.917) and the Raptors Yuri Ushakov (.920) had great performances and looked almost inseparable after regular time. It wasn't until the shootout that you could actually tell them apart. Peter Larson stopped everything. And even though the Armada managed to put their first two penalty shots outside of the net, Larson kept them in the game and Dean Colt III was able to seal the deal. Larson could have well deserved a first star for this performance but didn't even make it as one of the three.

kit · 01-18-2019, 05:27 PM

Smeb report:
The smebs came up big in this game, because without them the Raptors wouldve lost the game in regulation instead of the shootout. Daniel Smeb scored a big goal in the first period off of a great pass by the brother Parker, both of their firsts of the season. Unfortunately they didnt get any ice time in overtime nor did they get a chance in the shootout. Perhaps if they had they mightve been able to help the Raptors secure another point instead of just one. Even half brother Steve had a good game in this one with being a +1 despite having a penalty in the third period.

Penalties galore:
both these teams took too many penalties for comfort, especially in a close game. Voloshin was responsible for putting his team on the penalty kill for four whole minutes and should be thankful for his teammates so that he doesnt have to get chewed out by his coach this evening. Other than that the penalties were spread out amongst players, and only one powerplay goal scored overall is very lucky for both penalty kills. Im sure the players taking all these penalties will be taking laps in tomorrows practice though. As going down shorthanded in a close game is unacceptable. Unfortunately we didnt get to see any 3 on 4 action in overtime as there were no penalties there

Daco · 01-23-2019, 08:44 PM

Comment #1 (Shootout thriller) 114 words

This game of the Anchorage Armada vs Colorado Raptors could not have come down to the wire any more! Through 3 periods the teams were tied at 2, so they went to an overtime which remained scoreless. To decide the game it came down to a goaltending battle between 2 rookies Yuri Ushakov and Peter Larson. We start the shootout with a save and a miss from each respective team. Next round up, we have another 2 not score! We get into the 3rd round of the shootout approaching sudden death, and another 2 saves by the goalies! Now Dean Colt the 3rd skates up and scores! For Colorado Konstantin misses and Anchorage wins!

Comment #2 (3 stars) 107 words

We have our 3rd star of the night come from the losing team, Daniel Smeb. Smeb had quite an impressive game scoring 1 of his team's 2 goals, and adding up 4 shots on goal on top of that. 2nd star was Kalevi Karhunen with a goal and a blocked shot. Kalevi really impressed and willed his team to victory with this one, but not as much as our first star of the night! Jacob Geza scored a goal as well, and was a wrecking ball out there on the ice clobbering people left and right as well as 2 hits plus 1 and a blocked shot.

Comment #3 (Rookie Goalies) 114 words

This game was also the story of 2 rookie goaltenders, fierce rivals since the prospect tourney when Peter Larson's team won the championship versus Casimir Stevens team. Yuri was knocked out much earlier but has been putting together an amazing season to show the tourney was a fluke! Larson has been the backup to his team at this point, but if this game is any indication we can look for him to take over the starting role very soon. In an uncanny display of coincedence, the teams each shot 24 and 25 shots on goals, putting the goalies at a nearly identical sv% and GAA for the game. Larson won out in the shootout!

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us