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PGS S49 - Game #63 - Lethbridge Lions vs Anchorage Armada
#1

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Lethbridge Lions VS Anchorage Armada


Starting Goalies
Swiss sophomore Nolan McMahon starts in goal for the Lions, while Canadian rookie Ian Venables gets the nod for the Armada.


1st Period

0:01 - GAME ON! Stavros Halkias beats out Boruvka Banananak in the opening faceoff to start things off.

3:16 - MISSED CALL? Lethbridge's Johnny Patey is struck in the face by a high stick immediately after winning a face-off, but there's no call on the play. The Lions bench is in an uproar, but the referees ignore it and the play moves on.

6:29 - SHOT BLOCK. Heroic stuff from Anchorage's Augustus Wang, who gets down to block a howitzer by Hugh Jazz. He appears to be hurt, but shortly returns to the Armada bench after some quick medical attention in the dressing room.

7:36 - CONTROVERSY! This time it's Anchorage's turn to be outraged! Jakob Hamr is assessed a minor penalty for high-sticking, but the home team's bench is insisting it should be a double-minor. The referees seem skeptical, as do the Lions fans in the stands.

9:54 - PENALTY. Darnell Johnson of the Armada takes an ill advised hooking penalty. His team seems to be successfully killing it off, much to his relief, when...

11:06 - Goal GOAL! Cant Eykhil buries one on the power-play, after a nifty pass from Boruvka Banananak finds its way to Delver Fudgeson, who slides it to an open Eykhil. Darnell Johnson returns to the Anchorage bench shaking his head, drawing a look of annoyance from the Armada head coach.

Current Score: [LBL 1 - 0 ANC]

15:50 - CRUSHING HIT! Woah! Cant Eykhil seems to have the puck firmly in his possession when he's rocked by a meteoric hit from Anchorage's defender Johnny Sins. Eykhil loses possession, but the resulting play leads to nothing for the home team.

1st Period Summary: Some chippy play to start, with both sides feeling like they were on the wrong end of an official's decision. The Armada need to adjust their defending of Lethbridge's top line, who appear to be gaining momentum with every shift.


2nd Period

1:18 - PENALTY. Yet again, Darnell Johnson is sent to the box for a hooking minor. Yet again, the Anchorage coaching staff looks nonplussed.

4:58 - PENALTY. Liam Hutchinson does his best to win possession back for the Lions, but it's deemed that the puck had already left Johnny Sins' stick long before contact was made. He's sent to the sin bin for two or less.

6:08 - BREAKAWAY! Deft hands from Lethbridge's Luca Veccelli, who dekes past an Armada defender and speeds in alone shorthanded. The Swiss centerman goes forehand-backhand but can't lift the puck over the pad of Ian Venables, who smothers it with his blocker to calm things down. The Armada breathe a sigh of relief.

6:25 - SO CLOSE! A keen block from Cant Eykhil keeps Elijah Jones from getting on the board. The Armada forward had goalie Nolan McMahon at his mercy, staring down half an empty net, but Eykhil slid in from behind to get in the way of the puck.

7:02 - PENALTY. Tempers threaten to flare as Face of the Franchise dumps Samuel Michaud into the boards from behind. The Lions forward is led to the penalty box immediately, nipping any fisticuffs in the bud and sending the Armada to the power-play.

11:22 - Goal GOAL! A classic tic-tac-toe goal from Lethbridge's top line. Banananak flips the puck to the opposite end of the zone to a waiting Hugh Jazz, who snaps a low pass to a crease-crashing Cant Eykhil. He makes no mistake in sliding the puck underneath the left pad of Ian Venables, and the Lions grow their lead to two.

Current Score: [LBL 2 - 0 ANC]

19:45 - SCRUM. Some pushing and shoving breaks out after the horn sounds, a result of the hit by Akira Ren that sends Stavros Halkias skidding into the boards head first. The Officials intervene and break it up, but not before Jake Primeau is hit with a hard glove shot from Lethbridge's Delver Fudgeson. There's no call on the play, and the teams return to their dressing rooms.

2nd Period Summary: Penalties and resulting mediocre power-plays have served to neuter both teams in the second period, although the chippiness of the last minute hints towards an exciting finish to tonight's hockey game.


3rd Period

2:14 - BARRAGE! Signs of life from the Armada to open as Nolan McMahon is forced to make three tough saves in less than six seconds. The Lethbridge defenders are keenly discussing what went wrong on the way back to the bench.

4:09 - PENALTY. Eva Lykke Aparjode deflects a shot from Liam Hutchinson on net, but Ian Venables is up to the task. After the whistle blows, there's a scuffle in front of the Anchorage net, in which an errant stick seems to catch Venables in the mask. He retaliates with a slash against Aparjode, and is subsequently assessed a minor for his trouble.

4:23 - GREAT SAVE! A bullet from a prowling Akira Ren seems labeled for the top corner, but Venables' outstretched glove yanks it down just before it can cross the line. It's the best of five saves the rookie made to keep his team from being punished by his penalty. Remember that save if the Armada come back!

9:34 - Goal GOAL! Spencer MacLean gives Lethbridge some hope as he one-times a quick pass from Augustus Wang. The play began with an excellent outlet pass to Wang from veteran defender Gabriel Johnson, who brilliantly stripped a Lion of the puck in his own zone.

Current Score: [LBL 2 - 1 ANC]

10:37 - Goal GOAL!!! Just like that, the Armada have tied the game! Johnny Sins and Jake Primeau have the assists on an otherworldly snipe from Elijah Jones. The Lions look like they're on their heels.

Current Score: [LBL 2 - 2 ANC]

15:01 - ANOTHER PENALTY! There's no better way to kill your team's momentum then sending them to defend for two minutes. Darnell Johnson looks like he wants to board the nearest plane and leave the country. His coach looks like he's ready to chip in for the ticket.

17:23 - Goal HEARTBREAK! Jack Wilson knocks home a sitting rebound after Venables can't quite reach the loose puck. The Armada had several chances to clear the zone once Johnson left the box but just couldn't capitalize.

Current Score: [LBL 3 - 2 ANC]

19:42 - GREAT SAVE! Just what the doctor ordered! The Lions lead is nearly erased at the last moment when a Gabriel Johnson bullet from the point rebounds wide off the boards to a wide open Augustus Wang. Nolan McMahon proves up to the task as he slides across with an outstretched glove to deny the Armada an equalizer. Wang is left shaking his head and looking skyward.

20:00 - LETHBRIDGE WIN! The Lions skate out to their goaltender to congratulate him on the victory. A defeated Anchorage team departs wondering what could have been had they been able to stay out of the box.



Dud of the Game

Darnell Johnson (Defenseman, Armada )
Surely there was no one at the arena on Tuesday that knew he messed up more than Darnell Johnson did. The defender was a liability on the ice all game, finishing at -1 and taking 6 minutes worth of penalties... none costlier than the needless hooking minor taken on a speeding Rintou Okabe, which led to a power-play goal against. Self-destructive too was the tripping minor taken at 15:01 of the 3rd, when the Armada was trying to maintain momentum from their two-goal tying spree. A third-year player like Johnson needs to be more composed than that.


Unsung Hero

Ian Venables (Goaltender, Armada )
Despite the loss, Anchorage's promising rookie goaltender performed admirably, coming away with 26 saves on 29 shots. His biggest was perhaps the third period stop on Akira Ren, though the entire sequence showed what incredible potential Venables has once he figures his game out. Look for big things coming from the young Canadian keeper.


Three Stars

⭐⭐⭐ - Elijah Jones (Winger, Armada )
The media has come to expect big things from 3rd star Elijah Jones, who finished the game with a goal, five shots and two hits from just over fifteen minutes of ice time. Goalies and defenders alike have learned over the course of his season-and-change tenure in the SMJHL that the Panthers prospect doesn't need a lot of space to make you pay.

⭐⭐ - Boruvka Banananak (Winger, Lions )
Nowhere was Banananak more deadly than on the power-play, where he assisted on the Lions' opening tally. The Czech sniper has made a name for himself with quick release and top-tier puck skills, but his game against the Armada served as a great reminder of his excellent vision and passing ability.

⭐ - Cant Eykhil (Center, Lions )
If Banananak was the banana on the sundae, Eykhil was the cherry on top. 1st star seems like a fitting achievement for a player that dominated at both ends of the ice. Two goals, five shots, a key shot block, and 58% on the dot have earned Eykhil praise for his performance on Tuesday, none louder than that from his own coach in his post-game scrum. ■


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#2

This was a great game overall and it was great to see that the Lethbridge Lions managed to get the win. They dominated all game, taking the lead early on in the first period, then continued their dominance by pushing a second goal in in the second period. With a 2-0 lead, this seemed like a good game for Lethbridge, but then the Anchorage Armada managed to get back into the game in the third period. With two goals very quickly back to back in the middle of the third period, they managed to tie the game up and then the game was suddenly tight and exciting again. Thankfully, with about 2 minutes to go, Wilson gave the Lions the win. I am sad I wasn't in this game yet but it was a cool win for the Lions!

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#3

Physical Play Comparison

There was a pretty average number of hits in this game. Anchorage had four more than Lethbridge. Neither team had any significant standouts. Liam Hutchinson had three for Lethbridge, but no one on Anchorage had more than two. For blocks, Lethbridge had three more than Anchorage. No major standouts on Lethbridge, but Gabriel Johnson had three for the Armada. My take away is that Lethbridge didn’t give up a goal on any of their three penalty kills. To do that, you’re going to have to block some shots, which they did. Slight edge to the Lions in physical play, which I think had a hand in the win.

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#4

Offensive consistency key to victory.

You don’t just win games in a singe period, that is something the Lethbridge Lions wanted to show while visiting the Anchorage Armada. In all three periods the Lions managed to score a goal. Cant Eykhil scored his third goal of the season in the first period, followed by his fourth goal in the second period.
While the Armada scored back twice in the third period to equalise the game, it was Jack Wilson who continued the consistency from Lethbridge theirside with his second goal of the season and also the game winner. Even though they upped the amount of shot period by period, they ended at a single goal per period, but this was enough for the win.

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#5

Recipe for Success
The Lethbridge Lions had a clear game plan in place for the game again the Anchorage Armada tonight, and they executed it to perfection. Win the faceoff game, stay out of the box, and help the goalie. All skills that are largely focuses on a disciplined play style. They managed to do this, maintaining possession by winning 50 faceoffs to the Armada's 41. The Lions only took 3 penalties tonight, and all 3 of the ensuing power plays were killed off, allowing their 1 for 5 power play to be the difference. On top of that, the Lions blocked 9 shots, 3 more than the Armada, helping the goalie to see less rubber, allowing him to stay fresher throughout the game.

Veterans lead
As has been mentioned before this season, the Lions are an extremely young team, with 11 of their 18 starting skaters are in their rookie year. With the team makeup the way it is, the Lions need their veteran players to pull through and lead the youngsters to victories. That's exactly what happened in tonight's match. S46 Center Cant Eykhil was the offensive star in the game, burying 2 goals on just 5 shots en route to first star of the game. Sophomore Goaltender Nolan McMahon also had an excellent game, stopping 29 of 31 shots for a .935 save percentage. This kind of support allowed rookie Jack Wilson to score the game winner.

A Star in the making
Despite being on the losing side tonight, season 49 SHL first overall pick Elijah Jones continued to show why he was selected so high in the draft last season. Jones scored the tying goal for the Armada, and finished with a +1 on 15:53 of ice time on the night. While Jones is not blowing the competition out of the water in his Sophomore year in the junior leagues, he is showing steady improvement and has plenty of games where he shows the flashes of skill that the Los Angeles Panthers saw when they selected him first. Expect Jones to finish the year strong and improve into the playoffs.

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#6
(This post was last modified: 08-19-2019, 11:18 AM by Budgie.)

I'm Rubber and You're Glue...
Rebound control was yet again the downfall of rookie goaltender Ian Venables in this game. After the second Lethbridge goal, Venables couldn't bounce back, letting three dangerous chances develop due to his inability to control the puck. Even after his team rallied to get back in the game, Venables was slow to jump on a loose puck which directly led to the game winning Lethbridge goal. Venables has spoken before about his rebound control woes and assured Anchorage fans that he's actively working on it. Tonight, 3 of his 26 saves resulted in a dangerous rebound which begs the question, can he improve fast enough to stop ruining his team?

Power Outage
The Anchorage Armada power play failed to capitalize on their 3 attempts tonight. Throughout the beginning of the season, the Armada have struggled to keep up the pressure on the man advantage, and tonight was no different. On the first Lethbridge penalty at around 7 minutes into the first period, the power play unit attempted 7 shots, with only 2 of them making it to the net. Immediately after that power play was over, Darnell Johnson came on to the ice and took a bad hooking penalty that resulted in the first Lethbridge goal. On Anchorage power play at the beginning of the second, 3 out of the 4 shot attempts made it to the net. They got another chance right away, and tried to maintain pressure on the fatigued Lethbridge PK. But, true to form, the power play fell apart. They didn't record a single shot in the second half of the third power play. Overall, the Armada PP unit needs to get more pucks on net and spend less time setting up the perfect passing play.

Energizer Bunny
Stavros Halkias got more playtime tonight than my bootleg VHS copy of that one scene from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". The UK-born first line center for the Armada led the forwards tonight with 21:57 of ice time, which tied Veteran defenseman Gabe Johnson for the most minutes on the team. While he didn't get any points, he played some tough matchups which freed up the second line of Jake Primeau, Elijah Jones, and Joe Kerr to be more offensively focused. A nearly perfect, if not flashy, game was let down only by his less-than-stellar face-off performance. Halkias won only 15 of his attempted 35 face-offs, a disappointing 42%. In the future, Anchorage should look to use the first line as a scoring threat, and take advantage of Halkias' playmaking abilities that were all but invisible in this game due to the role he was playing. Of course, we never heard Halkias complaining about playing shutdown even though he surely would prefer to feed his linemate Raphael D'alcott for goals.

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#7

Rookie Forwards

Due to the large volume of rookies for Lethbridge and the abbriviated time for this PGS we have decided to only talk through ANC today. The ANC rookie forwards didnt get the most ice time tonight but they were not short on that either. That being said these guys really didnt make the most out of that time only putting together a modest 4 shots and 0 points. These guys need to be better especially against a team such as Lethbridge that has a large number of rookies in their class. The Armada will need to see more here from all of these guys if they want to see increased ice time for the remainder of the season.

Rookie Defensmen

Again Lethbridge comes into the season with a largely new defensive core and as such there is too much to analyze here. That being said, the goal by Wilson is one to remember for him.

Wang had a point tonight, hopefully these will continue to come for the offensively minded defenseman as he continues to develop his scoring touch. Outside of that assist Wang was on the ice for a sizeable 20 minutes and contributed 2 hits and 1 blocked shot. Overall a good performance for the young prospect. Michaud didnt do much outside of his single blocked shot. Michaud has been somewhat of a dissapointment for Anchorage and needs to fix his game a large amount if he wants to play at the next level.

Rookie Goalie Performance

Lethbridge does not have a rookie goalie (shocker I know) so this analysis will settle on the young Venables for ANC. Budgie as he is now being called had one of his best performances of the season in this game stopping 26 of 29. If this performace continues the managment staff in Alaska will be estatic with taking him in the fourth round and getting him as the thrid goalie taken off the board. Although he got the loss tonight, it was in no part his fault as the team infront of his could not find the back of the net, a story that continues to come up each time ANC plays.
#8

First Line Hitting Its Stride

So goes Lethbridge's first line, so go the Lions. Their offensive contribution has been paramount to their successes early in the season, as many rookies on the line-up are still getting used to the playstyle of the SMJHL. Tonight, the combination of Cant Eykhil, Boruvka Banananak and Hugh Jazz paved the way for an in extremis win in Anchorage, both by notching the only power play goal of the game, but also with their great 5v5 game, blanking the Armada's first line and getting a goal of their own through individual effort and line chemistry both. If secondary scoring gets going for the Lions, we can expect them to surge in the standings - but the road ahead is treacherous for a team with this many rookies. It's up to the first line vets to show them the way.

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#9

Second Comment: 144 words

Please sir may I have another penalty? At least that is what one can assume from this game where a total of 16 penalty minutes were served. 6 for Lethbridge and a whopping 10 for Anchorage. Unfortunately, only one team had the power play to deal with the discipline breakdown and that was Lethbridge with Anchorage giving up an early power play goal that would haunt them the rest of the game. While both sides brought a physical game to the ice it was only Lethbridge that could at least consistently deal with the nonsense that was this game with their penalty kill unit going 3 for 3 and eking out the victory in what was otherwise a brawl on ice. If Anchorage wants to compete, they will need to tone down the penalties or found themselves drowned in goals by teams more disciplined.

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#10

When the Game Got Away

Well, it's the easy answer, but the Armada made it a difficult one to ignore. A tie game with 5 minutes to play in the 3rd period, Darnell Johnson of the Armada took a lazy tripping penalty, and lo and behold, the Lions scored the game winning goal just 20 seconds after the powerplay expired. The Armada killed off the penalty, But with Johnson coming out of the box, the Armada were still out of sorts with 3 defensemen on the ice, and the Lions kept the momentum before Jack Wilson scored the goal. The lesson, as usual, is don't take dumb penalties.

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#11
(This post was last modified: 08-30-2019, 03:33 PM by dylanjj37.)

(Losing) Player of the Game

Elijah Jones (LW) – Elijah Jones of the Anchorage Armade played an excellent game against the Lethbridge Lions. Jones scored one of Anchorage's only two goals in the third period to tie the game assisted by Jake Primeau and Johnny Sins, the other scored by Spencer MacLean. Jones had no assists but he did also have the second highest shots on goals after Jonas Larsen, with five shots on goal throughout the game. Jones managed to hit Cant Eykhil in the second period and also hit Eva Lykke Aparjode in the third period taking away the puck. Overall, Elijah Jones played an excellent game and was the stand-out candidate for (Losing) Player of the Game.
#12

It's always rough to watch another player have a bad day, and this game was no different. Darnell Johnson must've had a hell of a time in the locker room as his 6 PIM contributed directly to the big loss the Armada suffered. No one wants to be in that position, and you gotta wonder what's going on in the heads of a player who's out on the ice playing on just an off day. Make no mistake though, Darnell is playing long nights with 18 minutes played at the end of the game. You just gotta keep your head up and not get tilted when you take an early penalty, otherwise the entire game is just out of your hands.


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#13

(Losing) Player of the Game

Elijah Jones (LW) – Elijah Jones scored one of only two goals for the Anchorage Armada in this game against the Lethbridge Lions. The goal came in the third period assisted by Jake Primeau and Johnny Sins, shortly after Anchorage's first goal by Spencer MacLean. Jones also had the second-most shots on goal of all players on the team after Jonas Larsen, with 5 shots on goal. Defensively, Elijah Jones managed to hit both Cant Eykhil in the second period and Eva Lykke Aparjode in the third. Overall, Elijah Jones was a standout player for Anchorage despite the high level of talent from other players on the team such as Gabriel Johnson.
#14

In a close game today, Lethbridge was able to secure the win against Anchorage 3-2. In this game Eykhil scored 2 goals for the Lions, both of which were assisted by partner on the right wing, Banananak. Also, every skater in this game finished somewhere between -1 and +1. The difference maker the power play and kill for Lethbridge today. They were able to secure an early powerplay goal, limit to only 3 penalties being called on them for the game, and shut out Anchorage when they were on the powerplay. Even though Anchorage was the more physical of the two teams, lead in hits 16-12, it led to their downfall drawing too many penalties today.

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