Login

Sopath · 02-18-2021, 02:50 PM

Newfoundland Berserkers Game Reactions for Day 6

Pregame coverage: In today’s pregame coverage we will be focusing on Ric Charlesworth as he has been having a breakout season for the Zerks so far and has had multiple game winning goals in tight games. I spoke to the 6’3 Australian forward this morning about what he makes of his season so far, “Kind of unexpected. Wasn't expecting to start this well with how last season went with about 3 goals in 400 shots but I'm happy as a shot fox to be scoring and providing goals for the other cunts on my team.” Charelsworth has quite the bright personality that leaves one feeling refreshed. His tall blonde hair somehow expresses the humor even after he’s stopped speaking. I followed up by inquiring about how he can possibly be so clutch. “I actually refuse to drive automatic cars because of the lack of clutch. Call me FedEx cause I'm always delivering.” In that moment I had reached enlightenment having now realized that I am standing before a golden god from the land down under. I ended the interview wanting to hear about what he makes of his future, “Hopefully, the points record for Newfoundland. That's the main goal for myself now. If I get that with a season to go who knows. Maybe just retire and sit on a beach somewhere sipping Mai Tais.” I love you Ric Charlesworth.

I was also able to speak with Captain Vaseline Podcalzone about Charlesworth this morning. Podcalzone is always happy to speak of his teammates, “Yeah man, you love to see it. Charlesworth is getting the job done out there. He’s got a huge level of complete, and most importantly for sure, he’s able to finish, you know, and get the puck in the net. A lot of players, they have a ton of finesse but sometimes struggle to finish the play, but luckily for us Ric is there to get it done.” Ric has been so big for the team this year. All of his teammates have begun to call him “Ric Clutchworth.” The relationship between Pod and Ric is also really strong. “Charlesworth is a centre so sometimes we end up lining up together. Especially in this season where there really isn’t a definitive #1C, I’ve definitely gotten plenty of practice in and actual play time on Charleswroth’s wing. You know, a guy like Ric is stellar and trustworthy. He’s good at taking draws and his defensive game really compliments him well and makes him a great two way player.” Lastly I was curious about what he makes of Charlesworth chances in the draft after going undrafted. “He’s only going to get better as his stats show. It’d be a shame for him to go undrafted, he has the skill to make it as a centre in the SHL.” Ric is proving that he’s got what it takes. But if he decides to retire after a few seasons in the J and drink beer on the beach while playing Australian pro hockey, I’m sure that’s fine by him too. Now let’s hope he can come up big against the toughest hockey team in the J.

Game 14: Quebec City Citadelles

at Newfoundland

WHAT A GAME. Quebec City came into Newfoundland the number one team in the SMJHL and they were forced to accept defeat by the mighty Newfoundland Berserkers. Down 2-0 the Zerks rallied to score 3 straight before Qubec managed to narrowly escape defeat by scoring a late goal in the 3rd. A 3rd period which saw fights between the likes of between Bud Weiser and Boris Petrov early in the 3rd and then late Boris Petrov, of Qubec, dropped the gloves again with Billy Brooks. This was a tense game fought with passion but ultimately it was determined in a shootout where Hugo Gronroos came up big and shut down the Owls in the shootout when it mattered most. BOOT HOOT.

Let’s talk about some great Zerk performances. First of all Jesse Trudeau with another huge freaking goal. This is becoming regular for him. He scored the goal that helped the Zerks to get back into it and Dwayne Gretzky scored the massive goal that put them ahead. Shion Okamoto made an incredible pass to Vaseline Podcalzone down the ice which lead to a breakaway goal that tied the game. A huge moment that should not be forgotten. Also worth noting would be Nike Kickz Jr for his incredible defense at the center position in such a big game and Leon Athanasios for scoring what was the Game Winning Goal in the shootout. But only one could be Zerk of the Game!

Zerk of the Game honors goes to: Vaseline Podcalzone! Congratulations to the Captain! Podcalzone had another elite game on both sides of the puck which is just what he seems to do every night. On defense he notched 4 hits and a takeaway. Then on offense he had an extraordinarily clutch goal that tied the game and a goal in the shootout that extended the game. Everytime the Zerks needed a big moment to stay alive PODCALZONE DELIVERED. CONGRATULATIONS!

Game 15: Kelowna Knights

at Newfoundland Berserkers

A dominant affair from the Zerks as they take 2 of 2 games. Zerks win by a score of 3-0 in a game that they looked dominant in throughout. Did Kelowna try? Sure. BUT THEY WERE NO MATCH FOR THE MIGHTY ZERKS.

Some notable performances include Ric Charlesworth for another goal. He’s just continuing this season to score goal after goal and make those Aussies so proud. In addition to his goal he notched 2 apples and 3 hits. Sabarro Torretta bullied the Knights out there racking up 4 hits, and the captain Vaseline Podcalzone had two apples tonight. But we must talk about Evgeni Petrov’s performance. Petrov was a sensation tonight. The backup rookie had a big challenge this evening when he faced 27 shots and STOPPED THEM ALL for his SECOND complete game shut out of the season IN JUST A HAND FULL OF STARTS. Evgeni Petrov is beginning a career in the ideal way that every player dreams of. I caught up with Petrov after the game to get his thoughts on the shutout, “Pretty damn good tbh. I never got two shutouts in a season before in college. Plus it makes me feel like I'm contributing and in the Junior Leagues it's frustrating when you put in the work and the time to make your player good and then they just don't perform, so getting results is great.” I think Petrov can always be proud of what he’s done here tonight.

With that let’s go to our Zerk of the Game: Bas O’Bigbers! Bas O’Bigbers continues his reign of destruction in the SMJHL by scoring another two goals, notching an assist, and on defense managed 3 take aways. Bas played like a supernatural force out there tonight and will haunt Kelowna in their dreams. Bas when reached for interview only said, “I have but my teammates to thank for the opportunity. It means so much to me to play for such a good team and I’m proud of Evegni Petrov on his 2nd career shutout of his career.” Bas’ 3 points elevated him to league leading 16 points and now sits 2nd in the SMJHL on Goals with 8. A fantastic season indeed.

Postgame coverage:
Newfoundland now find themselves among the top teams in the league in the standings with 22 points which is good for 2nd in the east. Behind only Quebec City. Additionally the whole team is scoring goals. Bas with 8, Jesse Trudeau at 7, Ric Charlesworth at 7, and Podcalzone at 7. Elite goal scoring. After the games I caught up with gm nhamlet to ask about what he made of all of this, particularly the Petrov shutout. “Unbelievable effort by Petrov tonight. I know that Bigbers absolutely controlled the game on both sides of the puck, but if Petrov slips up, suddenly the whole team is a little more on edge, especially knowing how much quality is in the Knights team. Instead it was a two man show between Bigbers and Petrov, leading the way for everybody else in grinding out what felt like a convincing win.” Since he brought up Bas I wondered what he was making of this scorching hot campaign so far, “He's really starting to reach the potential that I saw in him since he joined the organization. I know his focus was to score goals but we've had some talks about finding other ways to impact the game and so far he's shown it scoring, assisting, even strength, powerplay as well as being responsible defensively. He's also earned enough trust from me recently to get a bit of PK time seeing as he's been a bit of a workhorse quality in him so I'm expecting big things from him as a leader on and off the ice.” What a compliment it is to Bas to be praised by nhamnlet like that. Lastly I wanted to know where nhamlet thought the season was going. “I've got so many mixed feelings about it quite honestly. Even last season I was excited about the potential of a lot of our young guys. Unfortunately we just didn't get the bounces and our record looked worse than what our team was capable of. This season, I knew we were going to be a threat but also heavily underestimated, but didn't think it was going to be at this kind of start. If you had asked me if I had the option to leave the QCC/KEL back to back games with only 2 points, I would have taken. Good thing the team here is way hungrier than that.” We shall just how far the appetite of the Zerks will take them.

Word Count: 1637

ZotG Leaderboard (Volsungr Award Leaderboard)

1st Ric Charlesworth: 3
T-2nd Billy Brooks: 2
T-2nd Shion Okamoto: 2
T-2nd Bas O’Bigbers

Special thanks to @Nhamlet @simo_393 @bdu754 and @RenoJacksonHS for interviews

***Nhamlet*** · 02-18-2021, 02:57 PM

***yosh*** · 02-18-2021, 04:05 PM

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us