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SMJHL S54 Quarter Finals - Anaheim vs Colorado Recap
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Anaheim vs Colorado – Playoff Round 1 – Western Quarter Finals Review by J. Botchford Jr.
[4100 Words - Ready for Grading]

Season Series – Playoff Series Preview

It has been an up and down season for the Outlaws. Storming out of the gate in impressive fashion, before stumbling midway through the season losing 9 games in a row, it has been an eventful season for the Outlaw faithful. Heading into the playoffs, Anaheim started picking up steam, rattling off 4 wins over the last 6 games, securing home ice advantage and also including a resounding win over their eventual playoffs round 1 rodeo partner, the Colorado Raptors. While Anaheim seemed poised and gained momentum over the final stretch, Colorado stumbled into the playoffs with only an overtime win over their last 6 games. With two glaring losses during that stretch (7-3 to St.Louis and 6-0 to Anaheim, both at home), it wasn’t the way Colorado wanted to enter the playoffs this season.

Looking at the head to head stats between the two teams, it appears that the two teams were very even. But a deeper dive into the stats reveals some interesting trends. The first two games between these two clubs were tight defensive affairs, with Anaheim steamrolling through their extremely strong start with a 3-1 win and a 2-1 shootout win. Their next outing was a 10-1 destruction during the infamous 9 game losing streak for Anaheim. In fact, after the 2-1 shootout win by Anaheim, which preceded their losing streak, over the next two months, Colorado destroyed Anaheim the next 4 games with scores of 10-1, 6-2, 1-0, and 6-3, a combined goal differential of 23 to 6 (+17). It wasn’t until January until Anaheim was able to get back into the win column against Colorado. A solid 4-1 victory, leading to the final match of the season, where Anaheim, with the full power of their deadline pickups and rested, defeated Colorado 6-0 in a game billed as a first round matchup preview. 

While the season series ended up a dead even 4 wins and 4 losses for each side, Colorado scored 26 goals to Anaheim’s 21. Both teams were heavily penalized during the season series, with Anaheim taking 27 penalties to Colorado’s 34, but power play goals were hard to come by. Anaheim was able to score 6, while Colorado scored 7, thus giving the advantage to Colorado due to the Anaheim taking 7 less penalties, giving Colorado a 0.259 power play conversion rate against Anaheim’s 0.176. Home ice advantage played a huge role in the season series, with the home team winning 3 games each, while losing 1. Thus, with Anaheim finishing above Colorado in the season, securing home ice advantage in this playoff series, t may prove to be the deciding factor between two very evenly matched sides.
 
GAME 1 – Colorado 3 – Anaheim 5 – Outlaw Saloon

Period 1

In what was a frantic first period, with 5 goals scored within the first 10 minutes of the game, both teams threw defence to the winds and gunned for offensive superiority. James LeBlond, who had started to turn it up during the second half of the season scored the first goal 55 seconds into the game after Hiroshi Ohira was called for Interference 44 seconds into the game. LeBlond hammered a point shot after some great passing from Taylor Johansson and Ethan Price. Mack Daddy ties it up for Colorado a minute later as he jammed one in on Strom Chamberlain after a Bradley Barkov shot from the side walls. Anaheim responds 30 seconds later as Juan Hunna-Pussent sends a seeing eye shot from the left face off dot above Samat Beibitzhanov’s shoulder after receiving a great cross-ice pass from James LeBlond. Harry Walker doubles Anaheim’s lead 3 minutes later with another point shot after Rikard Hammarberg and Ryu Jones cycled with each other deep in the Colorado zone, drawing defenders towards them, opening up the point. With 3 goals in the first 6 minutes, Samat Beibitzhanov’s night was done and Jerry Huuveri enters the game to relieve the Raptor’s starter. The presence of Huuveri steadies the Raptors, as they begin to play a more structured game, cutting into the lead at 8:15 with a power play goal as Emilia Bergman was in the penalty box for high sticking. Sven Svenson one-times a Gudmundur Kristjansson pass past the outstretched glove of Strom Chamberlain. Anaheim begins to sit back on their lead, which leads Colorado to storm Anaheim in the second half of the period. Strom Chamberlain kept Anaheim in the game as Colorado put up 19 shots to Anaheim’s 7.

End of First Period – Colorado 2 – Anaheim 3

Period 2

The second period started the same way the first period ended, with Anaheim playing much better defensively. Not letting their star goalie out to dry, Anaheim began limiting the shots against from the high-octane Colorado offence. It was not until midway through the second period when Colorado struck to bring the game into a tie game. Jean-Uhtred Ragnarsson-Tremblay was sprung on a breakaway after a great stick check from Chris Cerullo and he made no mistake as he roofs it past Chamberlain. Each side takes a penalty in the second half of the period, but that was all the scoring in the second period.

End of Second Period – Colorado 3 – Anaheim 3

Period 3

With Colorado playing extremely well after replacing their goaltender early in the first period, Anaheim needed to change up the tempo to take control of the game. James LeBlond, who opened the scoring early in the first, cashes in with his second of the game, tipping a slap pass from Rhys Pritchard in the slot through the legs of Jerry Huuveri to put Anaheim ahead midway through the third. Colorado was unable to solve a very sharp Strom Chamberlain as he shut the door on Colorado. John Forfeit seals the game with an empty netter after Bergman bravely blocks a slapper from Hiroshi Ohira and sends Forfeit out into the neutral zone for an easy goal. James LeBlond is named the first star of the game, with a 3 point performance, with 2 goals and an assist. Jean-Uhtred Ragnarsson-Tremblay is named second star of the game with his great breakaway goal to tie the game up in the second, and Taylor Johansson is named third star of the game with a 2 assist performance. Strom Chamberlain was extremely strong, turning away 36 shots to stifling the ferocious attack of Colorado.

Final – Colorado 3 – Anaheim 5 – ANA Leads 1-0

Game 2 – Colorado 1 – Anaheim 7 – Outlaw Saloon

Period 1

With the season series, there have been blowouts on both sides, and it was just a matter of time before one of these teams continues that trend. Colorado opens the scoring 6 minutes into the first period, with Ryan Rieley scoring his first of the post season, out muscling James LeBlond on a partial breakway set up by Sheen Beckett, but that was all Colorado could muster up, as Anaheim takes over the game from that point onwards. Joorgustraad DuBolk starts Anaheim off with a screened point shot that handcuffs Jerry Huuveri after strong work in the Colorado zone by Stracimir Petrovic and Juan Hunna-Pussent. Taylor Johansson continues his strong play from Game 1 with an assist at the 15 minute mark, assisting on Stracimir Petrovic’s redirection goal off of a Juan Hunna-Pussent shot. All goals were scored at even strength.

End of First Period – Colorado 1 – Anaheim 2

Period 2

Taking the fight to Colorado in the second period, Anaheim slammed on the gas pedal and kept play firmly planted in the Colorado zone. Anaheim poured 17 shots on Huuveri while limiting Colorado to only 4 shots on Strom Chamberlain. It was a goaltending clinic by Huuveri as he turned aside 16 shots in the second period, after letting in an early Ethan Price shot. After Harry Walker knocked down a clearing attempt by the Raptors at the blueline, he went D to D to his defense partner Chet Hillier who found Price in the slot for a wrister that went through the 5 hole of Huuveri. Colorado was unable to muster any offence under a high tempo forecheck and were unable to gain the Anaheim zone for any sustained attack. Holding the potent offense of Colorado is an achievement in itself, all in all, a dominating period for the Outlaws.

End of Second Period – Colorado 1 – Anaheim 3

Period 3

The dam was struggling all throughout the second period, and it was unable to contain the onslaught any further as Anaheim put up 4 goals in the final period to run away with this game. Jerry Huuveri put on a valiant effort, but he was unable to overcome the defensive lapses of Colorado as they pushed to try to even up the game. Taylor Johansson potted his first goal of the postseason on the powerplay after a Gudmundur Kristjansson slashing penalty early in the third period. After some quick puck movement in the offensive zone, Johansson was able to wrist a shot from the right faceoff dot under the blocker of Huuveri to put the Outlaws up by 3. Deadline pickup Stracimir Petrovic and Ethan Price, Outlaws top goal-scorer during the regular season, continued the barrage with goals at the 10 minute mark and the 15 minute mark to bring the Outlaws up by 5. With Gudmundur Kristjansson once again in the penalty box for boarding near the end of the game, Taylor Johansson completes the rout potting his 2nd of the game on the power play past Huuveri to bring the final score to 7-1. Samat Beibitzhanov inexplicably replaces Huuveri for the last 38 seconds of the game, but he would see no action as Anaheim coasts to the end. Stracimir Petrovic earns the 1st star of the game with a 3 point effort, with 2 goals and an assist. Ethan Price receives the 2nd star of the game with a similar stat line while Taylor Johansson is awarded the 3rd star of the game with the exact same stat line, with 2 powerplay goals.

Final – Colorado 1 – Anaheim 7 – ANA Leads 2-0

Game 3 – Anaheim 2 – Colorado 4 – InGEN Center

Period 1

Looking to put their last game behind them, Colorado came out flying in the first period in their first game at home in the playoffs. Anrijs Asts starts the tally off for Colorado with a blast from the right point after Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind dug out a rebound off of a Gudmundur Kristjansson shot back to the point. A minute later, Carlos Brown opens his tally in the playoffs jamming the puck past Strom Chamberlain after Chamberlain was unable to cover up a rebound from a Chris Cerullo shot. Taylor Johansson responds for Anaheim to halve the lead tipping in his 3rd goal of the playoffs off of an Emilia Bergman point shot past Samat Beibitzhanov. Juan Hunna-Pussent continues his superb play, assisting on Johansson’s goal with his 4th assist of the playoffs. Gudmundur Kristjansson also continues his great play, rounding out the scoring in the first period, scoring his first goal of the postseason with a slapshot from the right faceoff dot from a pass off of Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind’s stick, his second assist of the game in the first period. Colorado kept Anaheim penned in in their own zone, similar to the second period of last game, putting 16 shots on Strom Chamberlain, while limiting Anaheim to only 6 shots in the period. Strom Chamberlain held his ground as much as he could, despite surrendering 3 goals on those 16 shots.  

End of First Period – Anaheim 1 – Colorado 3

Period 2

Anaheim responded to the first period with a strong second period, putting up 13 shots and holding Colorado to only 5 shots, but was unable to solve Samat Beibitzhanov at all as he closed the door on the Outlaws. With Anaheim pouring shot after shot, Beibitzhanov was a wall, prevent Anaheim from building any tangible results out of their momentum. Colorado hung on and kept their 2 goal lead throughout the second period.

End of Second Period – Anaheim 1 – Colorado 3

Period 3

It was not until early in the third period before Anaheim was finally able to solve Samat Beibitzhanov. Ethan Price potted his 3rd of the postseason to cut the lead to 1 early in the third period. Displaying some silky smooth hands, Price bought himself space sliding past the Raptors defender before wristing a shot past Beibitzhanov under his glove after receiving a tip pass from Rhys Pritchard. Simothy Drunkebird restored the 2 goal lead shortly after and that was all Beibitzhanov needed as the Outlaws were unable to sustain their pressure from the second period, only mustering 6 shots in the final period. Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind earned the first star of the game with his 2 assist performance. Ethan Price continued his strong play, receiving a second star for his efforts in a losing cause with his goal and Gudmundur Kristjansson was the third star of the game with his two point game (1 goal, 1 assist).

Final – Anaheim 2 – Colorado 4 – ANA Leads 2-1

Game 4 – Anaheim 4 – Colorado 2 – InGEN Center

Period 1

With both teams winning their respective home games so far this series, both teams knew that the moment when a team loses on home ice, it would be a massive momentum shift in the series. With each team winning 3 games at home while losing 1 during the season series, it wouldn’t be a surprise if this series went 7 games, until a team loses home ice advantage. Colorado came out early, with Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind scoring his first of the postseason, tipping a Gudmundur Kristjansson shot, his 4th assist of the playoffs, past Strom Chamberlain early in the first, but after that, Anaheim took over. Ryu Jones got the party started with his first of the postseason with a rebound from a Rikard Hammarberg shot. With tempers flaring after a Ethan Price roughing penalty early on in the game after Colorado’s first goal, Ryan Rieley and Joorgustraad DuBolk found themselves involved in a spirited scrap which landed both of them in the penalty box for fighting. Spurred on by his teammate’s fisticuffs, Taylor Johansson scored his 7th point and 4th goal in his strong playoff form to put Anaheim up by 1 near the end of the third. Utilizing his patented speed down the wing, Emilia Bergman found Johansson in full flight down the right wing, Johansson blasted a slap shot reminiscent of Wayne Gretzky top shelf on Samat Beibitzhanov. Anaheim had the shot advantage the first period 11-7 as they pushed to win the first game on hostile ice.

End of First Period – Anaheim 2 – Colorado 1

Period 2

Early in the second period, C.T. Carragher, who had been relatively quiet this post season opens the scoring in the second period less than a minute in, jamming in a rebound off of another Emilia Bergman shot from the point to put Anaheim up by 2. Carragher then completes the scoring for Anaheim with a brilliant tip off of a James Boxman II shot to put Anaheim up by 3. That was all Strom Chamberlain needed as he proceeded to only allow one more goal from Bradley Barkov to squeak by to round out the scoring for the game. Colorado had the run of play during the second but was unable to get anything else behind Chamberlain.

End of Second Period – Anaheim 4 – Colorado 2

Period 3

Anaheim did not sit back in the third period as they kept the pressure up against Colorado, putting up 16 shots and keeping Colorado from mounting a comeback. In the opportunities that Anaheim’s defence faltered, Chamberlain was there to bail them out with another 11 saves in the final period. There was no scoring in the final period as Anaheim was the first to take advantage of hostile ice and return home for a potential series clinching game 5 at home. Emilia Bergman was awarded the first star of the game with her stalwart defense play and 2 assists. Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind earned the second start in a losing effort despite scoring the first goal of the game. C.T. Carragher rounds out the 3 stars with a sublime effort notching his first two goals of the post season. Spirits within the dressing room were high, but there were no celebrations as the team was focused. Their goal is not just getting out of the first round, but to win the 4 Stars Cup with the troop assembled in front of them.

Final – Anaheim 4 – Colorado 2 – ANA Leads 3-1

Game 5 – Colorado 1 – Anaheim 3 – Outlaw Saloon

Period 1

Coming home with a 3-1 series lead had the Outlaw fans in a frenzy as they had the opportunity to witness a series clinching game. While the Outlaws tried to ride the energy from the crowd, Colorado was able to halt the momentum Anaheim carried with them from their game 4 victory. By playing a very physical game, against the Outlaws, punishing them whenever they touched the puck, Colorado drained the Outlaws of much of their energy, forcing the Outlaws to only put 6 shots on net against their 11. While the physical play was working, an unfortunate incident occurred as Bryce Turner’s hit at the 6:48 mark. While innocuous at first glance, replays showed that Turner stuck out his leg and landed a knee on knee hit against Ryu Jones. Luckily Jones was not hurt in the collision, but the dirty play warranted a 2 minute penalty plus a 10 minute misconduct. The Outlaws were incensed by what they considered as a light punishment taking runs at Turner. The referee ended up calling Ulrik Bergstrom for roughing for a facewash after the whistle. With the referees cracking down on infractions, the Outlaws settled down to defeat the Raptors on the scoreboard and eliminating them from the playoffs. While eventful between the whistles, there was no scoring as both goaltenders were dialed in.

End of First Period – Colorado 0 – Anaheim 0

Period 2

With stern words from GM/Coach BDonini and Nykonax, the Outlaws came out flying in the second period. After killing off a tripping penalty to Rhys Pritchard, the Outlaws began pouring on the pressure. Colorado had difficulties in containing wave after wave of Outlaw attacks. With the sustained pressure after a long shift in the Raptors’ defensive zone, Aumy Jr. takes an uncharacteristic elbowing penalty. While special teams had not been a massive factor in the series, the Outlaws capitalized on this opportunity instantly. Ryu Jones found a seam in the penalty kill defense structure and found himself open to a tap in after Ethan Price was able to find Jones open in a hard fought face-off win, scoring 2 seconds into the penalty to give the Outlaw faithful something to cheer about. With Anaheim holding onto the lead for most of the second period, Simothy Drunkebird capitalized on a defensive breakdown during a breakout attempt for Anaheim’s penalty kill unit. Anticipating a cross-ice pass, Drunkebird snuck past the defenders for a breakaway attempt on Strom Chamberlain, and promptly deposited the puck through Chamberlain’s five-hole to tie the game at 1 with Juan Hussa-Pussent in the penalty box for hooking. The game was tied at 1 after 40 minutes.

End of Second Period – Colorado 1 – Anaheim 1

Period 3

With victory and a berth into the second round of the playoffs at their doorstep, Anaheim began capitalizing on Colorado’s missteps as they continued to play a heavy game against the Outlaws. With both sides trading chances, Colorado began to play more and more desperate, pushing to bring on game 6 back at InGen Center.  Anaheim was able to counterattack efficiently upon mistakes by Colorado. The dagger came as Colorado began to tire from their physical play. C.T. Carragher slipped a check from Bryce Turner, who had returned to the game late in the first period, and received a tape to tape pass from James LeBlond at the side of the net and was able to lift it up past the outstretch pads of Samat Beibitzhanov at 16:23. With the go-ahead goal so late in the game, it did not provide Colorado with much time to regroup and push for a tie to reach overtime. Anaheim successfully locked down as Colorado began to attack desperately to even the game up. With 40 seconds left in the game, the moment all Outlaw fans wished and hoped for happened as John Forfeit was sprung after some solid defensive work by Rikard Hammarberg against Sven Svenson in the final minute. John Forfeit made no mistake, depositing the puck into the net vacated by Samat Beibitzhanov to seal the win for Anaheim. For his defensive efforts and to seal the win, John Forfeit was rewarded with the first star of the game. Simothy Drunkebird was awarded the second star, but that will be bitter for Simothy as his team was eliminated from the playoffs. Ryu Jones who broke the game open in the second period with his powerplay goal was the third star. Anaheim advances to the second round, defeating Colorado 4 games to 1.

Final – Colorado 1 – Anaheim 3 – ANA Advances 4-1
 
Series Review

Billed as an awfully close series, this series did not disappoint. While losing out in 5 games will be difficult to swallow, other than the 7-1 rout in game 2, Colorado played extremely well against Anaheim all the other games. With the one hiccup of losing at home in game 4, Colorado kept all games within 1 goal, save for some empty netters. The line between victory and defeat was razor thin this series, and Anaheim’s star players carried the team to victory. When Anaheim closed out the series, Taylor Johansson and Ethan Price were leading the league in playoff points, with Johansson scoring 4 goals with 3 helpers, and Price with 3 goals and 4 helpers for 7 points each. James LeBlond followed close behind with 2 goals and 4 helpers for 6 points and Ryu Jones right behind them as well with 2 goals and 3 helpers. Colorado scored by committee, with their highest point getter as Gudmundur Kristjansson with 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists). Anaheim’s defense, which was once seen as a stumbling block for them, gelled together with reinforcements of Ulrik Bergstrom and continued growth by James LeBlond and Emilia Bergman, were able to shut down the high-octane Colorado offensive stars. While Anaheim played great, there were certainly causes for concern. Rikard Hammarberg, the club’s leading scorer during the regular season did not have a particularly good series. While deployed in a defensive role, the points weren’t there for Hammarberg, with just 3 assists to his tally. Captain Rhys Pritchard would like to improve on his 4 assists as well. To succeed in the next round, these two players will need to step up their game to, and the rest of the team will need to continue their high level of play. Anaheim will need to also watch out for the numerous penalties they take per game. While special teams were not a huge factor in this series, against lethal powerplay teams like Kelowna, it can become a series factor. Winning in 5 games is a giant boon to Anaheim’s chances against their second round opponents. Anaheim has fared much better as a rested squad throughout the season. Anaheim’s nine game losing streak during the season came during the team’s most fatiguing stretch of games with multiple back to backs with only 1 day of rest between each back to back stretch. With fatigue playing a massive factor for Anaheim, receiving a lengthy rest will prove beneficial. With Kelowna and Anchorage’s series going 7 games, fatigue can play a massive factor in Anaheim’s second round series. Anaheim would prefer to face Anchorage as they came out ahead against Anchorage in their season series, but a Kelowna matchup would be must see TV as the two sides were evenly matched throughout the season.

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