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S30 Regular Season PGS Thread
#76

<div align="center">Game #56(Game Link)

ST. <span style='color:#7E0517'>LOUIS SCARECROWS Scarecrows (7-4-2)at PRINCE GEORGE FIREBIRDS Firebirds(7-5-1)</span>

Score: Scarecrows 2 vs Firebirds 3 OT

Welcome to the Prince George Sports Colosseumwere the Firebirds will face the Scarecrows today. These 2 teams are only 1 point apart from each other and fighting for the 2nd place overall in the standings.
St. Louis clearly dominated the first period with scoring 2 goals on 13 shots against the Firebirds' 1 goal on 5 shots. The Firebirds first power play was succesful and allowed them to score their first goal of the game. The next two periods weren't that action filled with the Scarecrows only shooting 11 times and Prince George scoring once on 9 shots.
The game was decided in Overtime in favor for PGF.


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Highlights:

0:45 of 1st period GOAL 1 to 0 St. Louis <span style='color:Black'>Scarecrows Scarecrows </span>
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Not even 1 minute into the game and a goal, this is how it happened .
Puck is dumped in St. Louis Scarecrows zone by Barak Obrana. Kelly Rivet retrieves the free Puck he passes to Nate Akeson. Nate Akeson skates from his own zone to the Prince George Firebirds zone and shots but the shot misses the Net. Free Puck Retrieved by DarryL Landry for St. Louis Scarecrows. DarryL Landry with a huge slapper that is blocked by Barak Obrana. Kelly Rivet is able to scoop the puck up and passes to Nate Akeson who stands directly in front of the net. A quick snapshot that beats Ace Dafoe who is not able to save this shot with his glove.
GOAL

0:45 of 1st period GOAL 2 to 0 St. Louis <span style='color:Black'>Scarecrows Scarecrows </span>
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The scarecrows have the puck as they and Prince Geroge change their lines. Stach skates into the Firebirds zone with the puck shots but is not able to score. NIck Celej is able to get the puck and is somehow able to get it in. GOAL

14:35 of 1st period GOAL 1 to 2 Prince George Firebirds Firebirds
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A pass by Rhaegar Targaryen is intercepted by Johnny Pollak inside STL's zone . Pollak passes to his other Defenseman Hunky Monkey. wo sees an open Casper Jakobsson. CJ with a beautiful wrist shot on the the Scarecrows goalie.GOAL

15:25 of 2nd period GOAL 2 to 2 Prince George Firebirds Firebirds
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Casper Jakobsson wins face-off versus Joe Kurczewski in St. Louis Scarecrows zone. Passes to Hunky Monkey who passes back to Casper Jakobsson. Casper Jakobssen cycles the puck to Johnny Pollak who finds an open Hylytyr NoRetornable. Shot by Hylytyr NoRetornable lands in the back of the net. GOAL

OVERTIME GOAL 2 to 2 Prince George Firebirds Firebirds
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Free Puck Retrieved by Kevin Sousa for Prince George Firebirds in St. Louis zone.he immediately shoots but the shot is blocked by Danny Foster. Tapper Kottbulle retrieves the free puck and shoots but the shot blocked by Danny Foster again , what a machine. Kevin Sousa get the puck again for PGF shoots and finally SCORES!!! GOAL

Turning Point:
The turning point of this game was the double minor penalty of Eugene Feist after he hit someone into the board. This penalty led to the first goal for Prince George and giving them a huge amount of momentum. [i]

Three Stars:
[i]3rd Star:
Johnny Pollak (PGF) 2Assists, +1, 1 blocked shot
Johnny Pollak was a valuable member for the Firebirds today he had 2 Assists and had a solid defensive performance with blocking 1 shot and interpecting a few passes. One of these intercepted passes led to a goal.


2nd Star:
Barak Obrana (PGF) 1 Assist, +1, 6 Hits, 1 Shot Blocked, 1 Shot
Barak was another defensive cornerstone for PGF today. HIs physical presence was felt at all times by laying out 6 hits on STL. He was also able to contribute offensively. Obrana was able to intercept a few passes aswell.

1st Star:
Casper Jakobsson (PGF) 1Goal, 1 Assist, +1, 4 Shots, 1 Hit
The Captain of the Firebirds had a pretty good performance today on both sides of the ice. Providing a solid defensive game today while running the Prince George offense today. JAkobssen was able to score 1 goal on 4 shots and preparing another goal for one of his teammates. A performance that lets everyone know why this guy is the Captain of the team.








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[Image: KSelich.gif]
Thank you all for the amazing sigs & player cards
Germany Citadelles  Stampede [Image: vhY18i8.png][Image: Raptors.png][Image: gs89eGV.png] [Image: eE2UQZC.png] Stampede Citadelles Germany



3. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 5 (Maximilian Wachter, Alexis Metzler) at 16:25
5. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 6 (Steven Stamkos Jr., Brynjar Tusk) at 19:48
8. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 7 (Brynjar Tusk, Alexis Metzler) at 13:55
9. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 8 (Anton Fedorov, Mikelis Grundmanis) at 15:12
10. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 9 (Dickie Pecker) at 19:43 (Empty Net)
#77

<div align="center">[Image: 2dttbns.jpg]</div>

<div align="center">ON THIS MORNING'S BROADCAST:
Game 42 of Season 30 of the SMJHL....

Halifax Raiders VS Montréal Militia
Goal 5 raiders VS Militia 4</div>

COOTER: Well, folks, we're breaking a little from our format this morning.
BARTON: Wait -- we are? I don't know about this.
COOTER: It was your idea!
BARTON: Oh, you mean doing the phones and social media first!
COOTER: Duh, man. What did you think I meant?
BARTON: I don't know, listen, I don't like change. You remember the one time you tried to get me to switch to the medium roast Chock Full 'o Nuts instead of the New York Blend? That was une goddamn catastrophe, as they say in the Q.
COOTER: Fortunately, we're not doing anything that dramatic today. But let's talk about the game, man! Look at Halifax! Totally different team three weeks in.
BARTON: Eh, kind of. Different problems, anyway.
COOTER: Ah, c'mon. They've tightened up their PK, they've gotten tighter with their overall discipline, and it's paying off. This was a high scoring game last night, but almost none of it was because the Raiders couldn't keep control of their players -- they gave up only two total powerplay opportunities to the Militia last night --
BARTON: -- yeah, and the Militia still managed to produce on one of them --
COOTER: OK, true, but Halifax really contended against Montreal without increasing their hit numbers or upping total PIMs, turning the second period to their advantage. It's a shame they couldn't make more of the nearly twice number of shots on goal they had against Montreal in the 3rd, but they locked Montreal down after two early 3rd period goals and got the job done.
BARTON: That whole second period was really wacky, by the way.
COOTER: Super wacky.
BARTON: But less of us on the game, and more of you guys out there listening in. Phone lines again are 800-XXX-XXXX -- please be kind to our interns operating the phones this morning, they've probably had at lot less coffee than you -- or if you're too grumpy to speak, you can always tweet us at @CootsandBarts with your comments and questions.
COOTER: We've had a few come in this morning already, so we'll actually start out with the folks participating from the Twitter-sphere. This one is from @BlueLineBeaut, and reads --

Quote:@BlueLineBeaut writes:

"2nd period was like a game of pong w/ all that nt icing going on -- did ever1 forget how 2 pass? @CootsandBarts"

BARTON: Your guess is as good as mine, BlueLineBeaut. I mean, they're not wrong?
COOTER: The thing that kills me about all the no-touch icing that happens in the second period of this game is that there is legitimately no reason for it. There's just over a minute of ice time around the 11th minute of play where Halifax does get a powerplay --
BARTON: -- which gets converted into a shorty by Montreal, of all things, with a beautiful goal by Vikstrom.
COOTER: Yeah, but the irony is that at no point during Montreal's penalty kill do they ice the puck, which would be understandable, it's only when playing actual five-on-five. So can I explain why for the first half of the second period, Montreal's defense seems to collectively forget how to pass? No, not really. I do know, though, that despite the way that icing can potentially break up a team's momentum, Halifax scored three times during that same period.
BARTON: Montreal scored twice as well, though.
COOTER: Alright, so maybe whatever kind of backwards-ass strategy they employed in the second produced offensive opportunities, but considering most of the puck-dumping came from Montreal's defense, I'm going to attribute the decision to play the way they did to their overall defensive strategy. And now, with the clarity of hindsight, I can say with certainty that the Militia's defensive strategy in the second failed, and failed miserably.
BARTON: Next comment -- this one is from @hotdogfrank5:

Quote:@hotdogrank5 wrote:

"1/2did anyone else see Pel reaching over w/ her stick from bench to knock over water bottles 2/2 lined up on Montreal's side of the aisle?"

COOTER: Is this guy for real?
BARTON: Do we still have the old Clarkson clips? Can we roll them?

<div align="center">[Image: tumblr_myjxdrQIKM1skgd7ao5_250.gif][Image: tumblr_myjxdrQIKM1skgd7ao4_250.gif]</div>

COOTER: Is there anything else that really needs to be said?
BARTON: Well, did you see her interfering with Montreal's water bottles?
COOTER: Did you?
BARTON: It's bad practice to answer a question with a question.
COOTER: Speaking of which, do we have someone on the phones Jerry? We do? Great, put them on through. Paul B, from Sherbrooke on the line, how you doing Paulie?

PAUL B: Hey guys, huge fan of the show. Real quick though, what do you guys think happened to our guys and gals during the 3rd period? I mean, I still can't get over the fact that we outshot Montreal as dramatically as we did and couldn't even put one in the net by the end of the 3rd.
BARTON: Halifax fan, right?
PAUL B: Hell yeah, man, let's go Raiders!
BARTON: Yeah, yikes, sorry for your shitty life choices.
COOTER: Ignore this asshole, man.
PAUL B: [laughs]
COOTER: Look, honestly, I think Hocolate got really worn down by the second period, and while Stephen Harris is a little lacking in numbers to his starter Kirkstone, having someone fresh in goal for the Militia helped them shut the Raiders out on the back-end. Hence, high shot numbers but very little production. Hocolate, on the other hand, got very sloppy with his rebounds, and so while the Raiders put up decent defense during the period without veering towards the physical like they've been doing in earlier weeks, the combined effort wasn't enough to keep Montreal from scoring two more times before the end of the game.
BARTON: Yeah, sorry man, all kidding aside, I'm seconding the sudden influx of bad rebounds on the part of Hocolate, and maybe a less than pro-level handling of the puck in the early part of the period by Halifax's D. They cleaned it up, though.
COOTER: That they did, and in doing so, secured the win. Thanks for calling in Paul!
PAUL B: Nah, thank you guys! Have a good morning.

COOTER: Do we have time for one more?
BARTON: Jerry's giving us the thumbs up, so I guess so. After this one, we'll do our individual unsung heroes of the game, and then review the rest of the highlights after the commercial break.
COOTER: Alright, I have... Martha M. from St. John on the phone, good morning Martha!

MARTHA M.: Hey boys, how's it going?
BARTON: Pretty good --
COOTER: -- we're doing well, Martha, how about yourself?
MARTHA M.: Oh, well, traffic's shit on the 1, but what else is new? Anyway, I don't want to take up too much of your time, so I'll get to it -- for all that the media's been going after her for that one big fight against Kelowna, Iversen and Lindstrom seem to be making a great offensive springboard for the Halifax lines.
COOTER: I'd say you're right about that, Martha.
MARTHA M.: So, what I guess I'm asking here is do you think the downward trend in penalties is a good thing for the Raiders? I mean, we have a reputation as a rough-and-tumble team, but I can't say I'm sad to be more in control of our offensive zones.
BARTON: I mean, it makes for less of a spectacle, to be sure.
COOTER: Yes and no -- I don't think we've seen the end of days for Goon Iversen, or the feistier elements of the Raider's offensive lines. For all the Raider's penalty minutes have been dropping since the line brawl two games ago, I think it's been more about new line chemistry and trying to focus on the finesse elements of their game.
BARTON: And actually, with so much of their shooting support coming from their D -- I believe all the assists in last night's game were delivered by the Raider's defensive line, two a piece for Iversen, Lindstrom, and Banning, in fact -- the way Iversen and Lindstrom have worked on their passing to better complement their forward lines over the last week is impressive.
COOTER: I can't believe your saying something nice about Halifax.
BARTON: I'm in a generous mood.
MARTHA M.: Well, thank you boys!
BARTON: And thank you Martha for calling in this morning. Safe driving out there.

BARTON (cont.): ... and moving right along to our Unsung Heroes of Game 42 of this season's SMJHL, who'd you pick, Coots?
COOTER: I'm actually going to pick a member of the Militia, if that's alright by you.
BARTON: By all means, man, go for it.
COOTER: My Unsung Hero of the game is Montreal's Henrik Vikstrom.
BARTON: The obvious choice.
COOTER: Maybe, but he deserves it. Not officially one of the Three Stars of the game, Vikstrom put up 1 goal, 4 hits -- with zero penalty minutes -- and while his single point doesn't top point performances on his team or otherwise, his goal was the shorthanded goal Montreal put up in the middle of the scrappy 2nd period. I still think that his goal forced Halifax to over-invest energy in the bottom of the second, making Montreal's run at a comeback in the third even possible in the first place. It'll be interesting to see if Montreal keeps him on the fourth line for much longer.
BARTON: If I were Montreal, I wouldn't -- I'd try to get him up with Russet and Jeziak on the third at the very least, see how he does with a slightly more grounded centerman.
COOTER: Only time will tell.
BARTON: My Unsung Hero of the game... I hate to say it, but it's gonna be Greta "The Goon" Iversen.
COOTER: [laughing] That's gotta sting.
BARTON: Yeah, well, she put up two solid points on assists, kept her nose clean with absolutely zero penalty minutes, and while her hit tally could've been higher, I think her efforts on the powerplay goal in the first period can't be ignored. They are a huge part of the reason Halifax got off to a running start, and regardless of how much steam they lost over the course of play, the strong start is what let them go home with the win.
COOTER: You want some mouthwash, bud? You look a little green around the gills.
BARTON: Hey, screw you; I'm perfectly capable of giving credit where credit is due, and this game, the Goon gets it from me.
COOTER: Alright -- we'll be back after a short message from our underwriters with the highlights of the game. Keep sending in those messages, folks!



[includes: story of the game, radio call-ins, unsung heroes, analysis]
#78

For the second time, the Fox Sports One banner flashed up, and then the camera zoomed in on Jay Onrait taking a long sip from his Yerba Mate.

Jay: Ah….thank the Lord for this life giving nectar. Oh…hello there, didn’t know you were here yet.

He leans across the desk and smacks a sleeping Dan O’Toole, who jolts up into a sitting position with Cheetos dust all over his face.

Dan: No, I will never poop at work. Huhwhaaa?

Jay: Our friends are back. They’re here for more.

Dan: Oh! Welcome back to the pod! I guess we’re doing these all back to back?

Jay: Things have run a lot less smoothly since Sexy Mike was let go. Remember Dan, our sponsors, the SMJHL, have contracted us to do some highlight reels for their hockey league?

Dan: But of course! What’s next on the docket – oh yeah, the Canadian food game!

Jay: I’ve crushed about 5 poutines and 3 donairs in anticipation for this tilt, and can’t wait to get to the package. I’ll warn you all now though, no matter what, it will only be the second most impressive package delivered today.

The incredibly high tech graphics flashed up behind the pair.

<div align="center">Game 26: Montreal Militia Militia vs Halifax Raiders raiders

Game Link</div>
Dan: Coming off a trying season last year, the Halifax Raiders had no choice but to restock the cupboard at last year’s draft, heck, now this team is almost all rookies!

Jay: Let the hazing begin. I have it on good account that Raiders Captain Colin Banning has been running his troops ragged on the road, so some home cooking is just what the doctor ordered.

Dan: Both teams are closer to the bottom of the standings than they’d like, so points are at a premium. Tonight also sees the Raiders debut for goalie Georgette Pel, as she gets high fives from her teammates on the way out of the tunnel.

<b><div align="center">First Period</div></b>
Jay: We pick this one up halfway through the first, and only eight seconds after Double Z – Zach Zyvleski gets called for hooking, we see a clinical passing play from Banning to Laing to JLR, who easily pots his third of the year past a sprawling Jeff Kirkstone.

<b><div align="center">1. Halifax Raiders , Jean-Luc Reflieux 3 (Reed Laing, Colin Banning) at 9:38 (PP)

Halifax 1 - Montreal 0</div></b>
Dan: But as quickly as you can say ‘luv da Halifaxes’, the Militia storm back with their own passing play, as Nolan Angello drives home a scintillating one-timer off the set up from Jason Forbrook!

Jay: More deflating than a night with Alex Reed’s blow-up doll. No chance for Pel on that one.

<b><div align="center"> 2. Montreal Militia , Nolan Angello 3 (Jason Forbrook, Filip Granlund) at 9:48

Halifax 1 - Montreal 1</div></b>
Dan: Two minutes later, on another penalty to Montreal for hooking, the same Raiders trio links up for their second power-play goal of the period, with this time seeing Reed Laing tap home an easy duke after a perfect pass from JLR.

Jay: Drinks on the house at the Lower Deck tonight for those three beauties.

<b><div align="center">3. Halifax Raiders , Reed Laing 3 (Jean-Luc Reflieux, Colin Banning) at 11:32 (PP)

Halifax 2 - Montreal 1</div></b>

<b><div align="center">Second Period</div></b>
Dan: We pick it up three quarters of the way through the second, and guess what, another Halifax power-play and guess what – another Raiders’ goal!

Jay: This time its Blake Battle – great hockey name – doing the honors, with Laing picking up his third point of the game so far as the Raiders extend their lead to two.

<b><div align="center">4. Halifax Raiders , Blake Battle 2 (Reed Laing, Solaire Azarov) at 15:08 (PP)

Halifax 3 - Montreal 1</div></b>
Dan: Not much else happening in a period tilted in the Raiders favor, as they outshot the Militia 11 to 5 in that frame.

<b><div align="center">Third Period</div></b>
Dan: Roughly two minutes in, we see the rookie dynamic duo of Volkova and Iversen combine their powers as off a missed shot from Volkova, Iversen bangs in the loose puck at the side of the net – its 4 to 1 Halifax!

Jay: You do not want to mess with those wonder-twins.

<b><div align="center"> 5. Halifax Raiders , Greta Iverson 2 (Pietra Volkova, Victor Lindstrom) at 2:37

Halifax 4 - Montreal 1</div></b>
Dan: The Militia get a power-play goal of their own, five minutes later, as Johnny Watson pots his first of the season after a face off win and pass from Zach Zyvelski.

Jay: Double Z getting the job done in the face-off circle – and did you see the wicked slash he took on the play to make it happen? Refs missed that one…

<b><div align="center">6. Montreal Militia , Johnny Watson 1 (Zach Zyvleski) at 7:48 (PP)

Halifax 4 - Montreal 2</div></b>
Dan: After that, penalty trouble reared its ugly head yet again for the Militia, as they took four more minors to end the game on a sour note. All the Raiders had to do was keep three back for the rest of the game and barely faced any difficulty.

Jay: You cannot win when you take NINE minor penalties and give up three goals. Just not going to happen.

<div align="center">Final Score

Halifax 4 – Montreal 2


Three Stars: 1. Nolan Angello (1G) 2. Jean-Luc Reflieux (1G 1A) 3. Reed Laing (1G 2A)
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Dan: And somehow Nolan Angello gets the first star, more proof that something is up with this sim. I guess he did have four shots and three hits too.

Jay: Well that and I heard his mom packed orange slices for BOTH teams and the refs. That’s going to earn you a star every time.

Dan: Regardless, it was an exciting all-Canadian match up in Halifax, and the rookie laden Raiders can rest easy tonight after a solid game by all. And a hell of a debut for Pel, as she picks up her first ever win.

Jay: Next stop for Pel is a victory slice at Pizza Corner!

Dan: How many more of these do we have to do anyways?

Jay: Oh, the SMJHL owns us forever. Good night everybody!
#79

raiders Halifax Raiders raiders 5 at Militia Montreal Militia Militia 4
Game Link

BRIEF SUMMARY
Halifax took down the Militia in a battle of the bottom of the eastern conference, going up 3-1 in the 4 games series they have shared so far. The Raiders got off to a strong start, and almost let it go, but managed to resist the late Militia onslaught to produce a victory.

IN DEPTH GOAL DESCRIPTIONS
Quote:Azarov skates into the Militia zone and dumps it, 2nd line and pair coming on for Halifax. Harris retrieves the puck, sends it to Watson. Watson passes it ou- RYAN HAS IT! Passes it to Banning, who gets pinned onto the boards by Watson. Banning comes out of the scrum with the puck, passes to Laing, SCORES! Great physical play by Banning to win that scrum, and a great saucer pass straight onto Laing’s stick to set the play up. 1-0 Halifax.
1. Halifax Raiders , Reed Laing 4 (Colin Banning) at 2:28
Quote:Oh! Harris makes the glove save on Flower’s wraparound! Montreal sends on its 2nd defensive PK pair as we line up for the faceoff in Militia territory. Reed wins the faceoff, sends it to Lindst- WHAT A STOP BY HARRIS! IVERSEN PICKS UP THE REBOUND, SENDS TO FLOW- IT’S IN THE NET! Harris struggles to start off the 1st, and the Raiders are up a heavy margin to start the game with that PP goal!
2. Halifax Raiders , Niklas Flower 2 (Greta Iversen, Victor Lindstrom) at 8:34 (PP)
As we move into the 2nd period, the shots are 17 to 14 for the Militia, but the goals are 2-0 for Halifax.

Quote:Reflieux dumps the puck into the Raiders zone, 3rd line and 2nd pair comes on for Halifax. Harris retrieves, passes to Wells, over to Nolan Angello in the neutral zone, flipped to Granlund who skates into the raiders zone. He stops, and Montreal gets into position. He passes to Cleo Green, Angello, Zach Zyvleski, skates past the defen- HE SCORES! Wonderful goal by Zyvleski, Montreal is back in this one!
3. Montreal Militia , Zach Zyvleski 6 (Nolan Angello, Cleo Green) at 2:11
Quote:Reed wins the faceoff, it’s on Banning’s sti- BAILEY WITH THE LATE HIT! CAN’T BELIEVE HE WASN’T CALLED FOR THAT ONE! Banning goes 1-2 with Azarov, pinned on the boards by Ryan Vas. Bailey comes out with it, sends it to Forbrook, outlet pass to Watson, takes a slapper, OH MY GOD BANNING SKATES BACK TO GET IN FRONT OF IT, SENDS IT TO PIETRA VOLKOVA, SHE’S ON A BREAKAWAY! PUTS A MOVE ON HARRIS, SCORES! WHAT AN EFFORT BY COLIN BANNING TO GET IN FRONT OF THAT ONE! MERELY SECONDS AFTER MONTREAL SCORES, HALIFAX RESPONDS!
4. Halifax Raiders , Pietra Volkova 2 (Colin Banning) at 2:53
Quote:Halifax’s 1st Defensive unit comes on. Harris retrieves the dump, picked up by Toast, on to Granlund, who dumps it. Montreal sends on their 2nd PK forward unit and top  PK unit. Hocolate picks it up, Banning now has it. Sends it to Flow- ANGELLO POKES IT LOOSE AND STEALS IT! PASSED TO ORLOV, BACK TO ANGELLO, SHO- DEFLECTED BY VIKSTROM! MONTREAL WITH THE SHORTHANDED SCORE! BACK WITHIN 1 GOAL!
5. Montreal Militia , Henrik Vikstrom 3 (Nolan Angello, Viatcheslav Orlov) at 12:01 (SH)
Quote:Reflieux gets it, passes it to Kaiser in the militia zone, he dumps it. 4th line, 3rd pair comes on. Green retrieves, intercepted by Iversen, pass to Laing. She fails her move, but Lindstrom picks it up. Pass to Laing, back to Ivers-STOLEN BY WELLS! OH AND IVERSEN SMASHES WELLS WITH A HUGE HIT! Sends it back to Laing, SHE SHOOTS! IT MISSES, TOUCHER PICKS IT U- HE SNEAKS IT PAST HARRIS’ GLOVE! WHAT AN EFFORT BY THE ENFORCER LINES! Kirkstone enters the game.
6. Halifax Raiders , Fred Toucher 3 (Reed Laing, Greta Iversen) at 15:14
Quote:Maatta ices it. Reed sets up to take the faceoff against Granlund in the Militia zone. Reed wins it, sends it to Lidstrom, Pass to Azarov, over to Volkova. Shot taken, misses the net. Picked up by Iversen, tries to sneak it but Kirkstone makes another save. Lindstrom picks it up, sends to Azarov, TO REED! IT’S A GOAL! THIS GAME HAS GOT TO BE OVER NOW, 5-2, COMMANDING LEAD FOR THE RAIDERS!
7. Halifax Raiders , Alex Reed 3 (Solaire Azarov, Victor Lindstrom) at 18:50
At the end of the 2nd period, the Raiders have scored 5 goals to Montreal’s 2. However, Montreal leads shots 22-21.
Quote:Puck dumped by Forbrook. The top unit comes on for Montreal. Puck retrieved by Hocolate, passed to Banning, he ices it. Granlund wins the faceoff, sends it to Zyvlevski, to Maatta. Angello now has it, STOLEN BY KOSONEN! HE OUTLETS TO BANNING, OH ORLOV SKATES BACK AND POKES IT LOOSE! PASS TO ANGELLO, HE BEATS HOCOLATE TOP LEFT CORNER! Does Montreal have a chance?
8. Montreal Militia , Nolan Angello 4 (Viatcheslav Orlov) at 3:33
Quote:Zyvlevski lines up for the faceoff against Reflieux after Shea’s penalty. Zyvleski goes early, Russett skates in to take his place. Reflieux beats the winger on the faceoff, passes to Lindstrom, moved into neutral zone, past the red line and dumped. Zyvlevski retrieves it, looks for a pass to Obama, but it ends up icing. Zyvlevski beats Reflieux on the faceoff in the Militia zone, lays it off to Maatta, WHO LOSES TRACK OF THE PUCK! Thankfully, Cleo Green picks it up, lays it off back to Maatta, he skates into the Raiders zone. PASS TO ZYLEVSK- OH HE MISSES THE NET! Green picks it up, SNEAKS IT IN! MONTREAL IS BACK IN THIS ONE! 5-4!
9. Montreal Militia , Cleo Green 4 (Zach Zyvleski, Ilmari Maatta) at 4:04 (PP)

At the end of 3, Raiders win both the goal and shot counts, 5-4 and 37-31.

TSN TURNING POINT
While previously the Militia had been dominating the 1st period, they had nothing to show for it except a goal by opposing forward Reed Laing. Flower’s one-timer sealed the deal for the Raiders, and had it not been for a heroic performance from Jeff Kirkstone, this game would’ve been all but over much sooner.

3 STARS
3 – Zach Zyvleski (MTL)
He was a strong contributor today, and is one of the reasons Montreal even has points at this rate. 2 points, one of them a goal and the other, a missed shot turned goal by Green, he put effort into the game and should be recognized with the 3rd star.
2 – Jeff Kirkstone (MTL)
Unfortunately he did not start the full game, but Jeff Kirkstone stood tall, stopping 18 of 19 shots faced to give his team a chance in this one. Unfortunately, he takes the loss because he gave up the game winner, but he definitely was a strong backbone to the 3rd period militia.
1 – Nolan Angello (MTL)
WTF, 3 Militia players make up the 3 stars in a Raiders win? Maybe that tells you a lot about the other Militia players this game. Angello was by far the best player on either team today, racking up 3 points, 1 goal and 2 assists, one of his shots being deflected by Henrik Vikstrom. He was all over the ice, both offensively and defensively, and deserves the 1st star in this one.

[Image: ili5NZ2.png]

#80

<div align="center">Season 30, Game 63
Firebirds Prince George Firebirds @ St. Louis Scarecrows Scarecrows
Final Score: 2-1 Firebirds</div>

Hello everyone, and welcome to another exciting installment of SMJHL Today. In this week's recap, we take a look at a matchup that wouldn't be particularly exciting to anyone if it were a primetime game in the middle of Season 29. However, this is Season 30 we're talking about--and the entire landscape of the league has been stood on its head!

Tale of the Tape
In Season 29, the Prince George Firebirds had everything going for them at one point. Some great trades brought in the likes of BJ Subban, Sludge, and Latvian phenom Reinis Ausmeisters. Led by now Manhattan Rage rookie Nicolas Winter, they surged to second in the Western Conference. However, in the playoffs, they fell well short of the mark by losing to the eventual conference champion Vancouver Whalers in 6 games. With not many people coming back, Prince George had to rely on a solid draft from one of the largest draft classes in league history--could they pull it all together to surpass even last year's great regular season performance?

On the other side of the ice, we all know what happened to the St Louis Scarecrows in Season 29. We called one of the games right here on the SMJHL Today Network! The team had such a great core of talent, and combined with their up-and-coming defensive force, it seemed that they would be an absolute lock for another championship run in Season 30. However, things have started off slightly less dominant than the pundits have expected. Obviously the departure of Alexander Charlyb'y, making his rookie debut on the Texas Renegades of the SHL, has been hard to take--his faceoff wins were absolutely crucial to the Crows' physical possession game. Beyond that the Crows have experienced massive slumps in production from enforcer Danny Foster and prolific scorer of last season Frans Erichsen. Is the slump just that, or does St Louis have some explaining to do before playoff time.

Keys to the Game
With the sides so evenly matched entering this game, it's time we combined the Keys to the Game for both Prince George and St. Louis. Today's keys are brought to you by Chiquita Bananas - for every hit Danny Foster issues during the regular season, Chiquita will donate $100 to The United Way!
  • Win the hits battle. In the past, the Scarecrows have been able to absolutely bully the opposition, since the emphasis in the SMJHL has gone away from hitting and has produced many more "finesse" players. This isn't the case anymore with the new and improved S30 draft class. Portland Admirals hopeful Barak Obrana has upped his physical game, as has rookie Tyrone Savage. Foster and company have to keep these guys in "check" to pull through today.
  • Stay even. The depth of rookies from each side is pretty astounding, if you think about it. It's probably fair to say that all-rookie teams would still be quite a game to watch, especially between these two sides. It's important that no one line becomes subject to exploitation. What I mean by that is, while both teams have split their first lines with rookies and veterans, they mustn't let any one line face the brunt of offensive pressure; that's how close battles on paper get turned into routs.
  • Have the better goalie. Prince George has been riding high on their #1 rookie sensation, Ben Waters. His 7-1-1 record entering this game easily tops the league, rookie or not. As for the Scarecrows, that's the biggest question mark for the defending champions. In this matchup, seasoned backup Kasper Haapanen is getting his first start of his required 6 this year. To put it in John Madden-like terms, whoever has the better goalie tonight will absolutely win this game.
The Game-Winning Highlight
This game was nothing short of a defensive standstill. Much to the delight of the two rookie goaltenders on display, there was a total of 38 shots in the entire game. In no single period did either team have a double-digit shot total. Blocked shots were relatively even, and what Prince George won in the hit department, St Louis made up for with faceoff wins. Danny Foster was sent to the box for tripping with just over 3 minutes left, and that provided Prince George with a rather large opportunity ...

"Well as time is winding down here, the play is picking back up as the powerplay for Prince George continues. Riccardelli with the puck now, bringing it to neutral ice. He passes up to Frederick Boone ... who finds Stephen Pham. Back to Boone. He dumps it in the St Louis zone for a change. Kasper Haapenen leaves the crease to grab the puck and give it to Targaryen. Targaryen looks for Landry ... PICKED OFF! Hunky Monkey has it! It's a 2 on 1 with Pollak in tow ... passes to Pollak ... :goal Goal Goal SCOOOOOOORES!!! Goal Goal Goal It goes past the leaping Haapenen. With just under 2 minutes to go, Prince George takes the lead, 2-1, ON a 2-on-1!"

Final Score
Firebirds Prince George - 2
Scarecrows St. Louis - 1

Other Key Performances
  • In addition to Barak Obrana, who had 3 hits, Levi Watkins had a game-high FIVE hits, nearly outhitting the entire St Louis squad himself.
  • Although he didn't earn a star thanks to his goalie's outstanding performance, Hunky Monkey had an assist on both of PGF's goals as well as two hits.
  • The woes for the St Louis first pairing continued in this game; Danny Foster and Rhaegar Targaryen combined for 4 PIM - and that's it!

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#81

Kelowna Knights @ Halifax Raiders

Game#58 brought us a showdown between (son of SHL legend Jakub Aittokallio) Jason Aittokallio and free agent rookie Georgette Pel. Both goalies brought their A game to the ice, and the contest almost went the distance. Let’s take a look at our starting goalies for the game:

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Jason Aittokallio #31
Aittokallio entered the league with an already large shadow cast on him by his father, but on top of that the pressure of being the 1st overall selection in the S30 draft. So far pretty good for the rookie, who sits amongst the top goalies in the league and helping his team win more than they lose. Safe to say the hype was mostly right, and the pick was a good bet.

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Georgette Pel #2
Pel was a late comer to the league this season, signing as a free agent in Halifax. Sporting excellent numbers as a backup to Richard Hocolate, proving herself amongst the best backups in the league. Not to be overlooked though, Pel is hungry, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see her grab that starting job before the playoffs come.

First Period

Kelowna dominated the first period, limiting Halifax to only 3 shots while also firing 9 of their own toward Pel. Aittokallio looked good when tested, and didn’t appear to fall asleep at the wheel. As time wound down in the first Kelowna won a faceoff in their own zone, the wingers took off and Ty Justice threw a laser beam pass to break Wilson and Hohenberg on a 2-on-1

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Second Period

Halifax had a little life to start the 2nd and got the best of the chances through the first 5 minutes, but Aittokallio was up to the task. After 7 minutes Niklas Flower wins a draw in the Halifax zone and Kelowna proceeds to fire everything at the net. A shot by Wilson is deflected past the net by Light, Justice scoops up the puck behind the net, feeds out to Wilson who lets another huge shot go. Light takes it on the knee and the puck skips up and over Pel

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Kelowna rides the momentum to a strong second half of the period. The shots were close at 7-5 for Kelowna, but the only goal goes to Kelowna who march a 2-0 lead into the dressing room.

Third Period

There was a lot of talk going into the game about how most analysts expected to see a shutout from Aittokallio by this point in the season. Tonight Jason looked great, and Kelowna was dominating Halifax at both ends of the ice. Halifax was determined in the 3rd though and directed 8 shots on Aittokallio, but continued to be outshot by Kelowna who registered 9 in the 3rd. with 38 seconds left Aittokallio made a routine save and opted to freeze the puck despite having no pressure on him and two defenders with him. Reed Laing won the faceoff back to the point where a wide open Blake Battle fired a shot toward the net that hits the crossbar. The puck bounces off the glass and then off the top of the net right to Reed Laing who spoils Aittokallio’s shutout bid with 34 seconds to go in the game

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Final Score

Kelowna Knights - 2 @ Halifax Raiders- 1

3 Stars

1 - Ty Justice (KEL)
2 - Trevor Wilson (KEL)
3 - Cara Hohenberg (KEL)

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Highlanders Highlanders



Aurora Argonauts Stars Battleborn Czechia
#82

(Game #80)Prince George Firebirds Firebirds 4 @ St. Louis Scarecrows Scarecrows 2

St. Louis, MO – The 80th game of the SMJHL season brought us the 6th incarnation of the Prince George Firebirds vs. the Scarecrows of St. Louis. PGF leads the season series 4-1, with two of those wins coming in extra time. In a game where fans were ready for a premier matchup in net between the two most exciting goaltenders in the sport, Prince George’s Ben Waters and St. Louis’ Kyle Wahlgren, we once again were unable to get that matchup due to the internal team suspension of Wahlgren by the Scarecrows. Wahlgren would actually become a factor later on in this game, but we’ll get into that soon.

The first period of our game started off pretty one sided, with Sven Wolf taking a double minor for high sticking about a minute into the period, and then Hunky Monkey’s Elbowing penalty 30 seconds later led to a full two minutes of 5 on 3 action. But Ben Waters was up to the task, keeping the Scarecrows off the board during the two man advantage. However, St. Louis finally broke though before Wolf could get out of the box:

Quote: Willy Mack will be taking this faceoff against Riccardelli in the St. Louis zone. St. Louis has already had a two man advantage in the period and Waters has shut them down. There’s about a minute left in the double minor to Wolf. You have to wonder how it’ll affect the St. Louis’ players mentality if they don’t get at least one after all of this. Here we go now, puck is dropped and the draw is won by Mack back to Kelly Rivet. Rivet with it now and will send it up to Landry. DarryL Landry now taking the puck over the line and holding it just inside the zone. He’ll look for a pass as St. Louis sets up their power play. He sends it across to Rivet. Rivet, back to Landry. Landry fakes a shot and sends it back to Rivet. Rivet sends it down near the halfwall to Escobar. Escobar takes a step towards the middle of the ice and lets the shot go. HE SCORES! Scott Escobar gets the first goal of his career on the Power play, and St. Louis has finally solved the Ben Waters puzzle to go up 1-0.

Escobar’s first goal from Rivet and Landry would come at 4:14 of the first period. But as they usually have all season, Prince George would not go quietly into the night, tying the game up six minutes later:

Quote: Feist about to take the draw against Watkins in the Prince George zone. He’s been kicked out of the circle and Feist is exchanging some words with the linesman. Akeson steps in for him. Puck is dropped now, and Watkins wins it cleanly to Hertzberg. Hertzberg knocks the puck back to the defenseman Kottbulle. Kottbulle takes it behind his own net as he looks for a breakout pass. He sends it up to Obrana, who takes up into the neutral zone. Obrana has the puck knocked off his stick around center ice but he gets it back again and takes into the St. Louis zone. Obrana makes a nice move to get by his man and starts heading for the net. He fakes his shot and slides it across to the winger and they score! It was Hertzberg on the one timer from Obrana, and the game is tied 1-1.

Hertzberg gets his 6th of the season from Obrana and Kottbulle, and Prince George has things knotted up. But the tied game wouldn’t even last a minute. With another Firebird penalty in the first period, this time on Toms Shnekinsen hooking call, it would be the Scarecrow power play that breaks the tie:

Quote: Eugene Feist in to take another draw here in the Prince George zone against Kevin Sousa. Sousa had the overtime winner a few games ago between these two teams. The linesman lets the puck go and its Feist winning the draw back to Rivet at the point. St. Louis setting up the power play in the zone now as Rivet looks for a pass. He’ll find one as he sends the puck over to Akeson. The puck pops over Akeson’s stick but he gets back before a Firebird can knock it away. Akeson makes a nice move on the defender and takes a shot from the faceoff circle. Kurczewski standing in front of Waters and he deflects the Akeson shot wide. Puck bounces back towards the point, Prince George unable to get to it to get it out. Rivet with it again fakes the pass over to Akeson and shoots the puck instead and he scores! Kelly Rivet on the power play beats Waters five hole and with the second power play goal of the period, the Scarecrows take a 2-1 lead!

If you thought the Scarecrows’ lead was safe, you haven’t been watching the games between these two teams this season. Prince George would tie the game up at 2 with almost a power play goal of their own:

Quote: Casper Jakobsson lines up against Escobar for the faceoff inside the neutral zone. Only a few seconds left in the Diablo penalty. Jakobsson wins the draw back to Kottbulle. Kottbulle skates the puck into the zone himself, and sends it across to Jakobsson. Jakobsson with it now, takes the shot and misses the net. He wins the battle in the corner for his own rebound as Diablo steps out of the box, power play over. Firebirds changing as Jakobsson still has the puck. He’ll skate towards the high slot and takes a shot and THEY SCORE. The puck hit someone in front of the net and deflected past Happanen, and this game is tied at 2 a piece.

That “someone” would be Riccardelli, as the Jakobsson shot bounces off the inside of his leg and deflects past the goaltender. His 4th of the season draws the Firebirds even. That’s how we’d end the first period. Some games don’t have as much as action as the first twenty minutes of this game did. As the second period began, this time it was the Firebirds that came fast out of the gate, as they took a 3-2 lead just 51 seconds into the period.

Quote: And we’ll have a draw here in the St. Louis zone after the icing call on Rivet. Levi Watkins takes the draw against Jason Visser. They tie each other up for a moment, but eventually Watkins smartly kicks it back to Hunky Monkey. Monkey skating with it now and sends it across the ice to Hertzberg who has the first Prince George goal today. Hertzberg looking, slides it over to Selich. Selich fakes a pass and then takes a shot, its deflected and they score! Karl Hertzberg gets his second goal of the night and that gives the Firebirds their first lead of the night, 3-2.

Hertzberg gets the deflection after he goes hard to the net right after the pass to Selich, showing that hard work pays off in this league. His 7th goal, from Selich and Monkey would give the Firebirds a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. What they would do though, is get another one of their own.

Quote: Foster dumps the puck down into the Prince George zone as the Scarecrows go off on a line change. Hunky Monkey is back to get the puck from behind the net and he starts back up ice. Monkey passes the puck up to Riccardelli in the neutral zone. Riccardelli makes a quick pass across the line to Shnekinsen. Shnekinsen winds up and takes a shot and its deflected by Boone, but the Boone deflection is blocked by the leg of DarryL Landry. The puck bounces towards the point AND THEY SCORE AGAIN. This time it was Savage who wasted no time shooting the puck off the rebound from the Landry block before Happanen could get set, and it found the open net. 4-2 Firebirds here in St. Louis.

With their team down 4-2 and looking uninspired, the Scarecrow faithful started to cheer. Lets go back to the play by play.

Quote: And with St. Louis down by two goals, I don’t know why the fans are cheering. Oh! There’s movement on the bench. It looks like Kyle Wahlgren is getting put into the game! The Scarecrows pull Happanen who allowed 4 goals on 12 shots and bring in their first quarter of the season MVP. I guess we’ll finally get the goalie matchup everyone wanted.

And the goalie battle was something we did get even if it was too little, too late for the Scarecrows. Wahlgren would stop all 11 shots he faced, including some amazing “did you see that?” glove saves. Not to be outdone, Ben Waters, who already looked sharp, kicked his game up a notch once his rival touched down on the ice. Both goalies would go on to not allow a single goal in the final 32:57 of the game, and Prince George would go on to win 4-2. Let’s look into our next level stats here:

Shots
STL: 17
PGF: 23

Hits
STL: 19
PGF: 12

Faceoffs
STL: 38
PGF: 42

Blocked Shots
STL: 9
PGF: 4

Penalty Minutes
STL: 8
PGF: 14

The stats show us that this game wasn’t even as close as it seemed. Prince George outshot and won more faceoffs than the Scarecrows, and dominated 5 on 5 possession as a result. Had the Firebirds not racked up 14 penalty minutes, there’s a very good chance St. Louis may not have had any goals at all considering both tallies were on the PP. While it was a completely different game once Wahlgren got in net, its too hard to say how different the score would’ve been had he started it from the beginning.

Three Stars

1. Firebirds Karl Hertzberg (2 goals). An easy decision here, as Hertzberg’s efforts landed him the GWG and he also got the first goal for Prince George to tie the game at 1.

2. Firebirds Joseph Riccardelli (1 goal). Riccardelli had a lovely deflection goal that tied the game at 2. On top of that, he was a PK machine, preventing multiple STL opportunites with the man advantage.

3. Firebirds Tapper Kottebulle (2 assists). Kottbulle was everywhere on the ice tonight, playing over 22 minutes, including 4:38 on the PK, most on the team. His two assists were secondaries, but they were both on the first period goals that prevented the game from swinging too far in the Scarecrows’ favor.

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SpectersScarecrowsDragonsBlizzardUsaSpectersMilitiaDragonsBlizzardScarecrows


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#83

<div align="center">Game 61</div>
<div align="center">Montreal Militia 3 Militia vs Falcons 6 Detroit Falcons</div>

<div align="center">Game Link</div>

<div align="center">Starting Lineups
Militia
LW- Nolan Angello C- Filip Granlund RW- Marcos Maciel
D- Ilmari Maatta D- Viatcheslav Orlov

Falcons
LW- Hans Moleman C- Nucky Toohoots RW- Alex Berkis
D- Prince Daniel James D- Jari Sinikka</div>

<div align="center">1st Period</div>

Tonights game started off quiet, unlike the last time these 2 teams played. It was 7:08 into the period when Rising Hippo came down the ice on a 2-1. He let a shot rip that Militia goalie Stephen Harris managed to stop. The shot ended up being to much as he let loose a rebound that Hippo collected and potted home to light the lamp for the first time.

Quote:Kaspers Berzins skates through the neutral zone over the Militia blue line. Over to Alexis Metzler, Metzler to Hippo. Shot by Hippo, Harris with the save. Hippo picks up his own rebound and scores! 1-0 Detroit

That would be the first of many on the night for Detroit as just 1 minute later Hans Moleman fired one home. It only took 1 more minute for Montreal to reply as Johnny Watson lit the lamp on the PP with assists coming from Wells and Russett. The period would end 4-1 with Detroit collecting 2 more goals along the way and chasing Stephen Harris from the net before the whistle blew signalling the end of the 1st.

<div align="center">2nd Period</div>

This was a very quiet period far different then the one before it. With only 1 goal and 2 penalities. The period almost went scoreless, but Zach Evans put quite a last minute effort in and scored on the PP with only 26 seconds remaining.

<div align="center">3rd Period</div>

1 minute into the period, Falcons star, Jari Sinikka was called for a tripping minor. Only 2 seconds later Jason Forbrook capitalized and made the Falcons pay, he put one home to make the score 5-2. 2 minutes later it was for Militia player, Henrik Vikstrom that got his name on the score sheet.

Quote:Konstantinov passes to Metzler. Metzler dances around a defender and spot Vikstrom open in the slot, over to Visktrom. Vikstrom lets a quick wrister go, and it's in! 6-2 Detroit.

The game looked to be out of reach for Montreal at this point, but with them never giving up, Brennan Kennedy managed to put one more past the Falcons netminder to make the score 6-3

Quote:Maatta has the puck in the Falcons zone. He see's Toast. Toast with a saucer pass over to Kennedy. Kennedy puts one in five hole!

Final score Detorit 6 - Montreal 3


<div align="center">3 Stars of the Game</div>

3rd Star - Sivy McSieve Falcons - 30 saves on 33 shots - If not for McSieve standing on his head tonight, this game may of had a very different outcome. He can't be faulted for any goal as his team looked more concerned about scoring then helping him.

2nd Star - Nucky Toohoots Falcons - 1G,1A,2P,2S,3H,0SB - Nucky was once again on all night for the Falcons. He seems to be the bane of the Militia as he continues to light it up in the season series. Where he really shined though was in the facoff circle going 19/27 and winning a few key faceoffs.

3rd Star - Alex Berkis Falcons - 1G,2A,3P,3S,2H,0SB - Berkis had a very good game. He was a consistent threat, and constantly crashing the net. With his line having 8 points in the game, he was a big part of it. If Montreal wants to beat the Falcons they need to figure out how to shutdown this line.





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#84

<div align="center">Game #78</div>

<div align="center">Kelowna 4 vs 3 Montreal </div>



<div align="center">Starting Lineups
Militia
Nolang Angello - Filip Granlund - Marcos Maciel
Ilmari Määttä - Viatcheslav Orlov
Jeff Kirkstone

Knights
Anatoly Yanovich - Beau Bent - Geronimo Otto
Ty Justice - Cara Hohenberg
Jason Aittokallio
</div>

Militia came in to this game with a 2-8 Record in their last 10 games, winning their last 2 games before tonight.
Kelowna were 7-3 in their last 10 before the game. They also had a 3-1 lead in the season series against Montreal so far.


1st Period Knights 1 - 0 Militia

The first period got off to a quick start, as Ty Justice came rushing from the bench and got hold of the puck, moving it up it to Hohenberg who fired towards the net. Beau Bent got his stick in between for a beautiful deflection just 29 seconds in to the game.

Bent scores 6th of the season
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2nd Period Knights 1 - 2 Militia

Viktor Nerokov tied the game 9 minutes into the 2nd period on a great pass from Zyvleski. Nerokov skated around Kelowna defensman Starosta and fired a shot top-shelf.
8 minutes later Montreal's Wesley Wells gave the militia a 2-1 lead after a shot blocked by Kornel Kasparek slid to right to his stick.

Nerokov's GTG
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3rd Period Knights 3 - 3 Militia

Kelowna received a Powerplay after Ryan Vas was sent to the box for holding at 3:27 of the 3rd. The knights answered with a goal from Hohenberg to tie the game at 4:02 into the period. Vasily Horvat of the Knights took a double minor for roughing after a receiving a check. Montreal quickly took advantage as Johnny Watson fired the puck Five-hole just 43 seconds after the Knights goal.
Anatoly Yanovich tied the game at 12 minutes in after Bent won the faceoff in Militia's zone.

Militia had a great chance to take the lead with less than a minute left with a flurry of 4 shots, but they couldn't put it home.

Yanovich GTG
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Overtime.


Both teams had decent chances in OT, but fatigue seemed to have set in a bit as both teams were moving slower, best chance came at 2:46 mark when Beau Bent shot it from the left circle but Kirkstone snatched it into his glove for the whistle.


Shootout

Both goalies were in their zone during the shootout, in the 4th round Kelownas Michael Burrows got the game winning goal after Kirkstone went for a pokechek but the puck bounced off of his stick and into the net.

Unlucky bounce for Kirkstone
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Game statistics

Shots: KEL 37 - MTL 33

Hits: KEL 10 - MTL 14

PIM: KEL 18 - MTL 8

Faceoffs: KEL 52 - MTL 48

3 Stars of the game

1. Beau Bent Knights 1g 2a TOI 23:58 Best player of the evening for sure, gave it all every shift and was involved in every goal scored by Kelowna.

2. Cara Hohenberg Knights 1g 1a TOI 21:36 Primary assist on Kelownas first goal and scored the first game tying goal in the 3rd.

3. Wesley Wells Militia 1g 1a TOI 16:52 Scored Montreal's 2nd goal to give them the lead in the 2nd. Assisted on goal that gave the lead again to the Militia in the 3rd period.

Next meeting between the 2 teams will be during game #90.

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#85

<div align="center">(#45) Halifax Raiders raiders vs. Kelowna Knights Knights </div>

<div align="center">

Starting Lineups

Halifax Raiders raiders

Jean-Luc Reflieux - Niklas Flower - Isaac Kaiser

Blake Battle - Matthew Shea

Richard C. Hocolate



Kelowna Knights Knights

Dieter Dominique - Anatoly Yanovich - Geronimo Otto

Ty Justice - Cara Hohenberg

Max Smith-Frey
</div>


The Raiders came into Kelowna on the tail end of a three-game run against the Knights. This game marked the end of a series notable for brawls, excessive penalties, and high scoring. The Raiders and the Knights have quickly developed something of a rivalry, despite not playing in the same conference. Halifax entered this game wanting to break the series tie, which they would do in dramatic fashion.


<div align="left">Game Recap:</div>

Halifax opened up the scoring early on in the game, with Fred Toucher putting one behind backup Smith-Frey a little under three minutes into the game. A slashing penalty to Kelowna captain Dieter Dominique a minute later would expose the Knights just enough for the Raiders to increase their lead to two goals with a beautiful shot off the stick of defenseman Blake Battle. <div align="center">[Image: V02wtV9.gif]</div>

Where the first period could be considered all Halifax’s, however, the second was domination by the Knights. The residual seconds of a late first-period penalty to Halifax captain Colin Banning allowed for a golden opportunity for Kelowna to break the shutout. Only 21 seconds into the period, Dominique scored the first Kelowna goal of the night, followed about seven minutes later by two more Knights goals in quick succession.
<div align="center">[Image: jason-spezza-alex-goligoski-tyler-seguin...50x560.jpg]</div>

In the third, 18 relatively uneventful minutes of hockey would culminate in a last-minute Halifax push and eventual goal by rookie Solaire Azarov. <div align="center">[Image: xb4DGsf.gif]</div>

Cue overtime hockey, and five quiet minutes later, cue the shootout.

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A great shootout block by Richard C. Hocolate.
</div>

Ultimately, it was a single shootout goal by right winger Reed Laing that would determine this game and put Halifax on top both for the night and for the series so far.


PSN Insider Info:


We sat down with rookie Kelowna defenseman Kornel Kasparek after the game and asked him a few questions about the night, the series, and the rivalry.

1. How did it feel to be kept pointless in this game in a matchup that frequently has high-scoring games?
Quote: It honestly sucked, i'm disappointed that I couldn't contribute more for my team to get the W. I did what I could, took shots to the body and tried to be solid but it just wasn't enough.
2. How are the Knights feeling about the series being in Halifax's favor now?
Quote:It was a tad bit of a slip up, but I believe we still have the edge. We're near the top of the standings while they have been struggling a lot to start the season off. Not sure if it is a chemistry issue or just their players being lazy. I have confidence in our group and this loss won't effect us all too much.
3. You guys have three games left together. Who do you think will win the season series overall?
Quote:The Knights will likely win, as I stated before, we have complete confidence that we can see Halifax off. Our power play has been amazing, penalty kill solid. The Raiders seem to just like playing rough, but we're a scoring team so I don't seem them containing us.
4. What do you think the Knights could do to be more effective on the power play?
Quote:Our power play was just fine, it was better than what Halifax put out there. Even our penalty kill was better. Maybe score one more to seal the deal but I was fine with it, some of my teammates were just getting more burned than usual. Happens.
5. What do you think happened to you guys tonight in the shootout?
Quote:The shoot out was unfortunate, Hocolate played it really well and stole his team two points. Credits to Laing for that creative shot, but I believe that might be the last time they score on us in a shoot out.

PSN 8 Thoughts:

Of course, after every game, we have eight thoughts, four for each of these teams, to consider about the matchup and the players involved moving forward. Here are eight thoughts on the Halifax Raiders and the Kelowna Knights.


1. TPE isn’t everything, and Kelowna captain Dieter Dominique would seem to be a shining example of that. Though he scored tonight, Dominique has been in a bit of a rut for someone who is not only capped for juniors, but playing first line on a high-scoring, contending team. Hopefully, Dominique finds his rhythm moving forward, or Kelowna might have to make some changes in their lineup.
2. Kelowna’s second offensive line has been a great powerhouse for the team lately, but it would seem they ran out of steam tonight. Playing between 15 and 20 minutes, the line as a whole went -2 on the night, a statistic that worries when considering only three goals were scored during regulation. Look to the unit to try to turn it around against Ilmari Maatta and the Militia in Montreal.
3. Though the two power play goals scored tonight would seem to indicate a good PP line combination, don’t be fooled. The two PPG actually came on five power play opportunities, and are symptomatic of a greater issue with Kelowna’s special teams. This inability to take full advantage of the free space on the ice they’ve been given could come back and bite them as they race for the cup against teams with very good conversion percentages.
4. One can’t help but wonder if the series would be more in Kelowna’s favor right now had Mia Landvik been able to play another season with the Knights. The Raiders’ heavily physical style of play would have been a perfect match for Landvik, who now is playing aggressive hockey on SHL ice in New England.

5. This game brings Halifax’s shootout record even at 1-1. Halifax has a tendency to either get it done early or lose dramatically in regulation. Expect to see the Raiders start to push into overtime and the shootout more often now that they and the rest of the league are starting to play tighter hockey.
6. Right winger Reed Laing is finally starting to come into her own in the SMJHL. Despite a preseason marred by alcohol issues and disciplinary infractions, Laing has become one of Halifax’s top sources of production. Her point and game-winning shootout goal tonight attest to this, and it can be confidently assumed that she will continue to be a bright spot in a struggling Halifax offense.
7. Star centerman Jean-Luc Reflieux continued his domination of the dot tonight, sporting a 67% faceoff performance. This is the kind of production Halifax will need moving forward in the season as they seek to improve and capitalize on any scoring opportunities and advantages they can get.
8. Reports of inactivity in the LR and otherwise from defenseman Blake Fenrir have apparently had no impact on his production. Despite falling very behind from the rest of the league in player progression and development, Fenrir has a surprising five points so far this season, including two points tonight. It’d be nice if the Raiders could get production from him throughout the season until they’re able to release him.

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sig credits
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Former affiliates: raiders Jets Stars



#86

<div align="center">GAME 45
LINK

raiders Halifax Raiders vs Knights Kelowna Knights


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Here we are, returning yet again, with analyst Blake Laflamme for this hockey match. Here we will go through the exciting goals, plays and a player analysis on what will be our MVP of the night! Blake, former WJC GM of Sweden, has quite the insight on some of the prospects here and will dish out his thoughts on what is going on around the SMJHL today. We have two fiercely competitive teams in the Halifax Raiders and Kelowna Knights, both teams showing flashes of brilliance but who came out victorious in this fateful clash? The game went right down to the wire at a score of 3-3, leaving only the shoot out to decide the winner in one of many of the team's battles with one another.


BL: Here we are early in the first period, the Halifax Raiders deciding to strike first blood as Reed Laing carries the puck into the Kelowna defensive zone, weaving through a few players-- A very diligent set up by Laing as they wait on the two teams for their line change, but Halifax takes complete advantage! Laing passes it off to Fenrir ... A few quick touches between the two before feeding Toucher a brilliant opportunity. An easy tap in for Fred Toucher, who scores the 4th goal of his season!

BL: It does not take very long for Halifax to get back onto the board yet again! Kelowna Captain Dieter Dominique is sent to the sin-bin for slashing, giving the Raiders another chance to take full control of the pace. Kelowna wins the face off! Bent to Kaspar-- He loses it! Kornel loses the puck! JLR is breaking through and ... Starosta breaks up the play! A short pass -- Caught by Blake Battle! Splendid skill shown by Battle as he slips it to Banning ... Reflieux ... Shot! Aaaaand it misses the net. Blake Battle pounces on the puck, turning it around with a wrap-around attempt and .... IT'S IN!!! BLAKE BATTLE SCORES AND PUTS HALIFAX UP TWO TO NIL!

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BL: This play takes place due to a penalty taken by Banning late in the first, the Knights starting off the PP in the second period. Captain Dominique pushes forth the puck, dazzling the Raiders defense before launching the puck on net! It rings off to post ... Onto the stick of Sirmais! Shot blocked by Battle---- Dominique picks up the loose puck and puts it behind the keeper! Unfortunate by Hocolate, he couldn't see the puck! 2-1, still in the Raider's favor.

BL: This is a real simple goal, one Halifax will wish they didn't concede. Not even half way through the first and Johnson loses the puck in the neutral zone to Anatoly Yanovich! It's a two on one break away, Yanovich alongside Geronimo Otto ... Back and forth ... OTTO FIRES! IT'S IN! TIED GAME! Halifax coach will be questioning Johnson for that lack of puck protection.

BL: The second period has been a complete disaster so far for the Raiders, surely it couldn't get any worse? Iversen off to the penalty box again, a usual occurrence this season. Beau Bent beats JLR in the circle ... Off to Hohenberg ... The play is slowed down in the Raiders zone as Cara looks for an ope--IT'S IN! HOHENBERG SCORES! That's her third of the season, putting Kelowna up to a 3-2 lead! Splendid work by the Knights on the PP.

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BL:
Trevor Wilson of the Knights has the puck in the neutral zone, attempting to clear it but misplays the puck! Fenrir picks it right up, right to Pietra Volkova in the Kelowna zone, shuffling the puck over to Azarov ... Johnson ... Fenrir ... Blocked! Back to Fenrir ... Azarov ... He fires! ... AND THEY SCORE! WITH LESS THAN TWO MINUTES LEFT ON THE CLOCK, THE RAIDERS MANAGE TO TIE IT UP! Wilson will be kicking himself for that one!

BL: No goals scored in OT as the game ends in the shoot out. It would be on the fifth attempt where Reed Laing burries it for her team, Justs Sirmais failing to convert as Hocolate makes the save! That's it for today's game, a 4-3 shootout victory for Halifax, their manager will be pleased with the result.


THE TURNING POINT

BL: It's pretty plain and simple when you look at what transpired that game, and it has to be the Raiders' inability to stay out of the penalty box. Their penalty kill has been middling this season and their power play abysmal. Halifax could have buried this game in regulation but just were not able tame themselves. The players need to show restraint or it will really bite them when it matters most. Iversen needs to stay calm and learn to play the game of hockey better than just trying to punch people's lights out. Allowing Kelowna to score two PP goals in the second period is -DEFINITELY- the turning point in today's game. Nice rebound victory to steal away two points, but they must remain weary.

MVP

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Blake Battle
1G 3 SB

A constant thorn in Kelowna's side, Blake Battle proved to be formidable in this match up. Able to block off lanes and expertly deflect shots away from his net goes to show you why he is one of the best send downs in the SMJHL. Halifax has been less than desirable on the PP and PK but Blake has done his best with what he has this season. In all honesty, Halifax has done much less than what has been expected of them and they are struggling to gain a proper lead in the Eastern Conference. Though Blake has been one of their brightest spots, one can only think if they will have any solutions for the near future. Skillful play from Battle earns him the MVP for this game, take care and we will be signing out!</div>

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#87

<div align="center">Game#75(Game Link)

Vancouver <span style='color:#150567'>Whalers Whalers<span style='color:#54C571'>(10-7-2) at Prince George Firebirds Firebirds(11-6-1)</span></span>

Score: Whalers 2 vs Firebirds 3 SO

Welcome to the George Sports Colosseum where we will a battle between 2 teams from BC. The Prince George Firebirds and the Vancouver Whalers.
The first period was a bit strange. PGF dominated in shots with 15! but was not able to score. On the other hand the Whalers were able to score 1 goal on 8 shots. The goal was scored in the 2nd minute after a penalty for PGF. the next two periods were really quite with VAN having a toal of 10 shots in the 2nd and 3rd period. PGF having only 8 shots in the next two periods. One highlight of the next two periods was a fight between Theodore Graham and Michael Young.
The game was eventually decided by a shootout in favor for the Firebirds.


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Highlights:

2:24 of 1st period GOAL 1 to 0 Vancouver Whalers Whalers
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Power play for the Whalers. Triforce Link retrieves the free puck and hands it over to Corey Bearss who passes to Theodore Graham in the neutral zone. Graham is just able to skate with all the free time into the PGF zone. No one stops him. He decides to test his luck and fires a huge slapper at the FIrebirds goal. But the shot is wide , but wait. Alfred Holiday is able to get the puck on his stick, shoots and SCORES!. Just 2 minutes into the game the Whalers lead. GOAL

9:01 of 2nd period Fight Vancouver Whalers Whalers vs Prince George Firebirds Firebirds
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The fight started ot of no where when Vancouver was in the Firebirds zone. Theodore Graham instigated a fight with Micheal Young. We can only speculate what the reason for that was but it seems like a unrational decision from Graham who is Vancouver's best defender. Prince George should be happy with that trade their 4th liner for VAN's best defender. The fight between the two was a draw. Graham got a fighting major, a instigating minor and got ejected from the game. Young only got the fighting major.

16:07 of 2nd period GOAL 1 to 1 Prince George Firebirds Firebirds
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Sven Wolf intercepts the pass of Alfred Holiday in the neutral zone and proceeds to pass to Casper Jakobsson. Jakobsson sees Hunky Monkey and gets him the puck with a beautiful backhand pass. Monkey losses the puck as he enters Vancouver's zone but Sven Wolf is there to scoop it up. Skates towards the goal...... shoots and SCORES! Afterwards he bumps into the boards to celebrate infront of a Whalers fan. GOAL

19:40 of 2nd period GOAL 2 to 1 Prince George Firebirds Firebirds
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Prince George is on the PP. Casper Jakobsson wins face-off versus Jon Ross in Vancouver Whalers zone and passes to Johnny Pollak. Pollak pass back to his partner Hunky Monkey who takes a quick shot. That shot is blocked by Brynjar Tusk. Hylytyr NoRetornable gets the free puck and passes to puck to Pollak. Pollak with a huge slapper. SCORES!! GOAL

14:08 of 3rd period GOAL 2 to 2 Vancouver Whalers Whalers
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Pass by Tyrone Savage is intercepted by Levi Kubrak in neutral zone. Kubrak passes to Connor MacDonald who skates in Prince Geroge's zone. MacDonald with a slapper that goes wide. Ieuan Llewellyn gets the puck on his stick and takes a quick shot and .............. SCORES! GOAL

Shootout GOAL 3 to 2 Prince George Firebirds Firebirds
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The Firebirds win it in the Shootout!. Thanks to a good performance by Ben Waters who stopped 2 shots and Eduard Selich scoring to only goal in the shootout. Selich scored a real beauty of a goal fooling the Whalers goalie. GOAL

Turning Point:
The turning point of this game is easy to spot it is all the Penalties Vancouver got but especially the fight that was instigated by Theodore Graham that got him ejected. Graham is the Whalers best defender and therefore they lost a big peace in their PK,PP and even strength game. The fight also sparked PGF giving them enough momentum to score 2 goals in the 2nd period.

Goalie Matchup:
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This was a really even battle. There was no real winner if you look at the stats. Waters was just a bt more clutch than Link by stopping all of the Shootout attempts. But overall both goalies had a really good performance today, not a stellar one but a real solid one. Both had a SV% of over 90 or at least 90% and a Rebound % of under 23%. Which is quite low. Link had way less bad rebounds than Waters though the only real bright spot for Link today in comparison to Waters. But one has to remember that this stat is also heavilly influenced by the teammates.
</div>

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Thank you all for the amazing sigs & player cards
Germany Citadelles  Stampede [Image: vhY18i8.png][Image: Raptors.png][Image: gs89eGV.png] [Image: eE2UQZC.png] Stampede Citadelles Germany



3. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 5 (Maximilian Wachter, Alexis Metzler) at 16:25
5. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 6 (Steven Stamkos Jr., Brynjar Tusk) at 19:48
8. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 7 (Brynjar Tusk, Alexis Metzler) at 13:55
9. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 8 (Anton Fedorov, Mikelis Grundmanis) at 15:12
10. Buffalo Stampede , Eduard Selich 9 (Dickie Pecker) at 19:43 (Empty Net)
#88

Colorado Mammoths vs Vancouver Whalers - Game 64
Score: Colorado 1 - Vancouver 4

Starting Line up
Colorado
Left Wing|| Center || Right Wing
Master Maguku|| Steven Stamkos Jr.|| Frontdoor McGraw

Defense|| Defense
Ben Dover || Maverick O'Dooley

Goaltenders
Ekaterina Rudnikova

Vancouver
Left Wing || Center || Right Wing
Conklin Owen || Jon Ross || Ace Redding

Defense || Defense
Theodore Graham || Connor MacDonald

Goaltenders
Maximilian Wehner

HERE. WE. GO.

Tonight’s Matchup is once again between what seems now like neighbors in the amount of games these two teams have played one another at this point so early in the season. Unfortunately like many low budget comedy movies the relationship has been one sided with the whalers dominating the series. But with 1 recent win for the Mammoths maybe the tides are turning. With the Whalers seeming to have trouble generating shots and relying heavily on their defense and goaltending maybe this could be a game for the Mammoths to break out.

1st Period

- Shots 12 Whalers -7 Mammoths

- 3 Penalties Mammoths

- Fight Between Max Wilburn/ Serj Kovalchuk – Draw

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The game started with a bang, with the apparent bad blood slowly brewing with these teams and maybe the Mammoths sick of losing to their inter conference opponents we had an early fight break out. Not the usual suspects you’d expect either. It is safe to call the bout a draw between Wilburn and Kovalchuk but the fists were flying hard and fast in this one. The period was pretty even until the back half where the Whalers pulled ahead to make it 2-1.

1. Colorado Mammoths , Steven Stamkos Jr. 3 (William Goddard) at 5:33

After tusk coughed the puck up from a hit by FrontDoor mcgraw Stamkos Jr. picked up the gift left for him and goes top corner on Max Wehner. With such a fast Bang, bang play (Literally) Max has no time to react and the Mammoths go out to an early 1-0 lead.

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2. Vancouver Whalers , OG Bobby 4 (Theodore Graham, Connor MacDonald) at 8:22

After a nice pick up the the whalers end, MacDonald got the puck around the boards to Graham who found a nice little outlet to stretch the pass to an already streaking Bobby. He made short work of the play with a nice shot to beat the goalie.

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3. Vancouver Whalers , Conklin Owen 7 (Connor MacDonald, Jon Ross) at 12:51 (PP)

Did you buy your tickets? No? Are you sure? Because if not, Conklin Owen would like to invite you to the snipe show. A beauty pass by MacDonald on the PP made short work of this man advantage and gave the Whalers their first (and only one needed) lead of the game.

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2nd Period

- Shots 11 Whalers -2 Mammoths

The Period that got away. The title of the Mammoths summary of what happened in this second period. After having a fairly even outing in the 1st, the Mammoths found themselves quickly behind even further going down 3-1. Penalties causing them issues again as the game went helped to push this game out of grasp, and the lack of shots did not help them much either.

4. Vancouver Whalers , Corey Bearss 4 (Olson Stuart, OG Bobby) at 3:14

The Youth line of the whalers cashes in like their visiting a pawn shop and starts to make this game out of reach for the Mammoths. With the Whalers slowly pushes the pillow over the Mammoths collective faces, they use the heavy shot advantage to start to put this game away.

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5. Vancouver Whalers , Adam Kaiser 3 (Connor MacDonald, Corey Bearss) at 12:24 (PP)

Seriously at this point, if a team isn’t respecting the play of the 2 D men on the whalers PP by now they need to start paying attention. Between the passing of MacDonald and the threat from both D men being able to shoot the puck, team need to watch out. Kaiser blasts one home to give that nice comfort zone of 3 to put the Whalers comfortably ahead

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3rd Period

- Shots 7 Whalers-5 Mammoths

2 Penalties Mammoths

A fairly uneventuful period with some good opportunities both ways but no red lights to speak of. The Mammoths seemed to end on somewhat of a high note not getting throttled in the shot column to close another loss out to the Whalers.

Post game Report:

Summary: The whalers cashed in on the Mammoths in ability to stay out of the box this game. Nearly tripling them in penalties, Colorado allowed themselves to fall victim to the Whalers pestering from players like Ieaun Llewellyn and were promptly burned by the Whalers power play twice. Rudnikova was chase by the mid way 2nd period and although the Mammoths had a more even effort 3rd period it was to little to late to push back against the Whalers..


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3 Stars

1 - OG Bobby (VAN) G: 1|| A: 1 || PTS: 2 || 14:43 MP

Having a fairly good season for this scoring winger has continued into this game which the Whalers dominanted from start to finish with key plays by this young winger. He nabs the first star with his offensive push.

2 - Corey Bearss (VAN) G:1 || A: 1 || PTS: 2 || 15:55

A player that seemed to struggle at first to start the year seems to slowly coming into his stride. Putting up a few points to help with the convincing win over the Mammoths his contribution was another big part towards the win.

3 - Connor MacDonald (VAN) G:0 || A: 3 || PTS: 3 || 21:49

What can be said about this young defenseman? He keeps putting up points to start the season as a rookie while quarterbacking the power play and starting to eat up top line minutes. The sky seems to be the limit for this young player and if he keeps dishing like he is, Gordan Ramsey might be calling soon for copy right infringement.



Colorado Mammoths - Hits : 24 - Faceoff Wins : 31 - Blocked Shots : 6 - Penalty Minutes : 19
Vancouver Whalers - Hits : 17 - Faceoff Wins : 43 - Blocked Shots : 2 - Penalty Minutes : 7

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#89

Montreal Powers Past Halifax With A Strong 2nd Period
by Rusty Klesla / ********.com Staff Writer

In the 85th game of the 30th SMJHL season, the Montreal Militia played a tight game against the Halifax Raiders that ended 3-2 in favor of Montreal. Nathan Russett had two assists and Wesley Wells scored what ended up being the game winning goal on a powerplay at 16:16 of the second period.

While the entire game was even all the way, Montreal being stronger in the second period proved to be too much for the Raiders who gave up 3 goals in the period and only scored one goal in the period. The game deciding 3-2 goal came when Raiders defenseman Matthew Shea took a hooking penalty, sending the Montreal Militia to a powerplay. Johnny Watson won the following faceoff, getting the puck to Nathan Russett who settled the puck down and sent it to Wesley Wells who unleashed a lethal one timer slapshot from the point that got past a screened Hocolate.

While the Montreal Militia had a good powerplay when it counted, they only scored once on 5 attempts, even when Matthew Shea took two minor penalties in quick succession, of which the first one lead to a powerplay goal by Wesley Wells. “Yeah, I think we had a lot of solid chances on the powerplay but I mean, if someone takes two penalties in a row and you score on the first one, you gotta score on that second one too. We had plenty of pucks at the net all night but I think we just lacked traffic in front of the net”, said Montreal Militia defenseman Ryan Vas in a post game interview.

Assistant Captain Viatcheslav Orlov thought that his team had a strong game but that they can’t always rely on one period to carry them through a game. “I think we had [plenty of] good chances but [just] lacked finish and grit. We need to be dirtier, no fancy plays, just pucks at the net and crash for rebounds. Its all about the how many.”

Overall, the Montreal Militia have not been the best team by far this season but the flashes of brilliance that they have shown (like the second period of this game) proves that they are getting better every day. This is a team that will most likely hit its peak in the playoffs and while the season is only starting to close in on the halfway point of the regular season, the Montreal Militia already has its eyes set on winning the playoffs. “Absolutely, we want to go deep in the playoffs. But at the same time, we need to get things going way before the playoffs”, Ryan Vas said. “Those last 20 games are going to be extremely important and we need to work hard to improve our game for those 20 games and show everyone just how good we are. I know we can beat any team in this league when we’re on our game and when it happens, nobody should be surprised.”


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Wesley Wells' GWG

STATS


FINAL SCORE
Montreal Militia 3
Halifax Raiders 2

1ST PERIOD

No Goals

Penalties :
Viatcheslav Orlov (MTL) for Tripping (Minor) at 11:58

2ND PERIOD
1. Montreal Militia , Nolan Angello 7 (Ilmari Maatta) at 2:27 (SH)
2. Montreal Militia , Viatcheslav Orlov 2 (Keisstone Light, Nathan Russett) at 6:10
3. Halifax Raiders , Reed Laing 8 (Blake Battle) at 14:52 (SH)
4. Montreal Militia , Wesley Wells 5 (Nathan Russett, Johnny Watson) at 16:16 (PP)

Penalties :
Kristofer Hallfredsson (MTL) for Delaying the game (Minor) at 0:52, Toivo Kosonen (HAL) for Holding (Minor) at 9:56, Marcos Maciel (MTL) for Interference (Minor) at 12:32, Jean-Luc Reflieux (HAL) for High sticking (Minor) at 14:16, Matthew Shea (HAL) for Hooking (Minor) at 16:12, Matthew Shea (HAL) for Cross-checking (Minor) at 16:33, Filip Granlund (MTL) for Hooking (Minor) at 16:44, Joey Ryan (HAL) for Tripping (Minor) at 19:53

3RD PERIOD

5. Halifax Raiders , Reed Laing 9 (Alex Reed) at 0:47 (SH)

Penalties :
Kristofer Hallfredsson (MTL) for Hooking (Minor) at 6:24, Laraque Obama (MTL) for Hooking (Minor) at 18:37

Goaltender Stats:
Jeff Kirkstone (MTL), 20 saves from 22 shots - (0.909), W, 7-6-1, 60:00 minutes
Richard C. Hocolate (HAL), 23 saves from 26 shots - (0.885), L, 6-8-1, 59:59 minutes

Him Torton's 3 Stars Of The Game

1 - Reed Laing (HAL) (2G, 18:53 TOI)
2 - Viatcheslav Orlov (MTL) (1G, 18:24 TOI)
3 - Nolan Angello (MTL) (1G, 20:59 TOI)
#90

(Game #49)Detroit Falcons Falcons 3 vs. Halifax Raiders raiders 2 F/SO

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. – The entire narrative for the Detroit Falcons’ season to this point has been “What is going on?”. The team blasted through the preseason, and adopted a “Detroit vs. Everybody” mantra leading into the season. It may have irked other players throughout the league, but it brought the Falcons closer. That feeling of togetherness was shattered early on in the regular season, as Viktor Nerokov decided he was above the team, and his constant shenanigans and trade demands ruined team chemistry. As a results, the Falcons struggled on the ice, currently possessing a 6-5-1 record coming into tonight’s game. With the season seemingly not going as expected, the locker room became more “Detroit vs Detroit” than anything.

However, Nerokov finally got his wish, and he was shipped off to Montreal in exchange for forward Henrik Vikstrom. The attitude in the Detroit locker room was noticeably different before the game tonight against the Halifax Raiders, a team with some struggles of its own, holding an identical record at 6-5-1. Detroit held a 2-1 edge this season over the Raiders. What we got was one hell of a game, an early season “game of the year” candidate in the SMJHL. Lets go over how it went down.

The first period featured no scoring, but it did have 18 shots between the two teams. Luckily, Georgette Pel and Sivy McSieve were up to the task at hand. The first half of the second period was pretty much more of the same. Nice shots, nicer saves. It wasn’t until halfway through the period that the poster child for Halifax struggles, Pietra Volkova, would break through on the power play:

Quote: Alex Reed with the puck now and he’ll dump the puck down into the Detroit zone as both teams make a line change. Nearing the halfway point of the second period here, both teams yet to score. Rising Hippo gets the puck on his stick and clears it down the ice into the Raiders’ zone. Its Colin Banning behind the net picking up the puck and looking to give it to one of his teammates. He finds Reed Laing along the wall. Laing with it now, sending it up to Jean-Luc Reflieux in the neutral zone and he’ll bring it across the line. Reflieux loses the puck but makes a smart stick lift on a Detroit defender and keeps the puck. Halifax setting up now as JLR sends it to Banning at the point. Banning slides it over to Battle. Battle with it now, thinks about shooting but reconsiders. Instead he finds Volkova down low. Volkova makes a nice move towards the net and lets it go, SHE SCORES. Pietra Volkova on the power play finally breaks the scoreless tie, and its 1-0 Halifax.

Volkova from Battle and Banning opens the scoring at 9:52 of the period with her power play tally, the third goal of the season for Volkova. Detroit would keep the pressure on however, but struggled to solve Pel in net. It wasn’t until a minute and half left in the period that Detroit would finally tie the game back up, and it came from the newest Falcon:

Quote: Evans now with the puck, looking to pass and it’s intercepted by Victor Lindstrom. Lindstrom looks to make a pass of his own and Evans steals it back! Evans, looking to send the puck across ice and he’s picked off again, this time by Azarov. Azarov turns it back over to Evans! What a display by Evans here, Detroit going the other way with numbers. Evans with the puck and he actually completes a pass this time, to Konstantinov. Konstantinov with it now and he’ll give it to Berzins. Berzins drops the puck for Evans and he skates into Raider territory, sending the puck over to Konstantinov. Konstantinov, to Berzins, who fires it across to Vikstrom who shoots and HE SCORES. Welcome to Detroit Henrik Vikstrom! This game is tied once again!

Vikstrom’s 4th goal of the season, his first as a Falcon, ties the game with 18:34 left in the period and Detroit buzzing. However, a Marc Leclerc penalty with less than a minute to go in the period put Halifax on the power play once again, And they’d beat the clock this time around:

Quote:Faceoff down in the Detroit zone, as Jean-Luc Reflieux wins it over to Reed Laing, who quickly sends it back to Lindstrom at the point. Lindstrom is looking to pass now, 30 seconds to go in the second period. He sends the puck over to and its intercepted by Prince Daniel James who dumps it down the ice. Pel will get the puck and pass it up to her teammate Reflieux as time is winding down in the period. Jean-Luc sends it to Laing who flips it to Lindstrom into the Detroit zone. 20 seconds to go in the period. Halifax getting set up now in the zone Lindstrom sends it to Laing, back to Lindstrom. Pass to Reflieux jumps over his stick, he collects it along the boards, 10 seconds left in the period. Passes it over to Lindstrom at the point and he’ll take a shot, blocked by PDJ. The puck rebounds right back to Lindstrom, he steps around the defender and shoots again quickly HE SCORES. Victor Lindstrom beats McSieve with only 5 seconds left in the period, and Halifax takes a 2-1 lead on the power play!

That’s clearly how the period would end. The third period brought us a hard charging Falcons squad, almost reeking of desperation, firing at all cylinders, but Georgette Pel would not allow the game to be tied. It wasn’t until about a minute left in the game that Detroit would send this one into extra time:

Quote: Alex Reed and Konstantinov are going to take this draw after the icing by Banning. Reed gets ejected from the circle and Azarov will have to step in for him. Konstantinov wins the draw back to James. James, back to Konstantinov, who gives it right back to James at the point. James sends it across to Vikstrom who has the only Detroit goal today. Vikstrom with it now, as the Falcons are applying pressure on the Raiders who need a change. Vikstrom to James at the point and hes takes a one timerrrr and shoots it wide. Time winding down in this game. The puck travels around the boards and its picked up by Sinikka. Sinikka shoots right away, blocked by Kosonen. The puck ricochets right to Vikstom who shoots right away and THEY SCORE! IT WAS ZACH EVANS IN FRONT OF PEL AND HE TIPPED THE VIKSTROM SHOT THROUGH THE LEGS OF THE GOALTENDER! THIS GAME IS TIED AT 2 A PIECE WITH ONLY A MINUTE TO GO!

Evans’ 3rd goal of the season jolted the Falcons off their bench and it sent the game into overtime. Overtime was a hit show between the teams, but there was no winner in the extra time as McSieve and Pel both shined, each stopping 3 shots in the extra five. This lead us to a shootout, and let’s listen to the play by play:

Quote:Its going to be Detroit shooting first as we head into the second shootout of the season between these two teams. Detroit won the last one. Hans Moleman, who’s making an MVP case already this season will be shooting first on Georgette Pel. Moleman skates into the zone a little wide, comes in on his forehand, dekes to his backhand, back again and scores! Moleman saw daylight between the wickets of Pel, and deposited the puck in the net five hole.
The first shooter for Halifax is going to be Niklas Flower. Flower skates in rather quickly, does a head fake and shoots and its stopped by McSieve.
Detroit’s second shooter is Konstantinov. He’ll skate in on goal, deking in front and OH MY! Pel with the unexpected poke check knocks the puck of the stick and covers up on it. Nice play by Pel there.
Round 2 for Halifax is Issac Kaiser. Kaiser skates in over the line and takes a quick wrister and its gloved by McSieve!
Detroit with Alex Berkis now with a chance to put this one away. Its been a hell of a game so far. Berkis skating in, gets Pel out of position, shoots and Pel somehow rebounded from being beat to making a nice blocker save. Berkis can’t believe it.
That puts all of the pressure on Pietra Volkova, who scored a long time ago in this game. Volkova skating in on McSieve, she fakes the shot and goes to her backhand AND SHE SHOOTS IT WIDE. Volkova had McSieve beaten and all she had to do was put the puck in the net, but it rolled up on her and she pushed it wide. What bad luck! Detroit wins it in a shootout!

Detroit takes a crazy game, going 1-0 in the post-Nerokov era so far. The other stats show quite the close game here. Both teams had 25 shots. Faceoffs were 43-42 in favor of Halifax. Blocked Shots were close with Halifax leading that 10-7, but Detroit outhit the Raiders 19-14. Detroits 12 Penalty minutes really hurt the team as both Halifax goals came on the power play. This was as close a game as you’re gonna find in the SMJHL folks.

Three Stars
1. Falcons Henrik Vikstrom (1g, 1a)
What a debut for the new guy! These are the type of trades that can turn around a season for a team. Great work while still developing chemistry with his new teammates.

2. Falcons Zach Evans (1g)
The game tying goal late was nothing to sneeze at, obviously. Neither was his impressive display of constantly getting turnovers to get the puck back for Detroit which lead to the first goal for the Falcons.

3. Falcons Cikgnar Konstantinov (1a).
He only had 1 assist but could’ve had a lot more if it weren’t for some great saves by Pel today. He was a plus two today, the only player to do so, and was constantly creating.

[Image: JKortesi81.gif]
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