First Comment: Save of the game

It was a grueling effort by Lethbridge tonight, who averaged a meager 6.66 shots per period, just reaching the 20 shot mark by the end of the game. Outgunned but not outmatched, Lethbridge managed to squeak out a 3-2 win against a Vancouver team that threw 36 shots on target at Patrice Nadeau. While Nadeau was busy for most of the night, they were on fire, only giving up a rebound on 3 of the 36 shots against them, and completely smothering all other attempts. In a particularly brilliant sequence early in the first period, Bernik Vrzala staked into the Lion's zone past the blue-line, and paused a moment before snapping a quick shot at net with a screen by Noah Nowes, who was crashing into the crease. Nadeau made the first save off of the pad, and a quick scramble in front for the rebound led to Nowes scooping out the puck and twisting to fire it in top-shelf. It never made it to the twine though, as Patrice Nadeau stretched up from his butterfly position to rob Nowes of what should have been a sure goal with his glove up high. 

Second Comment: Goal of the game

While they may not have won the game in the end, it was a pretty passing play by the Whalers that gets our Goal of the Game nod tonight. Rudy Mentz gathered it on the cycle and passed it to Carlo Russo along the blue-line, who immediately shifted it back to Mentz. Mentz then swiftly sent the puck down through the face-off circle to Petr Mikulak in the slot. Although in a dangerous area, Mikulak wasn't at a great angle to shoot with Patrice Nadeau covering his angles well. However, Mikulak made the smart play of baiting out three of the Lions players to come at him in an attempt to strip him of the puck. Mikulak then quickly snapped the puck back up through the slot diagonally to an incoming Carlo Russo, who had pushed up from the blueline to fill the empty space and one-time the incoming puck. Nadeau only had time to guess where the puck was going as he slid across the crease, and guessed wrong as Russo's powerful shot found the back of the net, bringing the game well within reach for the Whalers, and putting them on the board at 2-1.

Third Comment: Rookie of the Game

While Lethbridge has a great many promising rookies, and Vancouver has some legitimate future superstars on it's roster, I'm going to have to give this one for Nadeau. Posting a 0.944 save % and giving your last-placed team a regulation win in a game the Lions really didn't have much reason being in? Also as mentioned above, he gave up only 3 rebounds on 36 shots! Patrice Nadeau was really on his game tonight, and his team got him just enough goals to add a rare W to his stat block. Despite not having the best stats or win %'s, Nadeau really looks to be one of the best rookie goaltenders of his already impressive class. Lethbridge is currently an expansion team rolling only 9 forwards (3 lines), and almost entirely a rookie lineup. The fact that as a rookie, Nadeau can be entrusted with 40+ games and put up respectable numbers is a testament to how well he has been playing all season. Give Lethbridge one more good draft and have all of their rookies grow at once, including Nadeau, and I expect them to have a much better record next year, with Nadeau still at the helm and positioning himself as one of the top goaltenders of the SMJHL.