First Comment: Szlerchek’s 3 Keys to Anaheim’s Win

The Anaheim Outlaws fell behind early to the Montreal Militia, but came back to win easily, with a final of 5-2. These following three keys led to their relatively easy victory. The first key is their powerplay was on point. They went 2-for-2 with the man advantage, which on any night gives a team a chance to win. Their use of the point led to both goals, as Jerry Mander scored both from the blue line. The second key was the play of Patrick Niederreiter in goal. While he gave up a goal just past the 2 minute mark of the first period, he would shut down the Militia attack. That goal was the only one allowed in the first 2 periods, in which he faced 19 shots. He would allow another goal in the third of the 3 shots he faced, but the game was well in hand at this point. The third key was the play of the aforementioned Jerry Mander. The defenseman would make up for an undisciplined first period, where he had 3 penalties, by scoring a hat trick and recording an assist.



Second Comment: Pahajaarinen’s 3 Keys to Montreal’s Loss

The Montreal Militia came out flying, but unfortunately they couldn’t maintain that pace for very long and suffered an embarrassing loss to the Anaheim Outlaws. The 5-2 score line was about right for this game, and here are the 3 keys to their loss. First key was the goaltending of Mike Hunt. He gave up 2 goals in the first period on just 4 shots, He then continued by giving up another goal about halfway through the second period, of which he only saw three total. So Hunt gave up 3 goals on just 7 shots before being pulled for Mitchell Maverick, who fared a little better (13 saves on 15 shots). Second key was a disastrous powerplay. The Outlaws played like outlaws in the first period giving the Militia 3 powerplay chances, though one was cut short by Montreal’s own penalty (which Anaheim did convert on). Had they scored on any of these opportunities, the game could have easily had a different outcome. The third key was the downward spiral they played as the game wore on. After outshooting their opponents 10-4 in the first, but being down 2-1, they saw 9 shots in the secondm and only 3 in the third. This diminished amount of shots in each period makes it hard to mount any comeback.


Third Comment: AGH’s Closer Look at the First Star

Tonight’s matchup focuses in on the Anaheim Outlaws blasting of the Montreal Militia 5-2. While Montreal jumped out early, the Outlaws overpowered them and never looked back. The play of the first star Jerry Mander was instrumental to this outcome. Jerry Mander is in his fifth season of the SMJHL, and was a first round, 13th overall pick by the Minnesota Chiefs in the season 46 draft. The rearguard typically plays on the second pairing, but also sees time on the first powerplay and penalty kill units. His booming shot was on display tonight as he scored a hat trick, two of which came via the powerplay. He also added an assist for good measure. He felt he had to make up for the three penalties he had taken in the first period. When he was on the ice, he played 19 minutes, less than one of that on the penalty kill (perhaps because he was the one in the box), and nearly two minutes on the powerplay. His shooting percentage went up as he scored on all 3 shots he took. He also recorded a hit and a shot block. As you can see Mander’s stellar performance was more than deserving of the first star.