#1 Saving Lee Best For Last?
The first star in the NEW-CAR matchup was none other than Michael Lee – a defenseman who participated in the both of the team’s goals and earned his third goal of the season in the process. Interestingly, the defender scored below 0.25 points per game coming into this one – so to see a two-point performance at this stage in the game was a pleasant surprise for Carolina management. Perhaps even more intriguing is the sheer number of shots Lee had on goal (10 in this game alone): even after 48 games played – several sims after this match – he has just 103 shots on goal, which is just a hair over two shots a game. What defensive lapses or change in tendencies Newfoundland or Carolina (respectively) must have had in this game have yet to be elucidated.

#2 Amundsen’s At It Again!
Though the Berserkers fall solidly in the middle of the table for goals allowed (and thus points in the standings), many major league scouts have been thoroughly impressed by Newfoundland rookie netminder Cale Amundsen. He posted a total of forty saves in this game (.952 SV%) and has been an absolute force to be reckoned with in the net this season. He has quite a lot of tape to review, but at 0.918 SV% on the season, he’s tied for second in save percentage among regular starters (>20 games played). Add on to that the 1,383 shots he’s faced this season – and his resulting 1,270 saves – and he’s put together an extremely impressive rookie campaign which will draw the attention of scouts from the States to Scandinavia.

#3 Concerning Offense From Newfoundland
Amundsen’s performance in net was impressive for the Berserkers. But some were left scratching their heads as Newfoundland was unable to muster more than a single goal against an underwhelming Kraken team – arguably the SMJHL’s least impressive defensive team this season (154 goals allowed, 10th in the league). With players as impressive as Ryuuji Minamoto (35 points in 49 games) and SLATT Potts (33), it’s tough to see how the Berserkers couldn’t really get much, if any offense going until about halfway through the third period. Guy LeGrande is an impressive junior forward, especially when he slaps absolute monster shots from the slot, but one would hope that the team could muster more than a handful of shots per period (and more importantly convert them!).