Create Account

S31 Regular Season PGS Thread
#16

<div align="center">Game 12: Montreal Militia (0-2-0) vs. Detroit Falcons (2-0-0)

[Image: Blackhawks-Red-Wings-Hockey.jpg]
Nathan Russett starts the shootout scoring in the 5th round

WHAT TO WATCH FOR</div>
- Powerplay Chances: In this classic Eastern Conference clash, the 3rd of the season, there needs to be a focus on penalties. 19 penalties over the first 2 games resulted in Goal 4 goals Goal, and this trend cannot be continued if either side wants to be dominant today.
- Shot Totals: Falcons Detroit Falcons has had Militia Montreal's Militia number in terms of offensive production, outshooting the now road warriors by at least 3 shots in the past 2 games. If Montreal wants to do better, they need to step up their offensive production.
- Physical Game: Detroit has won the first 2 games not only on their offensive prowess but on their physical game. Outhitting the Militia, the Detroit Deplorables will need to keep their game up to physical fitness to win 3 straight.

<div align="center">HIGHLIGHT REEL</div>
1. Nathan Russett scores big on the powerplay
<div align="center">[Image: pipegoal_medium.gif]</div>
One of the keys to the game was taking less penalties, and the Falcons couldn't keep themselves away from the sin bin with Adam Greenholm riding the pine for Roughing. Montreal had scored just 2 of the 4 powerplay goals recorded in this regular season series, and neither had come from Russett's veteran sniper stick. Playing the overload offense in Falcons territory, it was Ryan Vas on the blue line that saw Johnny Watson on the left wing to open up the easy one-time shot for Russett. McSieve never stood a chance, and Montreal would have its first goal to go into the 2nd only down by 1 on the road.

2. Watson scores! Wait, no? Yeah, he scored.
<div align="center">[Image: 8895619.jpg]</div>
Getting closer to the middle of the 2nd period, Montreal was losing motivation and needed a pick-me-up fast. Luckily, Watson's assist was a driving force, as he slapped home a shot from the slot after a few whiffs by the Militia. There was only one problem: McSieve caught it with his leg at the goal line. Did it cross the plane? The stadium erupted into a deafening silence as the refs conferred and decided that, yes, Watson had beaten Sivy for the goal to tie the game up halfway through.

3. Maatta seals up the game in the 6th round of the SO
<div align="center">[Image: SharpSOgoal.gif]</div>
Overtime proved futile to settle the score, and off to the shootout we go! The first shootout for both teams this season, McSieve and Harris were ready to face the challenge of mano y mano hockey, and for 4 rounds the save percentages were perfect. After the 5th round, the shootout shutouts were broken but the score was not, and it took former captain Ilmari Maatta's dangles to beat McSieve for the game-winner.

<div align="center">STAT OF THE GAME: Hits</div>
Militia - 19 H, 13 resulted in loss of possession (68.42%), 7 resulted in turnovers (36.84% of total, 53.85% of HLOP)
Falcons - 19 H, 11 resulted in loss of possession (57.89%), 6 resulted in turnovers (31.58% of total, 54.55% of HLOP)

A major point to rivalry games like that of Montreal and Detroit is the physical game. In saying "Fuck the SMJHL" one expects dominance in the hitting category from the Falcons, but it seems it's the milder-mannered Militia that employed tactical use of the body. Separating more people from puck and being there for the turnover is key, and Montreal was better in both areas in an even attempt game. Somehow, contrary to the rest of the stats, Detroit was the only team to convert one of these turnovers into a goal, the first one of the game. Call it a wash, but look for the home Falcons to make more of a physical stand going forward.

<div align="center">DEPLORABLE OF THE NIGHT: Terrance Nova</div>
Not many of the 6 Deplorables did well, with only Matthew Rossi scoring a positive +/-, but it was Terrance Nova's stalwart defensive work that kept him above the rest of the group. 2 hits, 2 shots blocked, and 2 shots gives great two-way presence, and pairing that with obvious agitator PIMs (Minor for Interference) makes Nova the "star" of his team tonight.

Goal FINAL SCORE (SO): Goal
Militia - 3
Falcons - 2
#17

Hello! Welcome to the 3rd season of A Look Back! We're excited to stay on the air for a 3rd year, after we had a scare that we'd be shutting the lights down on the studio in the off season. Now that management has decided to keep this thing running, let's dive right in!

We're going to start the year off by taking a look at a game between the Prince George Firebirds and the St. Louis Scarecrows. This was the second contest of the year for both clubs, with St. Louis coming in having snuck past Halifax 3-2, and Prince George having caught a beat down at the hands of Kelowna 5-0.

Coming it it appeared the momentum must lie with St. Louis, after beating the reigning champ to start off their season, while last year's runner up in Prince George crashed and burned to start S31. But, as we know, things are not always as they appear... this game turned out to be a bit of a defensive battle, and it didn't go the way one might've expected coming in.

<center> Firebirds Prince George Firebirds 1 at Scarecrows St. Louis Scarecrows 0</center>

Flow of the Game and Highlights

Period 1
The first period opened and it was clear both teams were intent on keeping this to a low scoring affair. The Firebireds were tentative after their game one dismantling at the hands of Kelowna, making sure not to allow themselves to fall behind early. Likewise, the Scarecrows were content to sit back and play the trap, knowing what Prince George was capable of after watching their playoff run last year.

Despite not 1, not 2, but 3 power play opportunities for Prince George, by way of hooking penalties to Ronnie Westbrook, Barak Obrana and Dick Dastardly- the Firebirds were unable to score, an in fact, put only 5 shots on goal.

St. Louis, on the other hand, despite being down a man for 6 of the first 20 minutes and having no power play opportunities of their own, mustered 6 shots on goal.


<center>[Image: laughtongpk.gif]
Kyle Wahlgren makes an easy save in the first period, one of the mere 5 shots he'd see in the first frame.</center>


Neither team was able to catch the opposing goal tender napping in between infrequent shots, and the sides were knotted at 0 heading into the locker room.

Period 2

It was Prince George who were finally able to break the deadlock by getting on the board early on in the second period. Eduard Selich won a faceoff in his own zone after stepping in for the ejected Frederick Boone, to start the transition into St. Louis' zone. This wasn't a quick goal created on the break, this was one of sustained pressure by Prince George. Sven Wolf rattled a shot of the post, Tapper Kottbulle's ensuing shot was blocked by the infamous Danny Foster, a shot by Eduard Selich then missed the net completely, and all the while, St. Louis was unable to secure the puck. It wasn't until Tapper Kottbulle out hustled the Scarecrows D after Selich miss that they were able to slide it past Ben Waters.

<center>Goal Period 2, 2:12: Goal by PGF Goal
[Image: trolledbygoal.gif]
St. Louis paid for their inability to clear the puck after heavy pressure by Prince George, as Tapper Kottbulle beat Waters to put the Firebirds ahead.</center>

The remainder of the period saw the escalation of physicality between the two squads, as both teams sustained 2 penalties. The efforts of both was fruitless up a man, as the sad display of power play attempts continued.

Period 3

In a development that was almost impressive... both teams managed to underwhelm in the third period, to a level beyond the first two. The entire period saw 4 shots in 20 minutes... 2 for each side. That's once every 10 minutes for both teams- it appeared neither wanted to remain on the ice, at least not in the name of putting the puck in the net. The only thing either team found interest in was committing penalties, again seeing 4 split between the two. Naturally no one took advantage of those opportunities, and there were no scores... The biggest highlight of all:

<center>[Image: ovechkinfail.0_standard_730.0.gif]
Geoff Reine does his best to draw a penalty after skating into the zone, in an effort to get St. Louis on the power play. The ref's were wise to his gig, and no call was made. He was lucky to get away with a bit of embellishment here, in our opinion</center>

Stats

Shots
St. Louis Scarecrows: 13
Prince George Firebird: 12

A sad, sorry display from both offensive units... goal tenders were rarely tested, and only once conceded. It doesn't get much more boring for this for fans who love seeing goals.

Hits
St. Louis Scarecrows: 18
Prince George Firebirds: 17

Trick Edwards proved to be the real highlight player of the game, amassing 5 hits over the course of the night


Faceoffs
St. Louis Scarecrows: 21/70 for 30%
Prince George Firebirds: 49/70 for 70%

Prince George dominated the faceoff dot on the evening, and it should be noted that the possession with which they took the lead started with a faceoff win in their own zone. Their ability to keep winning face offs was key in making a 1 goal game a win.

Saves
Ben Waters (PGF): 13 saves from 13 shots, 100%
Kyle Wahlgren (STL), 11 saves from 12 shots, 91.7%

A strong night from Wahlgren wasn't enough, as his team failed to produce many real scoring chances. Usually on a night where one's save percentage is over 90% and only 1 goal against is enough to win a game... but this time around. Waters was a brick wall, stopping all 13 efforts the Scarecrows generated. Both goalies move to 1-1 on the year with tonight's outcome.

Special Teams
PIM:
St. Louis Scarecrows: 10
Prince George Firebirds: 12

PP %-
St. Louis Scarecrows: 0%
Prince George Firebirds: 0%

Both PP squads will want to forget this game, while both PK units will hope to duplicate their shut out performances. All in all, a total failure from both teams to generate offensive up a man.

3 Stars
1. Ben Waters (PGF) - 100% save percentage.
2. Tapper Kottbulle (PGF) - 1 shot, 1 goal. His only stats on the night were the ones that counted.
3. Trick Edwards (PGF) - 5 hits on the night, with 2 PIM and 1 shot. His physicality led the way for PGF to maintain their shutout.

[Image: tZTGSGj.png]
[Image: 2AFxw6o.png]
#18

<div align="center">[Image: PGS-HAL-DET.png]</div>

Game: #23 HALIFAX RAIDERS vs DETROIT FALCONS

Hello and welcome to my POST GAME SHOW where we are going to look back and talk about the game that we just saw. This time we had a game between - HALIFAX RAIDERS and DETROIT FALCONS!

If you do not want to read more detailed review of the game then you can just scroll down and see the game summary section! For those who want to read more detailed review - continue reading!

Both teams met for the first time this season and from both teams fans are expecting a lot this season. Halifax Raiders as last years champions probably have bigger pressure and maybe that is the reason why so far they have not been able to collect many victories, while Detroit Falcons on the other hand have been doing much better and are leading in their conference. Nevertheless this game was important for both teams so let's get into the analysis.

1st Period
First period definitely was the most exciting one in the game. Right from the start Detroit Falcons showed a strong and fast hockey. It was obvious that Falcons are here to take this game and give no chance to the Raiders. Just 1.23min into the first period Falcons left winger Jace Smith scored the first goal for Falcons.

<div align="center">[Image: 17-datsyuk-amazing-goal-top-shelf-vs-kin...k-gifs.gif]</div>

Seemed like the phase of the game is set and Raiders will have another broken game. Falcons where more offensive and made Raiders to play more defensive hockey. But as it often happens in hockey, when you are pushing hard, you often leave your defense open and that is what happened with Falcons. Just one minute after the Falcons scored, Raiders managed to catch Falcons players off-guard and an intercepted pass by Alexsander Komarov, delivered to Solaire Azarov in neutral zone and then further to Kip O'Callahan in Detroit Falcons zone ended up with a shot from Kip O'Callahan and a goal, tieing the score 1:1, 2.15min in the game.

<div align="center">[Image: kopitb1.gif]</div>

Game continued the same way as it was the first minutes of the game - Detroit playing attacking hockey, while Raiders looking for another mistake to use. Brandon Gauthier wins face-off versus Sami Free and passed the puck to Toivo Kosonen who sees Solaire Azarov wide open and see the opportunity - shot by Solaire Azarov but Falcons 1st line defenseman Metzler is on point and blocks the shot, the puck is retrieved by Toivo Kosonen, shot but again Metzler like a brick wall blocks the shot, but Falcons just can not get the free puck and the third shot from Raiders Colin Banning and deflected by Kip O'Callahan who was blocking the vision of McSieve, makes its way into the Falcons net.

<div align="center">[Image: lewsan2.gif]</div>

Detroit had a good chance to get back to a tied game when Halifax Alex Reed was sent to the box for Tripping. Luckily for Halifax their penalty kill squad was strong and no goal were scored. Soon after some ping pong attacks from each team an icing is called. The puck is dropped in Falcons zone and Raiders were in possession of it. Several tries to score but either blocked or missed. Its about the time when Falcons take the free puck and move out of their zone but another try from Raiders and its a goal. Reed Laing takes Raiders to a two goal lead.

<div align="center">[Image: ToffoliANA1.gif]</div>

After the fourth goal in the first period the game continued with two more penalties for Halifax but sadly Detroit was not able to use any of these opportunities and the first period ended 3:1 in favour of Halifax.

2nd Period

Going into the 2nd period Detroit had to change their game tactics as it obviously was not working and they were loosing 3:1. The dominance in shots in the first period did not give the result that Falcons were hoping to get and seemed that Raiders goalie Hocolate was not about to break and allow Detroit to score.

<div align="center">[Image: QuickFLA1.gif]</div>

But the same was on the other side of the rink! Detroits defense and its goalie McSieve was not having it anymore. The game was already bad for him because of the first period and he was not about to make it worse than that.

<div align="center">[Image: 21a39696082b1c87440dc2f3c3d8e7bc.jpg]</div>

Close to the end of the second period Detroits Brock Bailey got 2min for tripping which gave a short hope to Raiders to score again but the defense of Detroits special team was too hard to beat and the second period of a ping pong hockey ended without any points.

3rd Period

There is always hope till there is time on the clock. The third period started pretty much as the second one went and it almost felt like it could be another ping pong period as both teams were playing well in defense and if the defense failed, the man in the net was on the point until the master play of Zach Evans who made his way with the puck into the Raiders zone and with a quick pass to Alex Metzler the score turned 3:2.

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

Last 30 second in the game and that's it, looks like there is nothing to be done and Halifax will take this win or are they? What is happening? Such a mistake! An intercepted pass in neutral zone by Luke Atmey and quick pass to Prince Daniel James....5 seconds till the buzzer, he shoots and its a score! After the first period Raiders was not able to do anything while Falcons adopted to the game and with all the luck they could gather, managed to get a tie 3 seconds before the end of the game.

<div align="center">[Image: tumblr_ndd4miHNFi1t5m6epo1_500.gif]</div>

No one expected this game to go to OT and now the cards are shuffled back into the deck and no one knows who will get the winning hand. This game is back up for grabs and by how Detroit managed to adapt and get their game back almost feels like they should take it. The first minute of the overtime is pretty intense as both team keep getting and loosing the puck even before being able to create any scoring moments. That being said Detroit is the first one who manages to shoot but is saved by Halocate. Now its Raiders turn and shot to the McSieves net misses it and the puck rebounds right onto Toivo Kosones stick, he shots and its the end! Raiders score and take this hard earned victory home!

<div align="center">[Image: martinez+gwg.gif]
</div>

3 Stars

1 - Kip O'Callahan (HAL)
No suprises here! Scoring the first two goals for Halifax Raiders in the short 9min he was on the ice as the 4th line wing is an amasing achievement and definiteley gave the team strength to win this game even when Detroit found their pace in the end.

2 - Prince Daniel James (DET)
Worthy second star of the game! Prince fought hard throughout all the game and his statistics shows that. He scored, he earned an assist to a goal and managed to block several enemy shots that kept Detroits net safe for a long time.

3 - Toivo Kosonen (HAL)
Obvious third star of the game for not only scoring the winning goal for Raiders but also for involving himself in the game for 100%. Did well as part of the penalty killing squad and did not allow Detroit to score any extra goals.

The game started crazy, took a break from the craziness in the middle of it and then went back to crazy and ended with style. Great plays, great moments. Several things I can point out for both teams is the good PK as both teams killed their penalties 100%. The teamplay of Raiders was great to watch and also the adaptability of Falcons was also fantastic.

Game summary

1st period
1. Detroit Falcons , Jace Smith 1 (Prince Daniel James, Tremaine Versace) at 1:23
2. Halifax Raiders , Kip O'Callahan 1 (Solaire Azarov, Alexsander Komarov) at 2:15
3. Halifax Raiders , Kip O'Callahan 2 (Colin Banning, Brandon Gauthier) at 6:16
4. Halifax Raiders , Reed Laing 2 (Leif De Bruin) at 11:11

2nd period
No Goal

3rd period
5. Detroit Falcons , Alexis Metzler 2 (Zach Evans, Jari Sinikka) at 10:24
6. Detroit Falcons , Prince Daniel James 2 (Luke Atmey) at 19:57

Overtime #1
7. Halifax Raiders , Toivo Kosonen 2 (Reed Laing, Marc Leclerc) at 2:17

Goalie Stats
Richard C. Hocolate (HAL), 26 saves from 29 shots - (0.897), W, 1-3-1, 62:18 minutes
Sivy McSieve (DET), 24 saves from 28 shots - (0.857), OTL, 3-1-2, 61:42 minutes

Penalty Kill
Halifax Raiders - 4 on 4 Attempt(s) - 100.00%
Detroit Falcons - 2 on 2 Attempt(s) - 100.00%

Team Stat
Halifax Raiders - Hits : 13 - Faceoff Wins : 41 - Blocked Shots : 9 - Penalty Minutes : 8
Detroit Falcons - Hits : 9 - Faceoff Wins : 32 - Blocked Shots : 12 - Penalty Minutes : 4



Knights - Player Page - Update Page - Knights




[Image: 47963_s.gif]

#19

Game 16 Detroit Falcons @ Montreal Militia
Game Link


Preview:Going into this game due to the weirdness of the schedule it would be the 4th time the falcons and the militia played each other in a row the score each time in the previous affairs were 3-2 with the falcons come out on top twice and the militia most recently in OT, due to this many people expected another heated close game.

Goals:
Code:
1. Detroit Falcons , Terrance Nova 1 (Joe Gray, Jace Smith) at 8:00
[Image: tumblr_ndd4miHNFi1t5m6epo1_500.gif]
After a slow start to the game Terrance Nova got the falcons on the board after picking up the puck from Joe Gray after he got decked by Art Vanderlay and then burying it.

Code:
2. Detroit Falcons , Luke Atmey 1 (Kyle Kylrad, Joe Gray) at 18:41
3. Detroit Falcons , Henrik Vikstrom 1 (Zach Evans) at 19:54
[Image: canucks.jpg?w=660]
(Montreal bench after pair of goals)

Near the end of the period Detroit really put their stamp on the game scoring quick back to back goals to head into the dressing room with loads of confidence.

Code:
4. Montreal Militia , Brennan Kennedy 2 (Filip Granlund, Kristofer Hallfredsson) at 2:40
[Image: Frolik-GIF.gif]
(Kennedy celebrating)

Starting the 2nd period Montreal did not have the start they wanted as Detroit controlled the play getting a barrage of shots. The militia however answered straight back burying on their first opportunity after a face off win by Granlund into a shot by Kennedy.
Code:
5. Detroit Falcons , Luke Atmey 2 (Alexis Metzler, Kyle Kylrad) at 1:09
[Image: tumblr_m87h67lXJg1r6oyo7o1_500.gif]
The falcons continued adding onto their lead right into the start of the 3rd as Luke Atmey continued his hot game getting another goal and resulting in a goalie swap as Jari Ohvo entered the game for the 1st time.

Code:
6. Detroit Falcons , Kyle Kylrad 3 (Prince Daniel James, Josh Merica) at 11:42
[Image: gExEfdp.gif]
To end the night and their dominating performance Kylrad who was also having a great night sealed the game as he got his 3rd of the season.

Three Stars

Third Star: Sivy McSieve (DET) The falcons goalie after having a shaky past few seasons has so far been more then up to the task after the recent falcon goalie drama as he stopped 22 out of 23 shots with a ,957 save%

Second Star: Luke Atmey (DET) One of the more experienced rookies in the league had a great game with a pair of goals a +3 rating as well as on the physical side with 3 hits and 4 pims

First Star: Kyle Kylrad (DET) And the first start who also went off playing with Luke Atmey with 1 goal 2 assists also +3 and 4 shots and really showed his chemistry along with Luke/Atmey as they continue to look to be a dynamic rookie duo.


Stats

Shots Falcons 25 Militia 23

The shots were quite close and low showing that the game could've gone either way, but the main difference was goaltending as McSieve really stepped up his game.

Face Offs Falcons 28/80 Militia 52/80

The falcons were killed on the faceoff dot and its is slowly becoming a constant worrying trend for them as this continues especially with bad performances from Zjang when it comes to the dot.

Special Teams Falcons 0/5 PP Militia 0/5 PP

Both teams were even with a solid 100% penalty kill resulting in neither teams being able to capitalize on the powerplay.

Hits: Falcons 18 Militia 16

Although it was not that physical of a game there was a decent amount of hits as both teams were quite close with Zach Evans leading the falcons with 4 hits and Vandalay and Mcdonald with 3 each for the militia

Shots Blocked: Falcons 8 Militia 13

Seeing as the falcons dominated the play for most of the game the militia did lay their bodies on the line a bit more with the lead in shots blocked.

Recap:
[Image: Iie41.jpg]


What many expected to be another close battle between the two teams turned out to be a blowout for the falcons as the start out leading the long head to head series 3-0-1. Both teams for the future should be looking for some more success from their powerplay while the falcons hope this is only the start of great things as their young crop of rookies continue to develop. One thing they will have to worry about however is if their woes on the face off circle continue as it could seriously harm them in the future.

[Image: Kylrad2.gif]
[Image: Kylrad.gif]


#20

Quote:Originally posted by Kylrad@Oct 14 2016, 06:11 PM
[b]Recap:
[Image: Iie41.jpg][/b]

Smile)
#21

<div align="center">GAME 28

Knights Knights Knights Kelowna Knights 2 Knights Knights Knights

VS

Falcons Falcons Falcons Detroit Falcons 5 Falcons Falcons Falcons

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

<div align="center">Preview</div>
<div align="center">The Knights faced off against the Falcons for the first time in this young SMJHL season. Both teams have started off strong and looked to gain first blood in this out of conference matchup! The Falcons young offensive stars will aim to pepper Jason Aittokallio with shots while the Knights defense led by 1st overall pick Eibhear Sorenson will aim to shut down the Falcons. Lets see how it played out!</div>
<div align="center">
Goal Highlights </div>
<div align="center">The Knights would open the scoring on the PP early. Alex Light receives the beautiful feed from Adriana Starosta and buries it past McSieve!
Code:
1. Kelowna Knights , Alex Light 2 (Adriana Starosta, Michael Burrows) at 3:44 (PP)
[Image: 7249b6941a7944a85ac799831f81af73.jpg]</div>


<div align="center">The Falcons however don't take long to respond! Sami Free gets the puck and shoots! He gets his own rebound and shoots again..... which just trickles in over the line!
Code:
2. Detroit Falcons , Sami Free 1 (Jace Smith, Terrance Nova) at 4:16
[Image: redwingsgoal2.gif]</div>

<div align="center">Shortly after Alex Light takes a penalty sending the Falcons on the PP! They don't take long to capitalize. Henrik Vikstrom with a monster slapshot! I don't think Aittokallio even saw it!
Code:
3. Detroit Falcons , Henrik Vikstrom 2 (Prince Daniel James, Tremaine Versace) at 4:54 (PP)

[Image: aa.0.gif]</div>
<div align="center">
The Falcons lead 2-1 and the game starts to slow down a bit. 10 minutes later, Josh Merica feed Luke Atmey at center ice who cuts in on three Knight defenders. They completely miss him as he is able to deke around them and beats Aittokallio easily!
Code:
4. Detroit Falcons , Luke Atmey 3 (Josh Merica, Kyle Kylrad) at 13:33
[Image: anigif_enhanced-buzz-30849-1389021806-1.gif]
</div>

<div align="center">To the second period now, Knights strike early! Yanovich send the easy wrister past McSieve who does not look sharp at the start of the second!
Code:
5. Kelowna Knights , Anatoly Yanovich 1 (Ambrose Syrjanen) at 1:53
[Image: juolevi_goal.gif]</div>

<div align="center">However the Falcons respond right away once again! Matthew Rossi gets his first of the season on a bouncing puck that catches Aittokallio napping. That spells the end of his night as he leaves the game with 7 saves on 11 shots. Charlotta Caspari comes in for replacement.
Code:
6. Detroit Falcons , Matthew Rossi 1 (Zach Evans) at 2:29
[Image: GOAL.gif]

Third period now. Falcons keep pressing. Luke Atmey dekes around the defender and makes a beautiful backhand pass to Jari Sinikka for the easy tap in!
Code:
7. Detroit Falcons , Jari Sinikka 2 (Luke Atmey, Alexis Metzler) at 11:27 (PP)
[Image: CreativeUnripeBlackbuck.gif]</div>

<div align="center">Final Score is Falcons 5, Knights 2 as Detroit wins in a convincing fashion!

3 Stars</div>
<div align="center">3. Prince Daniel James Falcons - James has been a stud defenseman for the Falcons so far. He continues his strong play tonight with an assist, a +2, and 5 shot blocks. Definitely a huge part in shutting down the Knights

2. Matthew Rossi Falcons - Rossi gets his first of the season and played a solid two-way game. Despite only playing 9 minutes he provided tons of energy and had 2 shots and 1 huge hit!

1. Luke Atmey Falcons - Atmey potted a goal and an assist in highlight reel fashion and was definitely the first star of the night. The rookie line of Kylrad - Merica - Atmey continues its strong play.

Interesting Stats of the Night

1. Knights Knights Control Faceoff Dot - The Knights won 50 faceoffs compared to the 32 of the Falcons. A strong performance like this every night on the dot will yield good results and is promising sign for this Knights team who struggled tonight. Geronimo Otto was especially impressive winning 12/19

2. Falcons PP Efficiency - The Falcons were 40% on the PP Tonight! Their PP has struggled on previous nights so hopefully this is a sign of things to come. The real success tonight was the puck movement on the point. The Falcons posses a plethora of strong offensive defenseman and they have proven to be able to quarterback the PP.

3. Shl New Officials Make Their Debut! - Robert Downey Jr made his SHL Referee debut while Harambe arose from the dead to become a linesman. The offical team reffed an incredibly fair game giving each team 5 penalties.


[Image: comic-con-2012-robert-downey-jr.jpg][Image: gorilla-shot-boy-zookeper-explains-haram...-zoo-1.jpg]</div>

[Image: 60354_s.gif  ]
[Image: 1yZYUXK.gif]
Sig Credits: Gorlab and Kylrad
#22

<div align="center">Game 26
Colorado Mammoths Mammoths vs Knights Kelowna Knights

FINAL SCORE: 3-5 (2-1, 0-3, 1-1)
GAME LINK</div>

Otto nets a pair of goals early in the 2nd period to power the Knights past the Mammoths
The second game of a back-to-back series between the Mammoths and the Knights. The first game was won handily by Colorado (4-1) and Kelowna had a desire to impose their playstyle this time around. The first period was an entertaining close game with the Mammoths taking an incredibly fast lead as team captain Matthew Leetch opened the scoring after only 16 seconds, catching the Kelowna defenders and goalie napping. Colorado further increased their lead at 16:56 with star forward Taro Eichelele, who had an impressive pre-season, doubling up for the home team. But that lead was cut in half a mere 44 seconds later as Samee Iqbal tallied his first career SMJHL goal. 13 shots to 12 for the Mammoths. This was shaping up to be an entertaining and intense game.

The second period was not what we were expecting. Geronimo Otto took the game in hand early In the second and put up a quick brace, putting the Knights in the lead with plenty of time left to go. Cara Hohenberg, who is having a monstrous start to her 3rd SMJHL season put one more in late in the 2nd to reverse the score gap. It was a very unbalanced period and made us wonder what would happen in the third.

The final period did not present us with amazing plays as both teams played sloppy dump and chase styles. Michael Burrows potted his 4th of the season at 16:44 in the 3rd before the Mammoths, once again through Matthew Leetch got one back 23 seconds later. But by then it was too late, the damage had been done and the Knights took away the win as they now head to Detroit to face the league leading Falcons.


Generic Beer Sponsor’s 3 Stars of the Night:
Drink your problems away with our beer that tastes like dirty water!

1st Star: Geronimo Otto:
A strong performance from Kelowna’s undisputed number 1 center. Not only did he put up 2 goals to put his team in the lead mid-way through the second period, but he was particularly impressive in the faceoff circle, going 24 for 36 (67%) as well as being credited for 2 hits in 24 minutes of play. A more defensive 1st line center than most other teams he has excelled in the 2-way game, providing a strong presence on the penalty kill just as well as when at even strength.
2nd Star: Cara Hohenberg:
What hasn’t been said, since pre-season, about Cara Hohenberg that we could talk about? The veteran SMJHLer offensive defensewoman picked up another 3 points tonight (1 goal 2 assists) to end her night tied for the points lead at 12 pts with Maverick O’Dooley (COL). If ever there was a year for a defenseman to win the scoring title, then look no further than this 31st season as Hohenberg leads a group of 3 defenders in the scoring race.
3rd Star: Matthew Leetch:
Captaincy has not been a burden since Matthew Leetch took over. A pair of goals tonight cemented the offensive prowess of Colorado’s 1st defensive pairing (with O’Dooley). Opening the score with only 16 seconds elapsed in the first one would’ve thought the Mammoths were set for a blow-out. His late 3rd period goal brought the game back within 2 for the Mammoths but unfortunately they ran out of time.

Generic Truck’s Interview of the Night:
Be the man you want to be. Buy this year's model or you're a scrub!

After the win and with the team’s setting off for their next matches, we caught up with tonight’s man of the match, Geronimo Otto:
Interview With tonight's pair of goals, you now have 3 goals and 4 assists this season. How do you explain this balance you've struck in your game this season?
I think the chemistry between Twils and I has been great - being on the same line is a lot of fun. I'm having a lot of fun out there.

Interview You guys lost 2 nights ago to the same Mammoths team 4-1. What changed in the way you approached this game to pull out a solid 5-3 win tonight?
I think our commitment to defense imporoved. The second was probably our best down one goal period of the year. We shut them down and didn't give them space. We really limited turnovers. We did a good job keeping them to the outside.

Interview Last post-season you guys had a lot of trouble figuring out how to beat [Ekaterina] Rudnikova in the first round. With this win have you guys finally gotten over it?
I think so yes, a quality tender like that just has off nights sometime - but I think so.

Interview The scoring for the Knights this season has been evenly spread amongst the top 6. Do you believe you have a stronger team this year compared to last year’s squad?
I think our leadership team this year has really stepped up, we're a much more confident group this season and I think thats lead to better play.

Generic Fast-Food’s Stats Matchup of the Night
Try our new quadruple bypass burger today!

Tonight’s matchup: Jason Aittokallio vs Ekaterina Rudnikova

We don’t usually spend enough time analyzing goalies in the SMJHL even though they can have a serious impact on their team’s fortunes. Tonight we look at both Rudnikova’s performance and Aittokallio’s performance and compare them to the impact they have on their team.

Ekaterina Rudnikova (COL), 32 saves from 37 shots - (0.865), L, 4-3-0, 60:00 minutes
Jason Aittokallio (KEL), 22 saves from 25 shots - (0.880), W, 4-1-0, 60:00 minutes

Ekaterina Rudnikova stopped 32 shots out of 37 in a loss to the Knights tonight. Her 0.865 save percentage is comparatively lower to Aittokallio’s numbers (22 saves on 25 shots for 0.880sv %). However if we look at the relative importance of the goaltenders for their team, Rudnikova comes out ahead. For a team to give up 37 shots in a game several important things have to happen. One, terrible defending in your own end. Two, a whole bunch of penalties forcing you to be on the penalty kill. And lastly three, a strong offensive team as your opponent. Tonight, Rudnikova had all three of these conditions set against her, as the men in front of her failed time and time again to pick up the rebounds from the high firing Knights’ shots beyond their first defensive pairing. Add to that five penalties taken, which luckily for the Mammoths did not result in a single power play goal and the table was set for failure.

On the other side, Jason Aittokallio had a relatively quieter night. The Manhattan Rage send-down held his own and in spite of a lackluster performance, (he has those quite often against Colorado interestingly), provided just enough assurance for the Knights to seize control of the game and run away with it. When possession numbers are in your favor and play is on the other side of the rink, you are much less relied upon and this is Aittokallio’s greatest weakness as he often gets caught napping. The first goal of the game, after only 16 seconds was embarrassing by its swiftness and by its unexpectedness. Blunders like these can put a player off his game for the whole night and it was only thanks to a strong performance by the squad in front of him that they recovered. We are expecting a lot more from the second generation of Aittokallios in the league, and he will have to learn to handle the pressure better if he wants to become as successful as his father was.

[Image: Zoone16.gif]


[Image: 9QVaMRC.png] [Image: canybyK.png] [Image: sXDU6JX.png]
#23

Kelowna Knights Knights vs Colorado Mammoths Mammoths
Score: Kelowna 1 - Colorado 4

Game Link
After being eliminated by the Knights in the playoffs last season the Mammoths were looking to come into this game and get some revenge. They managed this very well, winning the game handily by a score of 4-1. The game was a hard fought and stayed within one goal for the majority of the game.

1st Period

The first period produced some action very quickly. It took the Knights only 20 seconds to get the first puck past Ekaterina Rudnikova. Trevor Wilson and Geronimo Otto worked the puck into the Mammoths end right off the draw. After setting up the offense, Otto was left with the puck on the half boards. Otto looked up to see the slot was completely empty, except for, Knights rookie, Eibhear Sorenson. Otto fed him the puck and Sorenson, took a stride closer to the net and took the shot. The puck flew right over the pad of Rudnikova and into the back of the net. This was, the first overall pick, Sorenson’s first career goal.

[Image: ehrhoff1.2.15web2.gif]
Sorenson’s goal at 20 seconds into the first period

This quick start, however, did not discourage the Mammoths, who were able to respond only a few minutes later. The Mammoths had been set up in the Knights end for about a minute up to this point, when the puck was worked down to Maverick O’Dooley down in the corner. O’Dooley looked up to spot Kristians Rozentals wide open in the middle of the ice, so he sent him a crisp pass. Rozentals took no time to corral the puck, instead took a one timer. The puck hit the back of the net before Aittokallio even knew what happened. This was Rozentals first career goal, and what a way it was to get on the scoresheet.

[Image: May-10-2016_20-50-18.0.gif]
Rozentals’ goal at 5:36 into the first period

13 minutes later Rozentals was able to put his second goal past Aittokallio. This one came off of a great play by O’Dooley. O’Dooley brought the puck in and looked to deke through the entire Knights defense by himself. O’Dooley, however, lost the puck while trying to get around the final defender. The puck slid towards the boards, but Rozentals was there to make a heads up play. Rozentals came out of nowhere to once again use his bomb of a slapshot. Rozentals skated onto the free puck and winded up for the slapper. He one-timed in and it rocketed off of his stick straight to the top left corner of the net to give the Mammoths a 2-1 lead.

[Image: ArtisticConventionalBuffalo.gif]
Rozentals’ goal at 18:12 into the first period

2nd Period

The second period did not produce any goals. It was a hard fought defensive battle with both teams not wanting to allow that all important next goal.

3rd Period

The first half of the third was more hard fought hockey, but eventually the Mammoths got that all important next goal. This goal came quickly after a faceoff in the Knights end. After a missed shot towards the Knights goal the puck rebounded weirdly off the boards and found its way to Matthew Leetch at the point. Leetch tossed a shot on net with guys in front of the net. Aittokallio had the puck in his sights, but Colton Hagan was able to get his stick on the puck before it made it to the net. After hitting Hagan’s stick, the puck tumbled right over the shoulder of Aittokallio to make it 3-1. This was a huge goal that killed the motivation of the Knights. After this one the Knights looked extremely discouraged for the remained of the game.

[Image: game-7-ot.gif]
Hagan’s goal at 10:03 into the third period

The final goal by the Mammoths came 4 minutes later off of a shot by Jacob Renninger. Renninger’s goal started off from a heads up play by Rudnikova. Rudnikova saw that the Knights had gone to change and made a pass to Oliver Lake at the blueline. Lake sent the puck to Renninger who skating through the middle of the ice at full speed. Renninger walked into the blue line, faked a shot, which tumbled the defender, and walked in a bit. Renninger then let go a bullet of a wrist shot right past the glove of Aittokallio. This goal would make the final score of the game 4-1 in favour of the Mammoths

[Image: 848753253.gif?w=500&h=276]
Renninger’s goal at 14:57 into the third period

Three Stars
3: Maverick O’Dooley: 3A, +1, 3SB
O’Dooley was the man that set up the Mammoths first three goals. Without him the Mammoths would not have been nearly as successful tonight.

2: Ekaterina Rudnikova: 97.3Sv%, 1GAA
Rudnikova was shutting down all of the Knights scoring attempts. She stopped a whopping 36 shots out of the 37 that she saw tonight.

1: Kristians Rozentals: 2G, +2, 2S
Rozentals had a very impressive start to his career with two big goals. His first goal gave the Mammoths some hope after being scored on just 20 seconds into the game, and his second would turn out to be the game winner.

Player Page --- Update Page
[Image: twils.gif]
Picture credit to Allen, Jenny, enigmatic, Wasty, ckroyal92, 701, and EJ

300+ Career Goals, 750+ Career Points
5th All-Time Goals Scored for WKP,
8th All-Time Goals Scored for SEA/TBB
3rd All-Time in Playoff Points
17th All-Time in Goals

6 Consecutive 50+ Point Seasons, 7 Total
Quote:"idc if ur naked if ur holding that cup" -Jenny
#24

Prince George Firebirds Firebirds 2 vs 0 Mammoths Colorado Mammoths
Game Link
Game summary
The Mammoths/Firebirds rivalry from last season is well known, as the 2 teams played a large amount of games at the beginning of the season, and both ended up towards the bottom of the Western conference. The Firebirds and the Mammoths both had goalies who absolutely wrecked in playoffs, and once more this game became a face-off of the goalies, that finally Ben Waters, Firebirds goaltender, won with a shutout recorded. The game was relatively boring for the viewer, but had some great goaltending performances.

Goal summaries
Let's jump to 0:52 of the period, where having barely started the game, Prince George rookie Ernesto Castro made his presence known.
Quote:Castro recieves the puck, finds Obrana. To Boone, over to 2nd overall pick Eduard Selich. He goes back to Obrana, finds Shnekinsen in the slot, but he doesn't shoot, instead elects to pa- O'dooley has it now, he dumps the puck for a line change. Waters retreives the puck, over to Obrana, finds a streaking Selich in the neutral zone, OH IT'S A 2 ON 1! HE FINDS CASTRO ON THE RIGHT SIDE, SHOT! MISSES! RETRIEVES THE PUCK, WRAPAROUND... SCORED BY ROOKIE ERNESTO CASTRO! WHAT A GOAL FROM THE YOUNG DEFENSEMAN!
Code:
1. Prince George Firebirds , Ernesto Castro 1 (Eduard Selich, Barak Obrana) at 1:07 (PP)

there are no goals until 12:45 of the 3rd, with sophomore Sven Wolf putting this game seemingly out of reach.

Quote:Leetch picks up the puck in the Mammoths zone, goes to O'DOOLEY OH THEY'RE STREAKING RIGHT INTO THE PGF ZONE! O'DOOLEY GOES BACK TO LEETCH... SLAPPER!!! MISSED! ROOKIE CUKURS NOW HAS IT! Finds wolf in the neutral zone, he's on a breakaway! to the left, back to the backhand... SCORES! WHAT A MOVE FROM SVEN WOLF, AND THIS GAME MIGHT BE OVER!

Code:
2. Prince George Firebirds , Sven Wolf 1 (Teodors Cukurs) at 13:04
3 stars
1st star - Ben Waters.
The sophomore goaltender drafted at the 16th pick showed why he's considered an elite prospect, putting up a 22 save shutout, his 2nd shutout in 3 games. He, in this game, continued to prove that he and Selich were franchise cornerstones and absolute steals at their SMJHL positions.
2nd star - Ernesto Castro.
The rookie defenseman played an incredible powerplay quarterback in this game, and while colorado only took 2 penalties, his goal was hugely important. Despite being a rookie, he has had first pair time on the PP and 5v5, and he showed why he deserved it this game.
3rd star - Sven Wolf.
A free agent signing after the previous SMJHL draft and a center converted to the wing, Wolf continues to shine after his incredibly important playoff contribution. He showed his potential with a sick breakaway, beating one of the best goaltenders in the league with seemingly no effort.

TSN TURNING POINT
The Mammoths took 14 of their 22 shots in the first period, and that's not even counting their missed shots. Waters consistently frustrated the Mammoths in this period, and the amount of effort and dominance that the Mammoths showed returned 0 gain. The Mammoths failing to score a 1st period goal contributed to their lack of effort in the last 2 periods, as they seemed to give up when they couldn't get anything through despite dominating the 1st period.

[Image: ili5NZ2.png]

#25

Game 12 Militia 3 @ 2 Falcons (SO)
Game Link

Preview:Going into this game, this was the third time in a row that the Falcons would be facing the Militia, Game 1 and 2 both ended up in the Detroit Falcons care as they won 3-2 in both games but the Militia are looking to break it up as it looks like that it'll be a very close game for these two teams.

1st Period

The first period of the game produced the most action in terms of goals, after a couple of minutes of relentless pressure by the Militia in the Detroit Falcons zone, the Falcons get lucky as a unlucky puck bounce springs Kyle Kylrad ahead for a breakaway who shot it five-hole to give the Falcons the 1-0 lead just 3 minutes into the game.

[Image: v4TGOZ3.gif]
Code:
1. Detroit Falcons , Kyle Kylrad 2 (Alexis Metzler, Jari Sinikka) at 3:24

The Montreal Militia didn't seem phased though after the goal as they continued to mount the pressure to the Falcons. Detroit did manage to spend some time in the Militia zone but shots were often blocked or straight up missed the net as Montreal played a solid defensive game during the first period. A penalty was given to Josh Merica 9 minutes in as the Militia finally got a chance to score a goal. Despite some good chances, the Militia were unable to convert as a faceoff occurred in the neutral zone.

Announcer:
Code:
And now Brendan Kennedy and Matthew Rossi meet in center ice for a faceoff, Kennedy wins it to Montreal where Granlund attempts to bring it into the zone but is stripped of the puck by Ghost Bear who brings the puck in himself. Bear looks around but is unable to find anyone open so he fires it low, bounces off a stick wide to Joe Grey at the left circle, he takes a shot!
Bounces off the side of the net in front to Zach Evans!

HE SCORES! :goal: ZACH EVANS GIVES THE FALCONS THE 2-0 LEAD EARLY IN THE FIRST PERIOD!

[Image: Backstrom_gets_the_game_tying_goal_while..._Imgur.gif]

Code:
2. Detroit Falcons , Zach Evans 2 (Joe Gray, Ghost Bear) at 12:53

The Falcons manage to take a 2-0 lead heading into the last 5 minutes of the 1st period but Adam Greenholm takes a roughing penalty to give the Militia another chance to bring the lead to 1 or even tie it up. The Militia capitalize on this chance as Nathan Russett manages to bring the lead down to 1 before the period ends on a powerplay marker. After some pressure from the PP, a faceoff starts in the Falcon's zone, Rossi wins the draw but loses it to Nathan Russett who passes it to Ryan Vas on the point, he passes to Johnny Watson and well.. just watch this beautiful pass to Russett.

[Image: Jan_23__2016_21_32.0.gif]
Code:
3. Montreal Militia , Nathan Russett 1 (Johnny Watson, Ryan Vas) at 17:25 (PP)

2nd Period

A much slower period compared to the 1st period for both teams as the Militia trail 2-1 to the Detroit Falcons. Around 7 minutes in, Alexis Metzler tries to clear the puck out but it goes to far to the left as the Falcons give up another penalty but they are lucky as Marcos Maciel is called for slashing earlier in the play as a 4 on 4 chance happens. While the majority of the 4 on 4 is uneventful, what is very amazing to see was Johnny Watson and Nathan Russett's chemistry on the ice as the two are passing the puck around like they're brothers or something. The 4 on 4 expires but the two young players along with Wesley Wells bring the puck into the zone. All 3 of them try a shot before a lucky bounce puts the puck in front of the goalie as everyone scrambles for the puck, the puck enters the net but the Falcons are calling goaltender interference on the play.

The play goes to Toronto as everyone waits for the call.

[Image: ref-1040x572.jpg]

The call is a good goal! The game is tied at 2-2!

Quote:4. Montreal Militia , Johnny Watson 1 (Wesley Wells, Nathan Russett) at 9:46

3rd Period
The coaches on both sides must have given a stern talking to cut the penalties and the defensive errors as the 3rd period was extremely uneventful, 7 shots total in the 3rd period were on net as both sides headed to OT.

OT
The highlight of the OT was a deflection by Wiljian Zjang for the Falcons but was saved by the Militia goalie to bring the game into a shootout.

SO
Announcer:
First shot of the shootout goes to Johnny Watson as he stands at center ice, this kid has got some nifty mitts so the goalie better watch out!

[Image: Quick1-2.gif]
OHHHH SPRAWLING SAVE BY MCSIEVE

1st Round: Scoreless

2nd Round: Scoreless

3rd Round: Scoreless

4th Round: Scoreless

5th Round:
Nathan Russett who has gotten 2 points on the night is looking to score in the shootout here to put the pressure on the Falcons. His linemate Johnny Watson was robbed, let's see if the same will follow.

[Image: 3-bobby-SO-devils.gif]

Russett scores to break the tie! The Falcons now have to score to tie the shootout.

Kyle Kylrad had the first goal of the night as the Falcons depend on him to keep the game alive here in the 5th round of the shootout

[Image: ChVVOkg.gif]
And we are heading to the 6th round!

6th Round:
Ilmari Maatta comes off the bench for Montreal, a defenseman, still has some pretty nice moves as he hopes to win the game for Montreal.

[Image: cropped_crosbyshootout.gif]

Maatta goes five hole as he beats McSieve once again putting the pressure on the Falcons to tie the game.

Tremaine Versace comes off the bench as they look to him as they did Kylrad to keep them alive.

[Image: Reimer11.gif]

HE CANT! The Militia take the game in the shootout!

3 Stars
1 - Nathan Russett (MTL)
The first star of the game goes to Nathan Russett of the Montreal Militia who had a goal and an assist and was a massive help the Militia in their victory tonight.

2 - Johnny Watson (MTL)
Johnny Watson is the second star of the game as Watson and Russett were dynamite on the ice together and it only makes sense for these two as they appear next to each other on the 3 stars.

3 - Zach Evans (DET)
Zach Evans had a solid game for the Falcons tonight as he scored their 2nd goal of the night as well as contributing 5 shots on net.

Stats of the night
1 - Referee Harambe
Before we get started, I suggest we pay tribute to the true MVP of this match: Harambe for reffing this match. Other linesmen and referees include Tim Tebow (Post Baseball Career) 44, and Simons III.

2 - Hits, Faceoffs, blocked shots, and PIMS
The Militia and the Falcons tie at 19 a piece in hits, they also are both very even in faceoffs as the Miltia won just 1 more faceoff the entire game. The Falcons blocked 8 shots to the Miltia's 4, they also took 5 penalties this game to Montreal's 3.

3 - PP/PK
Very weak power play teams for both sides today but we can expect that after these two have already played two games with each other already. The Militia went 1 for 4 on the PP giving them a 25% success rate while the Falcons struck out with 0 successful attempts on 2 powerplays.



All-time New England Wolfpack scorer
[Image: Derisraka.png]
[Image: 38718_s.png]
[Image: rW2c4Vz.png][Image: B4x6AQm.png]
[Image: YztPk3T.png] [Image: 6by0kBi.png]
#26

<div align="center">Game 27: Montreal Militia (3-3-0) @ Halifax Raiders (1-4-1)
[Image: kings_12_9d.jpg]
Game Link</div>

Hey there, SMJHL! Welcome to another episode of SMJHL Post-Game Podcast, featuring co-hosts <a href='index.php?showuser=2238' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-54'>Pris</a> and <a href='index.php?showuser=1322' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-45'>mpc</a>! We talk about everything that went down in this first meeting of Eastern Conference foes in S31, which coincidentally happened on Fight Night S31. So take a listen, leave a review, and let us know your thoughts!

Post-Game Show Game 27 Podcast

Goal FINAL SCORE: Goal
Militia - 1
raiders - 2
#27

GAME 32 - KELOWNA KNIGHTS AT COLORADO MAMMOTHS

<div align="center">Knights 1-2 Mammoths</div>

Game Link

While Prince George has started to distance itself from the pack in the SMJHL's Western Conference, the other three teams are still tightly contesting the remaining spots in the division. Two of those teams, Kelowna and Colorado, met on day 14 of the season, with Colorado coming away with the valuable two points in a goalie duel.

In a battle of Manhattan Rage goaltending prospects, Jason Aittokallio and Ekaterina Rudnikova matched each other save for save. However, a 17-shot first period for Rudnikova’s Colorado Mammoths propelled them to a 2-1 victory over Aittokallio’s Kelowna Knights.

All three of the contest's goals came in the first period before Aittokallio and Rudnikova settled into their rhythms. Colorado struck first, as Toronto prospect Jacob Renninger scored his tenth career goal following a faceoff at 5:59 of the first period.

Less than two minutes later, Finnish rookie Ambrose Syrjänen tied the game for Kelowna, scoring his first career goal on a Cory Knouse assist. However, Colorado reclaimed the lead three minutes later, as Hamilton prospect Martin Svensson scored on an odd-man rush following a turnover generated by Taro Eichelele.

While the goal-scoring stopped after the first 20 minutes, the drama continued. Tensions bubbled during the hotly contested defensive struggle, until finally a fight broke out midway through the second period. Kelowna’s Lykke Bergfalk and Colorado’s Alex Koivu came to blows, with Bergfalk receiving a game misconduct for instigating the fight.

Kelowna made a final push for the tying goal during the third period, amassing ten shots on net. However, Rudnikova successfully saved all of the last-chance shots, protecting Colorado’s lead and giving the Mammoths two points in the standings.

TURNING POINT

Kelowna earned a power-play opportunity midway through the third period, as Matthew Leetch went to the penalty box for tripping. However, the Mammoths penalty kill units were up to task. With their slim lead on the line late in the game, Colorado didn’t allow a single shot attempt during the Kelowna power play, stifling the Knights’ extra-man attack.

THREE STARS

Third Star - Martin Svensson, Colorado: It may have come in the first period, but Svensson’s goal - his third of the season - proved to be the game-winner for the Mammoths.

Second Star - Ekaterina Rudnikova, Colorado: Holding Kelowna to one goal, Rudnikova picked up the win in the contest. The Russian netminder made 10 saves in a frantic third period to preserve the win.

First Star - Jason Aittokallio, Kelowna: Despite the loss, Aittokallio faced twice as many shots as Rudnikova in the contest, including 17 shots in the first period. The second-generation goaltender made 34 saves, keeping the Knights in the game and earning the first star.

NOTEBOOK

You Otto Know: Last season as a rookie, Geronimo Otto struggled at the faceoff dot, winning just 40 percent of his draws. However, the Portland Admirals prospect has improved significantly on this aspect of his game for S31. Otto won 15 of his 24 faceoffs in tonight’s game, improving his percentage on the season to 56.6 percent. Otto is now seventh in the SMJHL in faceoffs, a representation of his improvement in this area.

Dead Heat: Entering the game, Kelowna’s Cara Hohenberg and Colorado’s Maverick O’Dooley were tied for the SMJHL points lead. However, both prolific defensemen were silenced in the game, failing to add to their points totals. They both contributed defensively, with a pair of shot blocks each and three hits between the two players, but their league lead in points remains at three for now.

The Hits Keep Coming: Winnipeg prospect Vasily Horvat continued his physical domination of the SMJHL, adding three hits to his S31 tab. Horvat now has 41 hits on the season through nine games, 13 more hits than second place Barak Obrana of Prince George.

On Tap: The Mammoths will stay home, with a couple of days off before hosting the St. Louis Scarecrows. Meanwhile, Kelowna will return home to face Vancouver in its next game.

Zach Evans[/b] | Player Page | Update Page
Nikolai Evans
| Player Page | Update Page


#28

(GAME #15)KELOWNA KNIGHTS Knights (2-1-1) 5 @ ST. LOUIS SCARECROWS Scarecrows (3-2-0) 1
St Louis, MO – The Kelowna Knights traveled to St. Louis to take on the Scarecrows in what would already be the third meeting of the season between these two teams. The Scarecrows won both games in Kelowna, including the night before in a shootout on a goal from Dos Diablo. The road team would be the victor yet again in the season series of these two teams, with the Knights putting on a dominant performance. Let’s go over the action.
The first period saw Kelowna coming out swinging as they ended up outshooting the Crows this period 8-2. But while they had huge advantages in shots and puck possession, they only could muster one goal in the first twenty minutes, and that would come on the power play.

Quote:There’s 38 seconds remaining in the penalty to Diablo as Visser lines up to take the draw in the St. Louis zone against Iqbal. Visser wins the draw back to Max Weber and Weber flings the puck down the ice. Hohenberg is back to retrieve it and she’ll start up ice sending the puck to Starosta. Adriana Starosta takes the puck down the ice into the St. Louis zone. She’ll wind up and take the shot, but its blocked by Targaryen and Rhaegar sends it down the ice. Aittokaillo steps out to get the puck and he’ll send it up to Hohenberg. Hohenberg slides the puck to Iqbal in the neutral zone. Iqbal over the line now as the Knights gain the zone, he sends the puck over to Horvat AND THEY SCORE! Horvat took a quick shot that beat Wahlgren and its 1-0 as Kelowna scores on the power play!

Horvat gets his second on the power play from Iqbal and Hohenberg, and the Knights took their 1-0 lead into the first intermission. It was a lackluster period for the Scarecrows, playing their 5th game in 6 nights to start the season. The second period would begin a bit differently though, as the Crows came out flying and they’d tie the game early in the period.

Quote:Westbrook taking the faceoff against Syrjanen after the offsides by Diablo a moment ago. Westbrook wins the draw over to Akeson who brings it in the zone with a head of steam. Akeson, chips the puck by Strife and walks in on goal, DEKES, SHOOTS, SCOORRREESSSSSSSS! NATE AKESON WITH A GREAT EFFORT HAS TIED THIS GAME AT 1!

Akeson gets his 3rd goal of the season from Westbrook at 58 seconds of the second period. The game wouldn’t be tied for very long however, as Kelwona would regain their lead just over three and a half minutes later.
Quote:Westbrook takes the puck and he’ll dump it into the Kelwona zone as St. Louis makes&nbsp; a change. Iqbal is back to get the puck and he starts up ice. He’ll send the puck up to Alex Light. Light over to Hohenberg who takes the puck into the St. Louis zone. She’ll give the puck to Iqbal and Kelwona is setting up the attack. Iqbal with the puck and he’ll send it to Sorenson. Sorenson with it now, holding, and he finds Light down low. Light quickly send the puck in front and THEY SCORE. It was Michael Burrows crashing the net and he one timed the pass from Light past Wahlgren and the Knights take a 2-1 lead.

It was Burrows from Light and Sorenson at 4:38 of the period, and only 26 seconds later, Kelowna would be lighting the lamp again.
Quote:And it’ll be Syrjanen and Glover taking the faceoff after the Burrows goal a moment ago. Glover wins the draw back to Landry. Landry will move it up himself into the Knights zone. He’ll leave it for Rivet at the point. Kelly Rivet sends the puck over to Dick Dastardly as St. Louis sets up on offense Dastardly will slide the puck back to Landry at the point. Landry looking to slide it over to Rivet and its intercepted by Yanovich! He’ll send the puck to Syrjanen in the neutral zone and here comes Kelowna on the rush. Syrjanen to Pecker who brings it in the St. Louis zone. Pecker sends it over to Knouse, back to Pecker. Pecker finds Yanovich in the high slot, he takes a shot AND THEY SCORE. The puck looked like it may have changed direction on Wahlgren, but either way its in the net and Knights have a quick 3-1 lead.
Cory Knouse got his first of the season on the deflection of the Yanovich shot at 5:04 of the period and he also took the wind out of the Scarecrows’ sails. With fatigue setting it, it’d be Knouse again to put one home before the end of the middle period.

Quote:Here we are with Westbrook and Syrjanen taking the faceoff after the offsides call. Syrjanen wins this one over to Cory Knouse who has a goal today. Knouse gives the puck to Yanovich and he’ll bring it in the zone. Yanovich heading to the net he shoots it wide, rebound in front and they scorrrreeee! It was Cory Knouse who found the loose puck off the missed shot by Yanovich, and this game is 4-1.

And that fourth goal would signal the end of the night for Scarecrows’ starter Kyle Wahlgren. The Knights would outshoot the Scarecrows 11-5 in the second period as they took a 4-1 lead into the locker room prior to the third period.
The third period itself was another poor effort from St. Louis, as they’d be outshot 13-4, and the Scarecrows would seemingly not care much about trying to come back in the game. Kasper Haapanen however, would shine, only allowing one goal in the period.

Quote:Landry iced the puck so the faceoff is in the St. Louis zone. Westbrook wins the draw back to Rivet and the Scarecrows start down the ice. Rivet sends it up to Landry and he’ll bring into the Knights’ zone himself. Landry looks to send the puck across and its intercepted by Hohenberg WHO SENDS THE PUCK UP TO WILSON ON A BREAKAWAY! WILSON OVER THE LINE, DEKES RIGHT, SHOOTS, AND HE SCORES! Trevor Wilson beats the goaltender high and this game is over, if it wasn’t before. 5-1 Knights.

It was the final nail in the proverbial coffin, as Kelowna cruised to a 5-1 win. The final shots in the game were 32-11. As far as other stats go, Kelowna won more Faceoffs 37-36. St. Louis outhit the Knights 16-13, they blocked 11 shots to Kelowna’s three, and there weren’t too many penalties in this one, with 6 for STL and 4 for KEL. The story these extra stats tell us is that this game could’ve been a lot worse that the 5-1 score shows. STL found its defenders getting in front of the puck often and prevented a goal or two themselves.

Three Stars
1. Cory Knouse Knights (2 goals): Knouse’s two goals in the second period effectively put the game away for the Knights.
2. Vasily Horvat Knights (1 goal): Horvat opened the scoring and brought quite the physical game this time around, leading his team with 4 hits.
3. Cara Hohenburg Knights (2 assists): The stud of the Knight’s defensive core had two nice assists, and was all of the scoresheet with a couple of hits, a shot block, was a plus two, and lead her team in time on ice with just over 23 minutes

[Image: JKortesi81.gif]
SpectersScarecrowsDragonsBlizzardUsaSpectersMilitiaDragonsBlizzardScarecrows


Update Page
Player Page
#29

<div align="center"> raiders 3
Scarecrows 1

[Image: 2efkc9h.png][Image: 10yfkgy.png]

HALIFAX

Sepp Reiter - Alex Reed - Reed Laing

Marc LeClarc - Toivo Kosonen

Georgette Pel

ST. LOUIS

Joe Kurczewski - Jason Visser - Dos Diablo

Kelly Rivet - Darryl Landry

Kyle Wahlgren

Game 31 Link</div>

The Rundown

It is the 31st game of the 31st season, and the score was 3-1....

Period 1

The game starts with an early penalty by Blake Battle, refs call him for interference sending Scarecrows to the powerplay at 1:05. Goal Thanks to the powerplay, the scoring starts early, Max Weber scores his first of the season to put St. Louis ahead. Weber was fed the puck by Rhaegar Targaryen and Dick Dastardly. because Blake Battle interference.

A few minutes later, at 5:54, Kelly Rivet is sent to the sinbin for cross-check, sending Halifax to the powerplay. Goal The Raiders were able to capitalize it as “Goon” Greta Iversen scores her 2nd of the season with the helpers from Blake Battle and Niklas Flower at 7:35. The St. Louis crowd’s energy is reduced slightly with Halifax tying up the game.


Period 2

A little less action happened in the middle period. No goals were scored despite St. Louis having two opportunities on the powerplay. It was Blake Battle sending St. Louis to their first powerplay of the period for Cross-checking at 1:45. Towards the end of the period Alex Reed is called for almost sparking a fight and being called for roughing at 17:00

Period 3

With the game still tied, both teams enter the period hungry for the go-ahead goal. Dick Dastardly makes a mental mistake and is called for diving at 3:34, sending the Raiders back to the powerplay.

Quote:Now it’s De Bruin to Volkova, she waits, she shoots and it’s tipped in by Blake Battle! Powerplay goal credited to Battle, it’s now 2-1!

St. Louis called their timeout following the goal, and takes a moment to gather themselves and their composure. Emotions boil over at 12:49 when Kelly Rivet is called for tripping sending The Raiders back to the powerplay. Goal This time, Reed Laing makes it 3-1 with the helper from Volkova and Iversen.

The Highlight Reel


[Image: Power_play_gif_2.0.gif]

Quote:Dick Dastardly gains the puck, he gives it off to Rhaegar Targaryen, Targaryen to Weber, he shoots! It's now 1-0, Scarecrows lead.

[Image: hurrkop2.gif]

Quote:Flower carries the puck across the blueline, he drops it off to Battle at the point, Battle passes it across ice to Iversen, she shoots and it’s in! Halifax ties up the game and silences the otherwise jubilant crowd.

[Image: 849582933.gif?w=500&h=278]

Quote:Great opportunity for Halifax to extend the league and make some distance in this otherwise close game. Face off in Halifax’s zone. Iversen gains possession, she moves the puck up the ice to Volkova, Volkova passes to Laing at center ice. Lain carries it into the zone, she rips a shot, even with defenders all around her! She scores! It’s now 3-1.


97.3 FM NHR: The Aftershow

Skipp Santos:Welcome to the Aftershow, you just watch/listened to The Raiders notch another win and gain some quality points in the standings. The final score was 3-1, with St. Louis scoring one minute in, but not finding much of anything later on. We will get to your calls in just a minute, but now we are joined by Cindy McNair and Albert Williams.

Albert Williams: Skipp, that was quite the affair, and I'm know all of Halifax is pleased with that performance.

Cindy McNair:Georgette Pel played lights out, 17 saves out of 18 shots.

Skipp Santos: She sure did, and the whole team played quite well. They would love to repeat this success every night. Okay, so our first caller is Clark, how are you doing, bud?

Caller 1: Hi Skipp, long time listener and Raiders season-ticket holder. The team had 3 goals, but somehow everyone had a zero plus/minus, isn't that something the team is lacking in?

Skipp Santos: Well, I'll let Albert go into this one in a second, but I think that stat is misleading and doesn't really help you much. The plus/minus stat doesn't take into account powerplay goals, and like tonight, we saw 4 powerplay goals.

Albert Williams: Skipp is exactly right, despite Raiders being more dominant, the plus/minus stat doesn't indicate it too much.

Cindy McNair: That's right, so I wouldn't read too much into it. Raiders played really well tonight, and if they can mimic tonight's play, they can easily win the four star cup again.

Skipp Santos: Thanks for your call, Clark. Now we will move to Sebastian, thanks for calling in, what's your question?

Caller 2: Can you give a run down of the 3 stars and why they earned it?

Skipp Santos: Sure. 1st star went to Greta Iversen who had her best game of the season. Iversen had 2 points, the first goal and an assist on the 3rd Halifax goal. Iversen is showing why Halifax took her so early in the SMJHL draft a season ago. Then we have Reed Laing, who had that final goal but also 3 hits and 2 out of 3 on the face offs. Finally, we have Georgette Pel earning the 3rd star of the night. Pel survived numerous powerplays and kept St. Louis out of the game after shaking off the nerves or bad juju, if you will, early on in the game. I hope that explanation shows what these fine ladies did to really shape the game. Thanks for your call Sebastian.

Cindy McNair:And you know, after a slow start to the season, it's wonderful that The Raiders have nights like these where they can come into a hostile environment and pick up the win in regulation. There have been too many 1-goal losses this season, so it's great to see the offense, defense, and even goal tending really pick up their game.

Skipp Santos:You hit the nail on the head with that analysis, Cindy. To recap, Halifax scores 3, St. Louis 1. All of these were powerplay goals, and saw the goalies pull out several big stops, but The Raiders managed to beat Wahlgren a few more times. Thank you for tuning into The Aftershow!

Reed Kobo - Winger - #33
Player Page- Update Page
Elijah Jones - Winger - #33 Retired
Player Page - Update Page
Toivo Kosonen - Defenseman - #33 Retired
Player PageUpdate Page
[Image: 2ew9foG.png][Image: rnSNsnU.png]
#30

<center>Game 17
Kelowna Knights (3) Knights vs Whalers (1) Vancouver Whalers

game link

After a slow start from both teams, the Kelowna Knights were the first to wake up, opening the scoring in the second period. Though Vancouver’s Victor Lindstrom notched his first goal of the season as the second period drew to a close, Jason Aittokallio would stay strong in net and the Knights would score two more goals in the third period to seal the victory.</center>

Three Stars

⋆⋆⋆ Jason Aittokallio (KEL)
Aittokallio notched his third win of the season with a solid .950sv%, failing to stop just one of 20 shots. In a game that was definitely a war of the goalies, Aittokallio came out on top.

⋆⋆ Vasily Horvat (KEL)
Making himself comfortable in his top line position flanked by Geronimo Otto and Trevor Wilson, Horvat was the one to open the scoring for the Knights, starting their game off right - if a bit late.

⋆ Michael Burrows (KEL)
With the game-winning goal in the second half of the third period and the assist on the empty netter that sealed the deal, Burrows was undoubtedly deserving of the game’s first star.

Post-Game Interview with Vasily Horvat

Interview Congrats on your third goal of the season this game. What do you think has most affected your success so far?

I really focused on the fundamentals of being an athlete. Getting stronger, faster, and working on my cardio. I had a really good rookie season, but I spent a little too much time adapting to the game instead of trying to improve my game. I feel good so far this season, but then again, management has put me on a line with two of the best in the league. Geronimo and Trevor are doing all the glamorous stuff and just make me look good. I just try to get to the dirty areas and get the puck to them, and they do the rest.

Interview How does it feel to have Aittokallio in net behind you?

As I said with Geronimo and Trevor, Jason is another world class athlete who makes the entire team better. I’ll be honest, I am not the most responsible player in my own end, and he gives me the confidence to just play my game knowing that he is good enough to make the saves when we need him to.

Interview What are you looking to improve on as the season progresses?

Would hockey be too vague of an answer? I think I need to start working on my vision. The team drafted me as a playmaker, and I have the potential to do that, but I need to work on it a little more. The basics are always something I spend a little extra time on each day. Skating, shooting, stick work, just the simple things. I’ve been relying on the things that come natural to me which is checking and speed, but I need to make the transition to a more reliable offensive game to be what management expects of me.

Special Teams Breakdown

In what seemed to be a very evenly matched game, neither team could get anything going on the power play: Vancouver went 0 for 4, and Kelowna went 0 for 5. But why was that the case? Does each team have an effective penalty kill? Were the goalies playing their A-game tonight? Do both teams’ power play units enjoy skating in circles instead of getting shit done? Let’s take a look.

5:43 of 1st period - Minor Penalty to Adam Kaiser (VAN) for Holding.

This first power play for the Kelowna Knights was rife with icing calls for the away team as the Whalers penalty kill unit put the pressure on - all the shots in this power play came from the Whalers. An inability to win crucial faceoffs while on the man advantage by the rookie centres on the Knights left them unable to convert.

9:24 of 1st period - Minor Penalty to Eibhear Sorenson (KEL) for Hooking.

Unlike the Knights, the Whalers started their first power play off by getting to the net with relative ease against the Knights’ second PK unit, though their attempts were smothered by Aittokallio. The Knights’ first PK unit dominated the ice from there, but when replaced by Syrjanen and Light, Light got his stick tangled up in Adam Kaiser’s, resulting in:

10:17 of 1st period - Minor Penalty to Alex Light (KEL) for Tripping.

This put the Knights down to just 3 players against the Whalers’ 5, but they held strong for those few overlapping seconds, not allowing any shots on goal before Sorenson was freed from the box. Despite a few attempts at passing the puck around looking for a shot by the Whalers, the Knights cleared the puck multiple times to run down the clock on Light’s penalty.

14:14 of 1st period - Minor Penalty to Lykke Bergfalk (KEL) for Hooking.

The Knights gave the Whalers’ power play units the same treatment for Bergfalk’s penalty as they did Light’s. The Whalers hesitancy to shoot on the net was their undoing as the Knights intercepted pass after pass and cleared the puck.

5:32 of 2nd period - Minor Penalty to Alex Mbb (VAN) for High sticking.

Vancouver treated Kelowna to a taste of their own medicine as they took control of the puck from the faceoff dot time after time, not allowing Kelowna’s power play units to get anywhere near the net in order to score.

10:36 of 2nd period - Minor Penalty to Ludwig Koch Schroder (VAN) for Hooking.

Despite losing the first and only faceoff, the Knights managed to take control of the puck and get more going on this power play. They spent most of the power play in the Whalers zone and generated a few shots on goal that just didn’t hit their mark.

1:39 of 3rd period - Minor Penalty to Ludwig Koch Schroder (VAN) for Holding.

Syrjanen won the faceoff for the Knights at the beginning of this power play, resulting in a barrage of shots on goal that Wehner had to eventually get a glove on. A few subsequent faceoff losses had the Whalers running down the clock on the penalty easily.

13:27 of 3rd period - Minor Penalty to John Brooks (VAN) for Holding.

The Knights power play once again fell apart as the Whalers won faceoffs and intercepted passes left and right.

17:36 of 3rd period - Minor Penalty to Geronimo Otto (KEL) for Hooking.

The Whalers managed a few shots on this power play, but the Knights remained mostly in control of their kill.


It’s abundantly clear that possession is the downfall of the Knights’ power play unit - when they get it, they generate chances, and when they don’t, the Whalers’ penalty kill makes quick work of them. The Whalers fall down when it comes to making the play where it counts. Regardless, this was definitely a case of weak power play units up against good penalty kill units on both sides.

[Image: thistidalwave.gif]




ArmadaUkSpecters
Player | Updates




Users browsing this thread:
1 Guest(s)




Navigation

 

Extra Menu

 

About us

The Simulation Hockey League is a free online forums based sim league where you create your own fantasy hockey player. Join today and create your player, become a GM, get drafted, sign contracts, make trades and compete against hundreds of players from around the world.