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Rabidsponge21 · 04-05-2020, 09:45 AM

Game 3 - St Louis vs Maine

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3 Stars

1st Star - Ruslan Zaporozhets (STL) – 3 Assists
- Apparently Ruslan had Pizza on the mind as he had been dishing the puck all night long to his team mates putting up 3 assists in a game where St Louis scored 4 goals showing how dialed in he was for the Scarecrows from the second the puck dropped.

2nd Star – Rapid Eagle (MET) – 1 Goal
- One of the few bright spots for the Timber during the the loss, Eagles single tally wasn't enough to propel them to victory but was one of those goals you will see on the highlight reel for quite a while this season.

3rd Star – Sasha Dangelchek (STL) -1 Goal – 1 Assist
- Carrying the rest of the remaining offense for the Scarecrows was Dangelchek as they were able to hit both offensive categories for a goal and an assist.

Game Summary

This was one of those games where you look at it felt a lot closer than it really was. The score was 4-2 in the end but all the underlying stats tell a story of St Louis domination both on the shot clock and in the faceoff dot.

In front of a crowd of 5,488 fans the Scare crows got close to doubling up the shots on the timber, posting a 41 to 22 shot differential on their way to the victory.

Maine was able to grab a slight edge in the physical game with 2 more hits, but it cost them an additional 4 minutes on the penalty kill.

The face off battle was another story in itself with St louis winning 57.7% of the draws giving themselves control of the situation both offensively and defensively more often than not which played a bit part in that shot differential between the two teams.

1st Period

In a period where we saw 4 of the 6 goals scored started off in St Louis favour as they were the first team on the board. Shortly after Maine answered on the power play to tie it with the Scarecrows then using the back half of the period to put up two more to get themselves out front by 2 only 20 mintues into the game.

2nd Period

No scoring was done during the 2nd period as both teams took trips to the penalty box but neither team could convert on the ensuring power plays. The second didn't lack any action though as teams went back and forth trying to get the edge before heading into the final frame.

3rd Period

The final period saw the rest of the scoring trickle in as St Louis solidified their lead with their 2nd power play goal of the game to make it 4-1 with Eagle doing his best for Maine to make something out of the game making it 4-2. Both goals came early, but with the shots piling up in St Louis favour, it became more and more clear this game was out of reach for the Timber, and they fell to the Scarecrows in this game.

Turd Ferguson · 04-05-2020, 02:31 PM

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St. Louis's offense controls the game
St. Louis’ victory in this game was driven by their 3-goal performance in the first period. They were unable to be caught as they ended up with a 4-2 victory as first star Ruslan Zaporozhets ended up assisting all three of those first period goals. The Toronto North Stars prospect certainly gave the team that drafted him something to think about as he was comfortably the best player on the ice. The Scarecrows were generally dominant this whole game, nearly doubling Maine’s shot total in their first win this season. Maine was unable to really get back into the game, as goals from Al Kayhall in the first and Rapid Eagle in the third weren’t enough to stave off defeat.

Where does this put each team?
This loss sent Maine to 1-4-0 on the season at the time, a sign that might be in for a bit of a rebuilding season this year. Currently, the Timber are dead last in the league with a 3-7-1 record (only behind Carolina due to goal difference) and will be looking for their strong rookie class to adjust to the league so they can improve as the season goes on. The Scarecrows, meanwhile, went to 3-1-1 after this victory but have since slowed down to a slightly more pedestrian 3-2-1 (putting them at 6-4-2 and third in the Eastern Conference). St. Louis will surely be hoping for more offensive-powered wins like this as they look to forwards like Zaporozhets, Danny Marston, and Sasha Dangelchek to lead the way (and hopefully provide more support for goaltender Elizabeth Doyle).

MyLittleHexx · 04-06-2020, 06:05 PM

Big Hit Energy
Tonight was a physical night, with both teams dishing out some big, nasty hits. At the end of the game, the Timber slightly edged the Scarecrows when it came to the total number of hits for the game. For the Scarecrows, the big hitter of the game was Luc-Pierre Lespineau-Lebrunette, who dished out four massive hits tonight. When it came to physical and defensive play, LPLL was the best player out on the ice. For Maine, Jack Von Arx was the key hitter for the big trees. The defenseman was able to rack up five hits tonight, though his defensive play wasn't stout as LPLL.

Worse of the Night
For one team, things were clicking and it was hard to find flaws in their game. For the other, oh man was it easy to see who the weak links were. For the Scarecrows, the weakest player on the ice tonight was Axel Meszaros. Though he picked up two assists during the game, he just wasn't doing what he needed to do on the ice. Passes were to hard, couldn't catch a pass in key times. Taking a two minute delay of game penalty also didn't help his case. On the tree people side, the worst player was Will Windsor. Finishing the game -1, Windsor was a mess in his defensive zone. He ended the game with one giveaway, and over in the offensive zone he whiffed completely on a shot.

PP Play
That's right, we are here to talk about the PP play. Power plays can win you games, and lose you games. This game saw a total of ten power plays, four to Maine and six to St. Louis. St. Louis were able to convert two out of the six power play chances to goals, resulting in a nice 33.3% power play effectiveness for the game. Maine only converted on one of their power plays, ending up with a 25% chance effectiveness on the power play. Obviously not a massive difference, but those two power play goals likely powered the Scarecrows passed the Timber to secure the victory.

**leafsftw1967** · 04-10-2020, 12:34 AM

St. Louis Scarecrows Dominate The Game Offensively
While the score of the game ended up being fairly close with the St. Louis Scarecrows wining four to two over the Maine Timber, the offensive pressure from the Scarecrows was persistent all night long. St. Louis almost had double the shots in comparison to Main, had many more scoring chances, were awarded five power play opportunities, and also won the faceoff battle meaning they would start with possession more often at the drop of the puck. What really kept this game closer was some solid goaltending from Olli Saarinen Jr. Coming into this game Olli did not have a win on the season yet and was determined to change that making forty two saves throughout the night but his efforts were not enough to steal a win.

Maine Timber Losing Woes Continue
Heading into this game Maine was at the bottom of the standings and was coming off three straight losses. Their overall team play has just not been there this season. It was still early in the season but Maine was already starting to go down a concerning path of losing. With this loss and what looks like many more if the Timber do not quickly turn things around, Maine could be spending the season as the bottom feeder of the SMJHL. They need to shake up their lineup or do something before it is too late and their season is lost.

Ruslan Zaporozhets Has Quite The Impressive Night
With three assists in the game Zaporozhets was awarded deservingly awarded the first star of the game after driving the St. Louis Scarecrows’ offense all night long. So far this season Ruslan has been one of the best offensive forwards in the league as he is currently tied for second in points throughout the SMJHL. He has been given great responsibility of anchoring the St. Louis’ first line and their top power play unit but it seems like he is up for the challenge. Expect for him to continue to be one of the most lethal offensive threats throughout the SMJHL season.

st4rface · 04-18-2020, 12:21 PM

First period
First period meant a lot for this game. It was already done after siren which showerd that first period have ended. Scarecrows started strong and ended first period with 3:1. Game ended with 4:2, which meant that they had already more goals in first period than Timber had in whole game. This was one of the rare games that showed that one period can bring big impact to whole game. 20 mintues and game was already over - didn't even need other 40 minutes. Maybe Timber just ain't ready yet? Bottom of the standings - definitely needs to improve their roster.
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Zaporozhets dominance
First period we saw dominance by Scarecrows and their player Ruslan Zaporozhets. If he wouldn't be on ice, result of the game might be different. Zaporozhets had three assists in this game - all in first period. This was dominance in different level. Premium class help for his team and definitely main reason if this victory. Zaporozhets might fight for SMJHL MVP. Pretty impressive dominance in this game. If he keeps up this type of game, he will have great future in SHL. This type of performance helps team to get victory, which is most important thing in hockey. Each point can be in a worth of gold when season ends.
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Couldn't handle the pressure
Each hockey fan and hockey entusiast knows that 20 - 30 shots per game for a team is normal and okay, but in this game, Scarecrows made 41 shot. 37 saves is impressive - even if team has to take a loss. Impressive performance from If Timber would have much better offense, maybe this game would end differently. Timber skaters just couldn't handle the pressure, while goalie gave this game him all. Sometimes, it isn't enough and you just need to handle the loss. This was that time... 22 shots for Timber only. Let's be honest - it's hard to win if you get so dominated by opponent.
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*Toast* · 04-19-2020, 04:00 PM

Maine Goes Wild
It's no secret that the Maine Timber have not gotten off to the start that they were hoping for this season. The Timber went into their game against St. Louis with a 1-3-0 record. With just two points to show for the season, it was expected that not many people would show up for this game. Instead, the Portland, Maine faithful showed up to support their team. With a reported attendance of 5488, it is one of the highest attendances the SMJHL has seen to start the season. The crowd was ready for a massive game from the Timber, but unfortunately they would quickly be disappointed.

Scarecrows Steal First
It didn't take long for the scoring in this game to pile on. Just over five minutes into the game and the Scarecrows had found the back of the net. Maine managed to respond within two minutes on the powerplay but it wasn't going to be enough. Momentum kept building for the Scarecrows and they were able to add on two more goals during the second half of this period. Maine would never be able to climb back from this deficit and the game ended in a 4-2 victory for the Scarecrows. This just goes to show that if you find yourself down by a couple goals early, it is much more difficult to get back into the game.

The Set-Up Man
Tonight's first star honours go to St. Louis' Ruslan Zaporozhets. Ruslan did not find the back of the net himself but instead got himself three apples in the first period alone. It was clear by the end of the first that Maine were worried every time this player had the puck. While only one assist was a preliminary assist, this left winger has shown that he has hat it takes to dominate on the offense. Ruslan has looked fantastic for St. Louis so far and quite possible will end up leading the league in points this season if performances like these keep coming. Watch for St. Louis to give him plenty of time on the ice going forward.

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**.bojo** · 04-19-2020, 05:44 PM

Shooting Spree
St. Louis really wanted this game as one of the most glaring facts about it is that they outshot their opponent 41-22, almost doubling Maine's output. And that effort was rewarded, as after the first period they already had 3 goals leading by 2 to really set the tone for the rest of the game. Despite no goals in the second period, Darzins tallied up one last insurance goal to push the lead to three goals and coast their way to victory as Maine struggled to only get one more goal after that. After that goal Maine would shoot themselves in the foot by getting three penalties sealing the win for the scarecrows.

Rusian Zassists
The first star without a doubt in the high shooting game is actually the guy who set up most of those critical plays: Rusian Zaporozhets. He was involved in all three goals in the first period, giving the team an early 3-1 lead including one power play assist to Mega Tron that would return the team back on top after Maine responded to the first goal. A team first player from the get go, Zapo showed that setting up the play is just as important as the goal itself, as you can't have one without the other. Zapo's assists to Dangelchek, Tron, and Johnson were the plays of the game, and bumped his totals up to 5 assists for the season. Not usually an assist person, but today he might rethink his strategy seeing how well it worked.

PIMaine Timbers
One of the reasons for Maine's tough outing this game can be pinpointed to the amount of penalties they took. They gave up two minors in the first, including a PP goal against after Scarangella got called for interfence. Jack Von Arx got a little chippy after the third goal and really whacked a poor Scarecrow drawing a slashing minor. Period 2 Scarangella got another penalty, but fortuantely nothing happened from it. At the start of the third St. Louis actually had one more penalty, but with the team down 1-3 Maine took 3 more penalties, starting off with Sutton getting an elbowing penalty just 10 seconds into the third. That penalty lead to a goal from Darzins, and Maine never recovered from it.

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MegaSkuci · 04-24-2020, 07:18 PM

Comment 1
Identity trouble
Ruslan Zaporozhets was selected as the first star of this match with three assists. People who have never seen him play might say that he is a good playmaker, but his playstyle and his mindset is to be a sniper. Throughout the season it feels like he can't keep up the pace with other snipers in the league. He seems more like a playmaker rather than a sharpshooting machine. Is it because of his linemates? He's playing with a playmaker and a power forward which should automatically make him the sniper, but somehow it doesn't. Only the future will tell whether Ruslan can get back to his sniping habits or he will remain rather a passing type of player.
Comment 2
The underdogs
Coming into the season Maine Timber are the ultimate underdogs. It's projected they will fight with two other teams for the final playoff spot in the east. Will they be able to make it? With new fresh rookies looking to prove themselves they have the ground to make some noise. Sondergard a draft number 1 and Danke number 10, who was predicted to be drafted much earlier are a duo of players that will make the team better right now, and even better in the future. Maine is in what you can call a weaker conference. There's one basically unbeatable team in Detroit but other than that a winnable matches.
Comment 3
Discipline
Both teams showed some lack of discipline. This was probably the reason for Maine's downfall in this match. St. Louis have a really well-oiled offense, especially on the powerplay so taking penalties against them isn't the smartest idea. Of course it's hard not to take penalties against a team like St. Louis, where Scarecrows players can get into great scoring spots thanks to their skill, and then on defense Timber doesn't have many options. Maine needs to get faster, use their legs more, and work on their stamina. If you don't skate, if you don't work hard you will keep taking penalties that will decide the games. If Maine wants to make the playoffs this is the area where it's within their control to get much better and tilt the close matches towards them.

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