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PGS S53 Game 11 - Newfoundland vs. Carolina
#1

Berserkers Newfoundland Berserkers vs. Carolina Kraken  Kraken

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Introduction
Today, the Newfoundland Berserkers would travel south to the Spectrum Center in Charlotte to face the struggling Carolina Kraken. The Berserkers came into this game lacking any semblance of form, having lost their last 6 games in a row. While they still posed a threat to other teams looking to finish in the top 2 places, they would have to stop their current slide to have any chance of really putting others under pressure down the stretch. Their opponents in the Kraken had been lingering at the bottom of the table all season - with a 8-22-2 record up until this point, a serious bounce back would have to take place for the Kraken to pull of any miraculous comeback in the table this season.

The goalie match-up pit impressive rookie starter Cale Amundsen against Kraken backup Monty Montgomery. Amundsen had been in a class of his own coming into this game, ultimately carrying the Berserkers to their current place in the table; sporting a 12-7-2 record in goals and a 2.73 GAA, he is a goalie to be feared. Montgomery meanwhile had not seen the ice often up to this point; with an 0-1-0 record and 3.04 GAA, many were unsure what to expect from Montgomery, and so expected the Berserkers to have enough in this game to overcome the Kraken.

First Period
The majority of the first period was spent by each team feeling their way into the game. While there were shots to speak off in the early minutes, the goaltenders were easily a match for the early testing shots that would come their way. An early opportunity for a Powerplay came when Adam Friedland went into the penalty box for 2 minutes for holding; however, the Berserkers could not take advantage of the man advantage. And they would pay for this lack of edge as, half way through the 12th minute of the period, a clean breakaway from Michael Lee resulted in an easy goal past the helpless Amundsen. The Kraken would hold onto this lead as the game entered the second period.

End of 1st:  NL 0-1 CAR

Second Period
The second period would continue with the same game script as the first; while there were large periods of inaction, Carolina still firmly held control over the game. And soon, they would make this pressure pay off, with Nilsen netting his 4th goal of the season after tipping in the assist from Michael Lee. Suddenly being faced with the need to catch up from 2 goals behind, Newfoundland would become more frantic in their play. This would result in three separate penalty incidents through the rest of the second period; and though Carolina would not be able to capitalise and net any more chances, the Berserkers would need to recover their composure if they looked to stand any chance at winning as they went into the third period.

End of 2nd: NL 0-2 CAR

Third Period
As Newfoundland tried to muster some level of offence to come back into the game as the third period began, it looked as if they had finally began to wear away at the momentum that the Kraken had built throughout the first 2 periods. After multiple efforts, the Berserkers would eventually get their breakthrough 9 minutes into the quarter as Guy LeGrande would cruise into the slot and - with the assistance of Twist and Wallace - would score a snapshot to bring the deficit down to one. However, Newfoundland would not be able to find another goal to tie the game up, and the Kraken would escape this game with their 9th win of the season. With this loss, the Berserkers suffered a 7th straight loss, and fell to a record of 14-15-3.

End of Regulation: NL 1-2 CAR

Three Stars
The three stars for this game were given out as follows:

1) Michael Lee (CAR) - 1 G, 1 A
2) Cale Amundsen (NL) - SV: 40, SV%: .952
3) Patric Twist (NL) - 0 G, 1 A

Michael Lee was the deserved first star in this game - having a part to play in both the goals that brought the Kraken to this important win. 
Amundsen, as normal during his rookie campaign, impressed greatly between the sticks and kept Newfoundland in a game where they could have lost sight of the lead early. 
And Patric Twist earned the third star for the game on the back of a 1 assist, 1 +/- performance. While the result did not go their way today, Twist was an important presence on the ice offensively, and provided some of the best forward momentum when he was getting time. While others may have had more obviously impressive statlines, the workhorse performances of Twist will likely continue earning plaudits as the season reaches its conclusion.

Final Score:  Berserkers 1 - 2  Kraken

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#2
(This post was last modified: 04-22-2020, 01:14 PM by SAwful.)

Failure to Seize Opportunity

The Newfoundland Berserkers failed to come out and put up much of a fight against a floundering Carolina Kraken team. Amassing only 24 shots over the course of three periods is no way to show dominance, and potting only one of those (courtesy of Guy LeGrande) feels limp. Carolina came out a stronger team, put more pressure on Newfoundland both physically and offensively and kept themselves out of the penalty box. Even for a team floundering, these are the inner-workings and highlights you hope to see from any team in pursuit of a win. Doing the little things right and keeping their foot on the gas pedal gave the Kraken every opportunity to win this game, and they didn't fail to do so.

Hits Hurt

The Kraken absolutely lit the Berserkers up this game in terms of physical play, laying a whopping 25 hits. The Berserkers had no pep in their step and seemed to shy away from physical play as a measly 4 hits made their way to the official score-sheet. While physicality isn't the only determining factor in playing the game, it does have its place, and shying away from it is detrimental to overall team performance. Not being able to separate an offensive player from the puck with your body in the defensive zone is a recipe for disaster. A large part of Carolina's win tonight came from that aggressive board play, and moving forward could continue to be a deciding factor in games where the team appears outclassed.

Power Play? What Power Play?

A total of 4 penalties and 8 penalty minutes tonight feels low, but it also provided each team with an opportunity to showcase good passing and scoring prowess. Instead, we got missed opportunities and an inability to string together anything substantial to challenge either goaltender. One power play chance for Newfoundland and an inability to score is an excusable thing, something you might consider a fluke, but should be taken seriously in what appears to be a very close game. Even though Carolina won, they might consider that striking out on 3 power play opportunities should be something to take a closer look at. Even tallying on one of those three opportunities would have pushed this from a close game to a clear cut and convincing victory for the team, something to boost confidence in what may be a rough period for the team as a whole.

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Armada  ||  Uk  ||  Wolfpack

#3

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Kraken offense comes from an unexpected source
For Carolina, the story of the season has been a slow offense. The key part of their forward group from the previous season is largely gone and now includes a lot more rookies. In large part, Carolina’s offensive contributions have come from the first forward line of Velveteen Dream, Jimmy Wagner, and rookie Vitek Vitecek. But in this game, which was only Carolina’s ninth win of the season, neither of the team’s two goals included those first-line forwards. The first goal came from defenseman and second-year junior player Michael Lee for his third goal of the season, and was assisted by undrafted rookie Linus Grimstad. The second came from another rookie, Stein Nilsen, and was assisted by two defensemen, Lee and Ambacas Cuddles. Lee’s two points, which earned him the first star, came after scoring only 7 points in the first 32 games of the season.

A valiant goaltending effort in vain
The fact that Carolina’s offense was able to get 42 shots on goal would probably be surprising to someone who only saw the score of this game. If a team takes that many shots, you’d expect them to score more than two goals. But a big reason that this game wasn’t a blowout was the incredible performance by Newfoundland goaltender Cale Amundsen. Amundsen stood on his head in this game, making 40 saves for a save percentage of .952. He’s been performing well this whole season, placing himself as an outside contender for both top goaltender and rookie of the year after facing some of the most shots of any goalie in the league. This game was a particularly good one from the Dutchman, who unfortunately didn’t get the support on offense from his Berserkers teammates.



Past players:
(S3) C/D - Turd Ferguson (HOF)
(S7) LW - Anton Wagner
(S13) RW - Christian Bauer
(S18) D - Turd Ferguson, Jr.
(S30) D - William Goddard
#4
(This post was last modified: 04-22-2020, 08:43 PM by honkerrs.)

1) The most surprising stat of the game to me was the fact that the Carolina Kraken out hit the Newfoundland Berserkers a whopping 25 to 8. Holy crap! Even though Carolina probably will not make the playoffs this season I seriously love watching these guys play. They have the best fighter in the league in Adam Friedland guys who know how to lay the freakin' body on other people like Dwight Knight did with 5 hits himself this game. Maybe the Carolina pounding they gave out tired out the Berserkers who couldn't come back in this one despite their goaltender's effort.

2) The unsung hero this game was definitely Carolina Kraken’s goaltender Monty Montgomery. Monty is definitely a definition of a journeyman junior hockey veteran but the two games he has played this season have helped show why it is valuable to carry a veteran backup goaltender in the game of hockey. This being only his second game played this season, it sure didn’t look like it where he stooped 23 out of 24 shots to keep the game close the entire game for the Kraken to eventually come out on top. Cale Amundsen on Newfoundland has been hard to beat this season but Monty made it look easy

3) The turning point of this great close game was when the Newfoundland Berserkers decided to take 3 penalties in the span of 8 minutes in the 2nd period. This allowed the Kraken to racket up their heavy way of playing hockey and end up out shooting the Berserkers 26 to 2 in the 2nd period. If it wasn’t for Cale Amundsen, goalie of the Berserkers, this game would’ve been a complete blow out because of these 3 penalties in a row. Although the Berserkers did have a tiny bit left in them in the 3rd period late push, taking so many hits and being in the defensive zone so much tired them out quite a bit.

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#5
(This post was last modified: 04-25-2020, 04:40 PM by Bongo.)

1) SLUMPING: It appears as if the Newfoundland Berserkers have been spending a little too much time on George Street or perhaps the flight from St.John’s to Charlotte was too much for the Newfoundland squad. Either way, they appear hungover or jetlagged. These guys looked slow, and it was evident by their lack of finish. Newfoundland’s inability to score on a backup goaltender in the basement of the standings extended their losing streak to seven. Whether or not these struggles continue, one thing is clear: One must take into account the sustainability of low scoring games: Does Newfoundland have the defense and goaltending to support these 2-1 games for the rest of the season?

2) THAT’S TENDER: Newfoundland remain in the middle of the pack, despite this 7 game skid: This begs the question, ‘how dependent are the Berserkers on their goaltending?’ Cale Amundsen has been a pleasant surprise to goaltending analytics. In his rookie season, he’s managed to compensate for Newfoundland’s shortcomings. Tonight, he made 40 saves and posted a .952 – how sustainable is this? Let’s hope Amundsen doesn’t get overworked, injured or burnt out with all this production. ON another note: Can we commend Monty Montgomery? At the end of the day, wins matter. Montgomery was near perfect and stole a game where Carolina simply could not score. The man deserves recognition – well done.

3) LEE ME ALONE: Michael Lee impressed with his two point performance. Lee has been a polarizing figure, receiving both criticism and acclaim for his risky pinch and gun type of play. Today, his risks paid off - high risk high reward. He was integral to clinching the W tonight. Hopefully this will be the first in a long line of amazing Michael Lee performances. Though, as the all star game indicates, too much weight is put on POINTS - Michael Lee has been overshadowed by his lack of points and it shows. The man is an advanced analytics beast and a well rounded leader. Despite Carolina's "less than ideal" year, the veterans are providing an excellent source of leadership to future of the organization such as Vitecek, and Friedland. Hopefully the Kraken can squeak past Maine into the playoffs and provide the naysayers with a reason to doubt themselves.
#6

Infographic
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#7

Comment 1
Huge physical presence
Carolina Kraken outplayed Newfoundland Berserkers in the physical column. This might have done the one goal difference. Carolina with a lot of physical players like Adam Friedland or Ambacas Cuddles are ready to take on any offense. These guys can use their bodies to help their defensive game and that's where they play their best. On the other hand you have Dwight Knight or Velveteen Dream, who can use their body to offensive advantage. They utilize their body, their physical strength to make space for themselves and their teammates. Combine them with technical players like Vítek Víteček or Jimmy Wagner and you have a perfect train ready to run over anyone.
Comment 2
Frans Eller
Everyone heard the name before. And there is a reason to it! Performance-wise he is the best goaltender in the SMJHL. Statistically he isn't because he plays for the team that is at the bottom of the league. For many goaltenders, this would be their nightmare, but Eller can use being under constant fire to his advantage. Eller definitely is the MVP for Carolina if they manage to make the playoffs. He always helps his team so they can focus on getting at least a few goals, which they are struggling with. That's a huge support not every team has. Many opponents already showed frustration when trying to score on Eller. Carolina has only once concern over him: Don't get suspended!
Comment 3
Getting better
In the previous comment, I talked about Carolina struggling to get goals. This was an exceptional match for Carolina's offense because they were able to launch a whopping 42 shots. This is a rare occasion for a team at the bottom of the league. Carolina has a lot of players that are able to keep their shooting percentage very high including the league-leading Vítek Víteček with 22%. This time though it was Cal Amundsen starring in the net against Carolina making a lot of huge saves and he was probably the only reason that kept his team in the game. These two teams still have one meeting against each other in this season and we will see, whether Carolina can keep up their shot count.

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#8

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#9

1. Star of the Game – Michael Lee

By all statistical measurable, the star of this game is the Carolina Kraken’s defenseman Michael Lee. Lee finished with a score like of 1 goal, 1 assist, and a +/- of 2. However, what immediately stands out is his MASSIVE 10 shots on goal. And that of his total of 13 by the way. Lee dominated the Berserkers defense and just found all the right gaps to get the rubber on net. His 10 shots we nearly a quarter of his team’s total shots on goal. He also had two hits, and two takeaways while only giving away the puck once. Michael’s dominant form has been an upside for a season that has not gone the way of the Krakens faithful (17-27-3). Well done to him.

2. Dud of the Game – Red Arrow

In a game where the Berserkers faithful were hoping for a couple of bright chips from the 3rd-4th line winger, Red Arrow gave them nothing. In actuality, Arrow didn’t do much of anything in his nearly 7 and a half minutes of ice time. He had no recorded stats, generating 0 shots on net, 0 hits, 0 takeaways, 0 block shots, and 0 penalties. He very much laid an egg statistically, and Newfoundland fans are starting to consider whether they should call this lad the Red Chicken instead. That’s a dud of the game if I’ve ever seen one. He’ll need to really step it up if he ever hopes to see more ice time.

3. Stat of the Game – Hit (25-8)

The Newfoundland Berserkers look like they were a little lost on the ice against the Kraken. Maybe it’s because they were too busy picking themselves up off the ice after being rudely introduced to it. Maybe it’s because instead of playing hockey, they were trying to dodge for their lives, and they kept getting punched in the mouth. The Kraken absolute bodied the Berserkers in the hit category. No doubt they sent their visitors a bucket of ice after the game, because they beat them black and blue along the boards. There is a direct causation between Carolina hit numbers, their possession time, and their shots. Any good coach will tell you, control the puck, get pucks on net, and you win. And the Kraken did that with a bit of bump and grind this game.

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#10

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

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

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

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