It was an absolute barn-burner in Anchorage in this early season contest between these two teams battling toward the bottom of playoff position where every point counts. The Colorado Raptors managed to eke out a victory of 4-3 in overtime against the Armada with an incredible third period comeback.
The game opened with a very early goal from Colorado from Tony Pepperoni, his second of the season, less than two minutes into the game. You could see the Armada deflate on the bench, coach’s fluster was very visible in his body language. It sounded as though all the air in the arena had been sucked out. However, Anchorage managed to battle back. It took some time, but with just under five minutes remaining in the period Geno Natostado scored his first of the season and brought it back even.
With it coming back even, it appeared Colorado became frustrated. This frustrating metastasized in the form of a Vladimir Vaskov holding penalty which put the Armada on the man advantage. Anchorage won the ensuing face-off, but the puck was driven out of the zone still. This is where the breakout came into play. Off the bench, Grayson St. Raegan took the puck up the middle and read the weak points of the defense. He may have reacted incorrectly, putting the puck to Cameron Carter II on the wing while a defender was able to close in on him. He wrapped the puck around the boards where Doug Dimmadome became entwined in a board battle.
When the puck squirted free, Tucker Baloo was there. He took one step back and lofted it off the boards back to Dimmadome as the defense tried to pressure high. Dimmadome drove in towards the net, gave a no-look pass over to a collapsing defender in Jordan Von Matt who rifled home a one-timer glove side to take the lead.
The excitement would largely leave for the second period, as the teams obviously both enjoyed a ferocious pep talk from their respective coaches. They evenly split the penalties, however Colorado had Derek Deffner out for a double minor late in the period.
This turned into a big turning point as within moments of Deffner being released from the penalty box, the Armada scored. Taking you back to it, Deffner was able to recover into the defensive zone to make it even numbers-wise. However, he seemed to lose his bearings quickly and miss his marks routinely. The Armada were able to make a change while maintaining possession, and at exactly twelve seconds after the penalty expired – Tucker Baloo wristed a shot through traffic and past Scottey Crawfling to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
Into the third, it’s a two-goal lead for Anchorage, the building is booming and things seem all but sealed with the momentum heavily favoring Anchorage.
Nonetheless, it doesn’t take long for that momentum to shift. Under five minutes into the period, Nate Forsberg finishes off a tic-tac-toe play and scores his second goal of the season. Nearly six minutes later, Troy McClure III dumps the puck in for a line change. Anchorage falls back to collect, Rex Kirkby takes the puck from Benjamin Blue and goes racing up ice. He fires a pass across the ice and Maui jumps into the play to intercept!
With the line changes coming into play, Philipp Winter was just coming off the bench. Looking to make up for his error, Kirkby chases the puck and challenges Maui. However, this leaves Winter open behind him and Maui lobs a pass forward just past the blue line for Winter to chase and drive into the zone with, finishing with a pretty forehand-backhand move to tie the game up halfway through the final frame.
That would prove not to be the final frame, as we headed to overtime here in Anchorage this evening. Nearing the final minute of the overtime period, Grayson St. Raegan shot the puck into the Colorado zone for a line change. Sachimo Zoidberg Jr collected the puck in the zone and made a quick turn up ice to drive play forward in the fast-paced extra frame. Seeing his opportunity with the line change, he swings the puck out wide to Troy McClure III. McClure enters the zone, cuts back toward the middle and fakes a shot. He drops the puck off backhand to Tony Pepperoni, the first goal scorer of this evening. With the defense following McClure and the backcheck late to the party, Pepperoni takes two steps inward toward the hashmarks and fires the shot under the blocker arm behind Benjamin Blue!
Colorado leaves with the 4-3 overtime victory, earning one extra point over Anchorage this evening. However, both teams came to play and despite the early goal, the crowd became heated and excited for the action.
THREE STARS
FIRST STAR: Tony Pepperoni – 2 goals on 6 shots, +1, Over 14 minutes played with 2:46 on the powerplay
SECOND STAR: Nate Forsberg – 1 goal on 4 shots, 2 hits, +2, 7 wins on 17 face-offs, played over 15 minutes.
THIRD STAR: Tucker Baloo – 1 goals and 2 assists on 1 shot, 2 shot blocks, +1, 2 PIMs, played over 23 minutes.
An old man's dream ended. A young man's vision of the future opened wide. Young men have visions, old men have dreams. But the place for old men to dream is beside the fire.
TSN Turning Point: For our TSN turning point we take you to 3:13 of the third. A tired bunch of Colorado Raptors are on the ice when Nico Wallner ices the puck. With out a time out, and down by 2 goals this could by the end of the Raptors night if the Armada score. Big faceoff, Colorado loses the faceoff, Doug Dimmadome teas up the shot and Scottey Crawling with the massive save! No Rebound. Huge save and momentum shifts. The raptors are going up the ice after the ensuing faceoff. Sulak O'Hritea with the slapper, blocked by Tucker! Puck squirts out to Gvidas Kazlauskas who wires one just wide of the net, loose puck picked up by Nate Forsberg.... GOAL! And they Raptors are with in one. This goal would set up the eventual 4-3 comeback OT win.
Welcome to our player spotlight of the game, and who other to take a look at than Tony Pepperoni, first star of the game and the guy who both opened the scoring and ended it. Two goals on six shots and all that in just over 14 minutes of ice time - that's what I call a solid game for the youngster. The Colorado Raptors have struggled early on but if their rookies can perform like Pepperoni did this game then I could see the team contending for the playoffs soon. Pepperoni showed a nice variation of skills there as well, his first goal was a nice one-timed snipe that left the goalie no chance whereas his OT goal saw him sit there with the puck on his stick for a second or two after a beautiful set-up by Troy McClure, and he made no mistake and buried it finding just the spot where the goalie was a tad bit open. A great night for Pepperoni and a good win for the Colorado Raptors!
Bonk Registered
S25, S37 Challenge Cup Champion and a pretty pretty princess
It is a good game to write about when the game’s number one star is Tony Pepperoni and that is the case when writing about Game 33 of the SMJHL S43, when Colorado Raptors played Anchorage Armada. During that game, Mr. Pepperoni scored two goals and secured the Number 1 Star for the game. Nate Forsberg and Tucker Baloo rounded out the other two stars of the game. Forsberg was rewarded with second star of the game for his one goal and two hits. While Mr. Baloo was rewarded the third goal of the game for one goal, two assists, and his two blocked shots in a losing effort for the Armada.
Well, well, well, we are back for another Fail of the game, brought to you for your entertainement by Harvey's.
Today's fail isn't completely on the player's fault, his equipment is definitely to blame for this funny video. It happened in the second half of the second period, right after the 15 minutes mark, when Colorado Raptors forward Zakhar Turakov came in the Armada Zone on the one-man rush on the penalty kill. What he thought would be a good scoring opportunity turned to disaster when his stick broke clean in half and Turakov ended up losing his balance and falling on the ice. Jordan Von Matt picked the free puck up, but the Armada couldn't complete on the power-play.
Tonight we take a look at the penalties from game 33, Colorado Raptors vs Anchorage Armada
First Period
-Jake Reid is called for Roughing at 2:22. With Anchorage's first power play underway early, this would be the time to take control of the game and set the pace. unfortunately, Colorado's PK unit shuts them down with ease and prevents any shots on net.
-Kalle Spolader of the Armada is called for Tripping at 5:00. With Colorado's first chance with the man advantage, the produce 4 shots, though 2 only reached the net. Anchorage goalie Benjamin Blue shuts down both quality chances.
-Colorado would be down again when Troy McClure III is called for Goalie Interference at 8:29. Anchorage bench was in a rage when McClure III drove right into Blue causing the goalie to loose his cage. The crowd was calling for his head. You would think with that fuel that Anchorage would come out swinging, but that wasn't the case. Producing 2 shots on net they ended up being shut down once again by the Raptors strong PK unit.
-Vladimir Vaskov is called for Holding at 16:18, this time the Armada's PP unit showed up. On a shot from Jax Aittokallio, Bust would deflect and Crawfling would pad it away to Jordan Von Matt's stick for him to bury it at 17:12. The Armada get their PP goal to take a 2-1 lead over Colorado.
End of the first period, Anchorage leads 2-1.
Second period
-Tucker Baloo would be called right out the gate for Hooking at 0:30. The Raptors would come on strong but only produce 1 shot which was gloved down by Benjamin Blue.
- Nico Wallner is called for tripping at 4:21, Colorado is down a man once again. The Raptors PK unit completely shut down all chances for the Armada. So much so, they were forcing the Armada to play in their own end and ice the puck to catch a breath.
-Sulak O'Hritea is sent to the sin bin for Goalie Interference at 8:16. He would be the second player tonight to take a jab at Blue. The Raptors PK unit is strong once again and even generate offense with 1 shot while down a man.
-Derrek Deffner is called for a double minor at 15:05, for not only pushing to much after the whistle, but for a cheap shot to the back of the head. During this Armada Power Play, we would see 5 shots, 2 of which made it to the net to be saved by Raptor goalie Scotty Crawfling.
End of Second Period, Anchorage leads 3-1.
Third Period
-Rex Kirby is visually angry with Colorado's aggressive play. He takes a holding call at 13:26. While he sat in the penalty box he saw his team's PK unit struggle to keep Colorado at bay. The Raptors had 6 shots, with 3 making it to Benjamin Blue. Luckly, Blue was on top of his game and blocked them all.
-Katsou Yamaguchi is called for Hooking at 17:32. This late in the game, with the game tied up a few moments earlier, Yamaguchi shows no discipline it gets the best of him. Raptors goalie Crawfling blocks the only shot and the last few seconds of the period come to a close.
End of Third Period, Tied at 3.
Overtime
There was no Penalties in the extra minutes but Colorado would go on to win it.
Even though Colorado was in and out of the penalty box all game, they somehow managed to come up with the W. With all the chances Anchorage had, the should have been able to produce more goals for the amount of time they had with the man advantage. Colorado's aggressive play really showed tonight with how they wore down the Armada special teams units. While Colorado's play may need to be examined after 2 goalie interference calls, they played a hard hitting game and deserved the win.
PIM Leaders of The Game Derek Deffner 4PIM Vladimir Vaskov 2PIM Troy McClure III 2PIM
Today's game write up will focus on Game #33 of the season.
Colorado vs Anchorage
Colorado enters this one looking for redemption and a win having lost 4 straight, Anchorage is looking to remain hot having won 2 in a row which includes a 6-4 win over the Raptors.
Key Moments
The key moment for the Raptors came in the 3rd when Nate Forsberg scored and gave his team the spark that would burn away the Armada lead and give the Raps the win. Anchorage moment occurred during the 2nd intermission, the Armada came out flat and with seemingly no effort left let the win slip from their clutches.
Star of the Game
Tony Pepperoni scored the opening goal and the Overtime winner for Colorado.
07-25-2018, 10:40 PM(This post was last modified: 07-25-2018, 10:43 PM by hats_4_days.)
Today's Barstool Player of the Game is Tony Pepperoni of the Colorado Raptors and its not even close. His name was all over the place having scored a goal in the first period to open the scoring and the last goal in overtime to win the game. Putting in the first and last goals must be a good feeling and will only help the young rookies confidence moving forward, and having played over 14 minutes in today's game just shows the confidence the club has in his play and with that being said young Pepperoni is also named the Barstool Rookie of the Game. If the Young Raptor keeps producing like he did in tonight's game he will be given more ice time to prove himself going forward and make a bid for top line minutes.
DRAFTED 30TH OA S43
S42 WJC GOLD MEDAL
JESTER AWARD FINALIST S45
S45 ALL ROOKIE TEAM
S50 IIHF GOLD MEDAL
S52 CHALLENGE CUP CHAMPION
Wasty Registered
S10, S12, S17 Challenge Cup Champion
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Player: Niclas Wastlund
Coming into game thirty three of the season Colorado had played nine games and Anchorage eight. With almost a fifth of the season gone the new rookies should have started to find their feet. We're going to take this opportunity to analyse each of their game in depth and see how they have adapted to playing against other top drawer rookies and multi season pros starting with Colorado.
Preston Wreiss.
Not too much to say about the 9th round draft pick out of Sweden. Despite being an offensive D man he was utilised only on the penalty kill and barely achieved more than a minute of ice time. It appears that he hasn't been putting the work in at practice and was used mainly to give the rest of the D core a breather. Despite this he was relatively tidy of the puck completing all three passes he made.
Jake Reid.
The tough 7th round defenseman out of Ireland had a good showing in his own end this game. Racking up almost twenty three minutes with 2:36 coming on the powerplay and anchoring the penalty kill with 5:21. He picked up an early roughing penalty on Sean Stevenson Jr. in the first period but as a hard hitting enforcer these are to be expected. He made two interceptions and also willingly sacrificed his body with two shot blocks, one being a goal saver after the puck was redirected in front by Mohammad McLovin. A part of his game that definitely needs work though is his passing. Reid only managed to string four of his fourteen passes together and also cost the Raptors a goal scoring opportunity when he was hit hard in the Armada zone while holding onto the puck for too long.
Katsuo Yamaguchi.
Yamaguchi went undrafted and looks like a great free agent pick up by Colorado. With limited time on the right side of the third pair Yamaguchi bagged himself an assist, a hit and two shot blocks. He took a late hooking penalty in the third which could have ended up costing the Raptors but the resulting powerplay came to nought. He completed more passes than any other rookie D man with twenty eight and also made ten interceptions proving his worth both going forwards and backwards. He does however need to keep his head up as he was twice rocked by big hits while moving the puck up the ice.
Overall a pretty good showing by the Colorado rookies, lets see how the new boys from Anchorage held up.
Jonatan Back.
The big Swede was a healthy scratch for this game and after being selected at 15th overall this has got to be a real disappointment for both him and Anchorage. Word going around is that he is often absent without leave and for both his and the organisations sake lets hope he gets his head together and shows what he can do later in the season.
Tucker Baloo.
The early tenth round pick came into the game leading the Anchorage rookie scoring charts amongst defensemen and he kept it up this game. Tallying up three points with a goal and two assists the Armada looked dangerous every time Baloo took the ice. Finishing the game a +1 with over twenty three minutes of ice time, 6:36 on the powerplay and 1:40 on the penalty kill, he was leaned on heavily. He took an inconsequential hooking call in the second and misplaced eight of his twenty seven passes but otherwise was a continual threat in the Raptors end. On top of this he made more interceptions than any of the other rookie D men with twelve and found the time to block two shots. This impressive performance earned him the third star.
Sean Stevenson Jr.
The defensive minded American is another player showing there is great value outside of the draft. Although he finished the game a -1 he was busy around the ice grabbing a hit, two shot blocks and close to sixteen minutes of ice time. Used in both special teams units Stevenson's passing was very tidy completing a total of seventeen of his twenty two passes while also breaking up the play with nine interceptions. Stevenson was often instructed to dump the puck in to get line changes but this is often the life of a third pairing defenseman. However he made the most of his time on the ice by skilfully shuffling the puck around the ice and managed to draw a penalty even though nothing came of it.
Rex Kirkby.
The 42nd overall pick was the second defenseman taken by Anchorage. He ended the night with over twenty two minutes of ice time with 6:19 on the powerplay. On top of this he finished the game a -1, a shot as well as two penalty minutes for a holding call. Kirkby completed the second most passes of the rookie D men with twenty three but will be disappointed by passing the puck away a huge twelve times. He did contribute desfensively though by making eight interceptions and And using his body to twice turn over the puck.
Credit to Ml002, King, Wasty, Carpy, Bruins10, Rum_Ham, Turd Ferguson, Ragnar and Enigmatic for the sigs.
Faceoffs takes up a big role in today's hockey. Everytime you win a draw you get possession of the puck. The more your team have the puck, the more scoring chance you get and vice-versa. Which is why Centers take pride in winning them draws and why coaches love center men who do win them.
Anchorage Armada: 65 wins on 92 faceoff taken (70,6%)
Colorado Raptors: 27 wins on 92 faceoff taken (29,4%)
The Anchorage Armada completely dominated the Raptors in the dot.
The winner and the loser for today's game:
Winner: Anchorage Armada's center Jax Aittokallio with 21 wins on 26 faceoff taken (80,8%)
Loser: Colorado Raptors' center Zakhar Turakov with 9 wins on 25 faceoff taken (36,0%)
Tony Pepperoni had a spectacular showing in this game. He started off his night getting his second goal of the season just 1:14 seconds into the game. This goal was assisted by another rookie Katsuo Yamagachi, and Nico Wallner. This really helped to push the Colorado team that had only managed one win in the season so far. He also helped really push them over the edge when he scored less then a minute into overtime and won pulled a win out for the Raptors.
Welcome back to our Player of The Game segment for the recent matchup between the Colorado Raptors and Anchorage Armada.
It was a clear choice tonight as we're choosing Tony Pepperoni! Pepperoni played an excellent game scoring both the first goal as well as the game winner in OT! His first goal came as early as 1:14 of the first period to open up the scoring for the Raptors. There was some amazing passing leading up to the goal and we got some tic-tac-toe action!
Tony Pepperoni 2 (Nico Wallner 2, Katsuo Yamaguchi 1) at 1:14
Pepperoni's second goal of the night came in the last 56 seconds of overtime! Pepperoni received yet another great pass, this time from Troy McClure III. Pepperoni was able to beat Benjamin Blue on his stick side for the game winner.
Tony Pepperoni 3 (Troy McClure III 5, Sachimo Zoidberg Jr. 5) at 4:04
Tony Pepperoni is everything that is wrong with this league. Tonight he skates away with 2 goals and everyone sings his praises, but if we look a little deeper at this weeks performance we will see that he is nothing more than poo covered in icing. First, 0/5 on the draw. Back in my day, players could spare a little of their time to try and do some simple things like tie up a draw. It seems like Pepperoni is too busy cherry picking to try and win a draw. With no assist, Pepperoni is doing nothing but throwing pizzas up to his teammates. How about this guy tries and creates a little offense instead of waiting to tap in his linemates work. Finally, the two biggest zeroes 0 hits and 0 blocked shots. I'm surprised Colorados coach was able to stomach him for 14 seconds let alone 14 minutes! I guess that's where today's game is going. I for one might start watching basketball so I can see a little bit of physicality. (175 words)
Gaia Mormont IIHF Federation Head
S18, S34, S38 Challenge Cup Champion
Week Two. Game 33. Colorado Raptors versus Anchorage Armada
Analysis of the First Star: Tony Pepperoni
The Colorado Raptors were having a tough go at the beginning of the season but this was one game they figuratively pulled out of their asses. The first star, Tony Pepperoni was fundamental in the victory, assuring the Colorado management that this kid was an amazing pick in the draft.
He ripped one onto the scoreboard just over a minute into the first period. A gorgeous set up by Katsuo Yamaguchi, with a quick flip to Nico Wallner who then left a nice drop pass for Pepperoni to smack it into the net. A play they have clearly practiced before, but all that practice definitely paid off.
Tony played more of a support roll the rest of regulation time but he showed up again in overtime when it really mattered. At 4:04 of the extra period, Colorado's star defenseman Maui made a sacrifice of his shins to block a shot. Pepperoni picked up the loose puck and skated end to end to make a stunning move at the last second and poke it past the Anchorage goalie and win the game for his team. A well deserved first star.
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