Oilers celebrate their shootout win, Credit to Movember
We saw some fun results from around the league on Opening Night, from a literal shootout between DC and Labrador to two figurative shootouts featuring a total of 16 goals. Also, one high-flying team from last year lost their opening game, but who?
DC Oilers 2, Labrador Caribou 2 (3-2 SO): In a tougher than expected game for the Oilers, it took three periods, a five-minute overtime, and a five-round shootout for them to prevail. The Oilers took a 1-0 lead six minutes in on an Owen Jones (LW) wrister, and held it until the second period was winding down, when the Caribou's Victor Hall found the net, beating Ted Carpenter, who'd made 18 saves to that point. Perhaps buoyed by the momentum, Hall found teammate and D-man Philippe Laurent early in the third for a 2-1 lead. But DC struck back when Julian Stephens scored on a rebound from Labrador netminder Dave Francis. The game headed to overtime, where both netminders swallowed up any chances. In the shootout, while both goalies conceded on the first two shots, Carpenter stiffened his resolve, not allowing any of the other three shots in, and the Oilers' Sammy Jensen (RW) beat Francis stick side on the fifth shot for the final margin. The Caribou can take solace that they notched at least a point for taking it to overtime.
Isca Town Captains 1, Londinium Royals 2: The Captains, who lost just ten games last year, dropped their season opener at home to the Royals. Royals head man Paul Bowman remarked, "We really wanted to make a splash this year and challenge for the title. What better way than beating last year's regular season champs on their home ice?" And they certainly did. The Captains rely on stifling defense and competent offense, but they looked a little sluggish out on the ice tonight. They fell behind 2-0 going into the third period, and while they picked it up, scoring at 15:44, it wasn't enough. The Royals' young duo of Eric Benson and Sheldon Cook had a goal and an assist each.
Sept-Iles Whalers 5, Aquae Sulis Bears 4: Whenever the Bears play, you're likely to see a lot of goals. And whenever the Bears play a game like that, they're likely to end up on the wrong side of the scorecard. It was that kind of game in Sept-Iles, as the back-and-forth affair saw the teams tie or take the lead nine times, with the Whalers finally prevailing. Nick May had a goal and two assists to lead the Bears, but his shot dinged off the post late in the third period with his team trailing 5-4. For the Whalers, it was 25 year-old Gaston Fortin leading the way. He scored twice, once to tie the game at three, and once to give the Whalers the 5-4 lead, and he also assisted on Rene Kelly's opening goal. Whalers fans hope this will be a sign of lots of goals and further success to come. We shall see.
Eboracum Sharpshooters 4, Mancunium Raiders 3: In the other shootout of Opening Night, the Sharpshooters prevailed over a tricky Raiders team. Quinn Baird, the Raiders' new center, helped them to jump out to leads of 2-0 and 3-1, contributing a goal and an assist. But their other new acquisition, former Steelers backup goalie Heath Lindsey, proved unable to stop a Sharpshooters onslaught. Over the final 24:32, the Sharpshooters racked up 18 shots and three goals, led by the dynamic duo of Glen Gray and Tim Smith, who had a goal and an assist each, but it was third-line center Jan Becker, from Germany, who had the winning goal at 17:33 of the third period.
Portus Abonae Privateers 1, Pons Aelius Steelers 3: It wasn't full of goals, but it was a matchup between two playoff teams from last year. Even so, the Steelers' output of three goals is a veritable explosion by their standards. They prefer to play 1-0 games, methodically crushing their opponents, but the Privateers sped them up a bit, scoring a goal at 4:21 of the first period from Jordon Upshaw and putting the Steelers in an early hole. After that, the Privateers would notch just 13 shots actually on goal, as the Steelers' blue line blocked an additional 11, stifling the Privateers' up-tempo attack. While they trailed 1-0 going into the first period break, Dirk Ziegler tied the game with a massive slap shot when Portus' Mike Henry was whistled for hooking at 3:15. Another hefty d-man, Eric Ferguson, crowding Privateers netminder "Rusty" Barbour, deflected a shot from one of his teammates past Barbour and into the net for a 2-1 lead midway through the third period. Forward Hank Gross added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds to provide the final margin after the Privateers yanked Barbour with two minutes to go.
Vinovium Lumberjacks 0, Newfield Rangers 2: In a game that won't attract much attention, between two teams not expected to make a lot of noise, the Rangers claimed an impressive 2-0 victory on Opening Night. Both of these teams have been overshadowed by other sports in their city, and they want to prove to fans they're worth supporting. Before a less-than-capacity crowd, the Rangers controlled the possession effectively, found the open man on a power play, and even managed to notch a short-handed goal to draw first blood. When Graham Drummond deflected a Lumberjacks pass, speedy winger Brady Dowell pounced on the puck, blew by the defenders, deked goalie Mel Pinson, and buried the puck in the top left corner of the net. If the Rangers can keep this up against better competition, they'll be a dark horse for the playoffs.
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