The Steelers' home arena in Pons Aelius, image credit to Centre 200
After a few games of a tie at the top, one team has broken away. Plus, the Royals, Sharpshooters, Whalers, and Privateers end their first round-robin on a good note.
Pons Aelius Steelers 2, DC Oilers 1: We've been waiting for this one for a while. These two talented teams are always in the playoff conversation and their head-to-head matchups go a long way towards determining a regular-season victor. The Oilers were hotter and on a serious goal-scoring streak (21 goals in five games), but the Steelers had the home crowd behind them and Brett McQueen in net. He made 33 saves, only allowing a single goal, a shot from Julian Stephens that he was being heavily screened on, courtesy of Shane Manning. It was a good goal, but it came at 17:34 of the third period and the Oilers just didn't have enough time to break through for a second goal. The Steelers got a heavy slap shot from Hank Gross and a sharp one-timer from Aaron Black in the first to build a 2-0 lead, and then they just sat on it from there. When the Steelers go up 2-0, it's a good bet they'll win. They don't make a habit of conceding multi-goal leads. It's a big win for them, as it snaps their two-game losing streak and keeps them in third place so far. DC will travel to Labrador next and Pons Aelius will host Portus Abonae.
Labrador Caribou 0, Isca Town Captains 3: Ten in a row. It is officially a double-digit win streak for the Captains, and what a way to do it. The Captains outshot the Caribou 32-21, controlled nearly 60% of the possession, and shut them out. Jason Gross, Robbie Reid, and Jonathan Barnes all scored, one in each period for a methodical victory. They've outscored their opponents 17-8 during this streak and with DC's loss, now are alone atop the league. Labrador has been competitive in the first round-robin, but they were just outplayed tonight. Six wins from eleven games is good for them, and they are sitting on 15 points and in fourth place. The challenge for them is sustaining this level of play across the whole season.
Londinium Royals 5, Vinovium Lumberjacks 3: For Vinovium, it's "meet the new loss, same as the old loss." One game after firing head coach Robert Petrie, the Lumberjacks succumbed 5-3 on the road to a surging Royals team. Winners of two straight coming into the game, Londinium took a 2-0 first period lead on their home ice, courtesy of Daniel Roberts at 8:02 and Thomas Bailey at 15:37. They stretched it to 4-0 early in the second when Eric Benson scored on a power play at 2:39 and Sheldon Cook beat Mel Pinson on a rebound attempt three minutes later. But despite the loss, give Vinovium some credit. After falling behind 4-0, they got goals from Max Getz and Roman Massey to close the deficit to 4-2 by the end of the period. But they couldn't complete the rally in the third, and fall to 1-9-1. There are still many games to go, but it already feels like a lost season for the Lumberjacks. The Royals have won three straight and are tied with Labrador for the final playoff spot.
Eboracum Sharpshooters 0, Newfield Rangers 0 (1-0 OT): It feels like every time the Rangers lose, we remark on how tough it is to beat them. They have seven losses, but four of them came in overtime or via the shootout, and two of their three regulation losses have come by a single goal. But as tough as it is to beat them, four wins against seven losses means they have been all too beatable. They're hanging tough in seventh place, but they need wins if they're going to be competitive. They also have multiple shootout wins, and all this extra hockey is going to catch up to them at some point. As for the Sharpshooters, they've now won three in a row and clawed their way back into sixth place, two points out of a playoff spot. It hasn't always been pretty hockey, but some have criticized the team for lacking fortitude in prior seasons, so grinding it out may not be the worst thing for this club. Will Richardson ended the game at 3:22 of overtime, snapping a wrister past Augustin Gauthier.
Mancunium Raiders 0, Sept-Iles Whalers 1: The Whalers finally cured their road woes with a 1-0 victory over Mancunium. They had previously been winless, going 0-4-0 without as much as a single point from their road games. But Gaston Fortin's goal at 13:51 of the first period put them up, and they never looked back. This snaps a three-game losing streak for the Whalers. 4-6-1 and on 9 points (10th place) isn't exactly where they'd like to be after the first round robin, but they're only four points back of sixth, and this is a young team that has time to improve. As for the Raiders, Markus Lehmann played well in net in relief of Heath Lindsay, making 28 saves, but he couldn't stop them from losing their fourth straight game. Their -5 goal differential suggests they haven't played awfully, but they will need better play all around. This isn't what they spent money in the offseason for.
Aquae Sulis Bears 1, Portus Abonae Privateers 2: Archie Cole and Jordon Upshaw scored within 45 seconds of each other in the third period, shocking a Bears team that had held a lead for almost 39 minutes. Nick May had scored at 11:15 of the first, and Art Morrison had made it stand up, stopping 22 shots to that point. But at 9:34 of the third and then again at 10:16, the Privateers found the back of the net, tying and then taking the lead. The Privateers have now won two straight and are four points back of Londinium and Labrador for the last playoff spot. They'll hope their momentum continues and they return to their usual competitive form. As for the Bears, they've lost three in a row, and with it, their chance at a winning record through the first eleven games. They will host Sept-Iles in their next game and try to bounce back.
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