Tuesday, June 16, 2020

NAHL Day 13 - One streak snapped, two streaks live on


Raiders players celebrate, image credit to ABC News

Mancunium snapped their losing streak, while Aquae Sulis wasn't so lucky, and Isca Town's remarkable run continues.

Mancunium Raiders 2, Newfield Rangers 1: The five-game losing streak is no more! The Raiders got their first win since beating Vinovium 5-3 back in the seventh game of the season. This one came at the expense of a suddenly slumping Newfield team. It was a pretty straightforward affair, which should give heart to Raiders fans going forward. Quinn Baird had a goal and an assist, and Heath Lindsay made 31 saves, only conceding late in the third period on a rebound when the Rangers had six skaters out. Overall, the Raiders controlled most of the game, snapped their losing streak, and picked up some important points. They are still in eleventh place, however, and will be looking to get back into the thick of things when they travel to Aquae Sulis next. The Rangers have now lost four straight, and it doesn't get any easier, as Isca Town will pay them a visit next.

Eboracum Sharpshooters 6, Aquae Sulis Bears 4: Two games, two shootouts, two wins for the Sharpshooters. Last game, they beat the Raiders 4-3, this time they took down the Bears 6-4. They took a 2-1 lead into the first period break, then led 4-2 after two, took a 6-2 lead, and held on as Aquae Sulis ran out of time for a comeback. They got goals from Jan Becker, Tim Smith, Glen Gray, Will Richardson, Alec Loveless, and Christian Ball in a balanced attack. The Bears' goalscorers were Nick May, Martin Wong, Cal Malone, and Kip Maddox. This is the fifth straight win for the Sharpshooters, leapfrogging them over the Royals and Caribou into fourth place. They also took over the goals scored lead from DC with this performance, 34 to 33. The Bears lost their fifth straight despite doubling their goal output during their previous four outings. They will try to right the ship against Mancunium, who just snapped their own losing streak.

Isca Town Captains 1, Vinovium Lumberjacks 0: Strange as it may sound for a team that has now won twelve in a row, the Captains got scattered boos throughout the night at home in this one. Having a home game against the struggling (to put it mildly) Lumberjacks, the fans expected a strong win with goals, excellent skating, and overall control. They got some good skating, but only one goal, and it was much more competitive than the fans would have liked. Vinovium threatened to take the lead on a couple of occasions, but Justin Smith denied them more than once. He ended up making 29 saves and was named the game's first star. Isca Town's Zeke Moseley scored the only goal at 14:27 of the second period. The Captains will try to stretch their winning streak to thirteen against the struggling Newfield Rangers, while Vinovium will host DC in a tough matchup.

Sept-Iles Whalers 0, Pons Aelius Steelers 0 (0-1 OT): The last time these two teams met, Pons Aelius bullied Sept-Iles, waited them out, and took advantage of a penalty to secure a 1-0 win. It was much more difficult this time. The Whalers were this close to a three-game winning streak; Gaston Fortin's shot at 19:45 of the third period beat Steelers netminder Brett McQueen, but pinged off the pipes and ricocheted away, where the Steelers were able to clear it out of danger. In overtime, center Joe Strickland beat Clement Charbonneau two minutes in to deliver the win for the road team. For Pons Aelius, this win keeps them two behind DC for second place; the Whalers can be encouraged in playing this one mostly level until the disappointing end. The Steelers will look to put a stop to the Sharpshooters' hot streak in their next matchup; Eboracum's been quietly sneaking up on them for a few games now. For the Whalers, they'll tangle with another good defensive team next; the Caribou. 

DC Oilers 2, Londinium Royals 1: If you ask DC head coach Sherm Willis what the Oilers' focus has been during Isca Town's incredible winning streak, he'll tell you not much has changed. "Winning streaks come and go, and we're not really interested in how other teams are doing. All we can control is how we play, so day in and day out, our focus is the same: win our next game." But it's hard to deny that the Captains have put some pressure on the Oilers. DC had the early lead, then they were tied, and now they need to win every game just to stay two points behind the Captains. They might have been feeling it a little, as they fell behind 1-0 early on a first-period goal from the Royals' Nico Nielsen. They didn't strike back until the third period, when Reed Harrison and Owen Jones scored in quick succession, 53 seconds apart, to take the lead for good. The home fans were cheering in the end, but it wasn't easy. The Royals have lost two in a row and slipped into a tie for fifth place. They will have an opportunity to make things right at home against Portus Abonae.

Portus Abonae Privateers 2, Labrador Caribou 2 (3-2 OT): Well, Labrador found the net again after being shut out twice in a row, but the Privateers found the net more. The two teams traded goals all game; Portus Abonae's Cliff Holt found the net at 5:34 of the first period for the early lead, but Victor Hall answered back at 16:55 to tie the game at one-all. Portus struck back when Labrador's Johnny Ramsey was whistled for tripping early in the second period. On the subsequent power play, Jordon Upshaw rifled one past Dave Francis for a 2-1 lead. The Privateers would hold that lead for nearly 30 minutes, before Don Betts hit the back of the net at 14:18 of the third for the Caribou. The game would go into overtime, but wouldn't last long, as Tad Baines scored just 56 seconds into overtime, taking a hard slap shot from near the blue line that caught Francis just a bit off guard. This was the Privateers' fifth win; if they can get a little momentum going, they can break out of the bottom half of the league. For the Caribou, this was their third straight loss. They'll look to shake this bugaboo when Sept-Iles comes to visit next. 

No comments:

Post a Comment