Friday, June 19, 2020

NAHL Day 16 - Isca Town back in first


A trendy street in Isca Town, image credit to Discover Charlottetown

The Captains reclaim a first-place spot, Newfield snaps their losing streak, two rivalry games, and Vinovium on a winning streak?

Newfield Rangers 4, DC Oilers 3: What a way to snap a six-game losing streak! The Rangers host a top team in the Oilers, fall behind early, and rally to win it. When Julian Stephens and Owen Jones scored in the first period, many Newfield fans looked around. They knew the feeling. The Rangers have lost more than their fair share of games in the past few years, and a two-goal deficit felt almost insurmountable for a team that entered the night with an eleventh-ranked offense. But Toby Swan and Earl Switzer scored in the second period to draw the Rangers level, and Brady Dowell scored early in the third to put them up one! DC wasn't going to go easy, though, and Sammy Jensen beat backup goalie Bradley Gibbs at 9:59 to tie the game. With time winding down, Elliott Parish whacked a slap shot into the net with less than a minute to go. He was mobbed by his teammates and the Rangers were able to run out the clock on their losing streak. With their loss, the Oilers drop into a second-place tie with the Steelers. They will travel to Portus Abonae next, looking to take advantage of the Privateers' inconsistency and get back on the winning trail themselves. The Rangers scored more goals in this one than they scored during their entire losing streak, but goals will be hard to come by as they take on Pons Aelius next.

Isca Town Captains 3, Portus Abonae Privateers 2: The Captains are back on top! One game after losing their winning streak and their exclusive grip on first place, they bounce back to defeat Portus Abonae and, with DC's upset loss, they are alone in first again. Louis Tremblay, Robbie Reid, and Shaun Webster scored in the first twenty-five minutes to put Isca Town up 3-1, and despite a goal from the Privateers' Mike Henry at 14:41 of the third, they put the game to bed pretty easily. Their fourteenth win puts them two points clear of DC and Pons Aelius; they will travel to Sept-Iles next to try to preserve that edge. The Privateers have now lost three in a row and are floundering around a bit, nine points out of playoff position. They will need to get their act together against the Oilers next, or risk sinking further down the standings.

Pons Aelius Steelers 2, Aquae Sulis Bears 0: Aaron Black and Dirk Ziegler scored five minutes apart in the second period and Christophe Collier made 29 saves filling in for Brett McQueen as Pons Aelius throttled Aquae Sulis tonight. After the game, Collier gave credit to his d-men: "I'm incredibly lucky to play on a team with people like Dirk and Eric [Ferguson]. They hustle and hit hard and make my job a lot easier." With DC's loss and the Steelers' win, the two teams are now tied for second on 26 points. Pons Aelius has now won six in a row and recorded five consecutive shutouts, an impressive streak, though not as long as Isca Town's more than 400-minute streak earlier this year. They will face Newfield next, who upset them the last time out. Aquae Sulis had a two-game winning streak snapped. This was a missed opportunity for them; with Eboracum's loss, a win here would have meant they would nearly be level with the Sharpshooters and threatening fourth place. They will host Labrador next.

Vinovium Lumberjacks 0, Sept-Iles Whalers 0 (1-0 SO): Who'd a thunk it? The Lumberjacks have an actual winning streak now. They've won two straight and three of their last five, and now sit just a point behind Mancunium. Their winning streak came at the expense of the Whalers, who lost to the Royals late in regulation last game, and now lose in a shootout to Vinovium. The Whalers were starting backup goaltender Maxime Dugas, and he made 30 saves in regulation and overtime to push it to a shootout. Unfortunately, Kevin Morgan went top shelf to beat him in the shootout, and veteran goalie Mel Pinson denied Gaston Fortin, Rene Kelly, Denis Babin, James McDaniel, and Marc Levesque to seal the win. The Lumberjacks have a real chance to escape the cellar, even if it's just for a little while. They will have to jump on a Sharpshooters team that may be a little down after losing their rivalry game. The Whalers will host Isca Town next, and hope to get revenge after a 3-0 wipe-out on the road last time.

Londinium Royals 4, Eboracum Sharpshooters 4 (3-0 SO): Last time these two teams met, a pair of amazing goals from Sheldon Cook and Eric Benson gave the Royals a 2-1 regulation road win. This time, they needed a shootout to win in front of their home crowd, who were roaring all night for their beloved Royals. More than 13,000 fans rose to their feet when Ben Malone scored the opening goal for Londinium in the first, but Eboracum's Will Richardson answered back. In the second, it was Daniel Roberts giving his team back the lead, but the Sharpshooters' Christian Ball tied it. In the third, Thomas Bailey and Sheldon Cook scored, but were matched again by Glen Gray and Gavin Kirkwood. Overtime was scoreless, so it went to a shootout, where Eli Boyd made four saves, while Benson, Cook, and Roberts beat Wes Singleton on their first three shots to salt it away. Eboracum has now scored 17 goals in their last five games, but they only have a 2-2-1 record to show for it. They have allowed 15 goals in those five games, the likely culprit for their subpar performance. The Royals will try to avoid a trap game at Mancunium next, while the Sharpshooters have fallen four back of the Royals and Caribou in the race for fourth.

Labrador Caribou 1, Mancunium Raiders 0: With Labrador's win in this rivalry game, all of the home teams won tonight. Before this game, the home win rate had been slightly under 50% (44/90); this now boosts it up to 52.1%. Teams are holding their own on the road. But here the home team Labrador triumphed. They got a goal from Wade Hamilton at 12:48 of the second period, the only shot of 32 that Heath Lindsay allowed past. He just wasn't supported by his offense. The Raiders' 25 goals in 16 games is just under 1.6/game, a rate which ranks eighth in the league. Their 35 goals allowed are tied with Portus Abonae and Aquae Sulis for eighth. They may have been a bit unlucky, but their efforts are not cutting the mustard. They will host Londinium next; the Raiders defeated the Royals last time, so Londinium will be out for revenge. Labrador remains tied with the Royals for 4th. 

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