Saturday, June 20, 2020

NAHL Day 17 - Upset in Sept-Iles


A young couple on the Sept-Iles waterfront, image credit to Quebec Original

Sept-Iles goes headhunting, DC and Labrador get their goals on, and Vinovium is no longer alone in last place. 

Sept-Iles Whalers 0, Isca Town Captains 0 (2-1 SO): "Le Navire" was packed for this one. Despite the Whalers' recent struggles, when the Captains come to town, it's always a full house. More than 9,000 fans were screaming their heads off as the two teams battled back and forth, with Rene Kelly ringing the pipes and Jonathan Barnes making Clement Charbonneau make brilliant save after brilliant save. But it finally came down to the shootout. Charbonneau stopped Barnes and backup goalie Kerry McCormick stopped Gaston Fortin. But Kelly and Babin beat Fortin, while only Robbie Reid was able to get one by Charbonneau. Cheers and chants filled the arena as Jason Gross' shot was stopped, ending the game in victory for the Whalers. This is a much needed win for Sept-Iles, as it snaps a four-game losing streak for them. As for the Captains, they earn a point, which enables them to stay ahead of DC and Pons Aelius.

Portus Abonae Privateers 5, DC Oilers 6: Hard luck for the Privateers; five goals scored and all they have to show for it is their fourth consecutive loss. They recorded 33 shots on goal, but they conceded 37 and backup goalie Will Boone was not up to the challenge of stopping them all. Julian Stephens scored twice for the Oilers, and Reed Harrison and Malcolm Hogg had a goal and an assist each. Six goals for the Oilers gives them 49 for the season, or nearly three per game, leading the league. Their win puts them a single point behind Isca Town for second place, while the Privateers are sliding further down the standings. 

Aquae Sulis Bears 3, Labrador Caribou 6: 6-3 is a scoreline you're much more likely to see with Aquae Sulis participating than Labrador, but the Caribou have been surprising in the second round-robin. They've won four of six games, scoring 21 goals along the way. That's well over their usual average, and a big reason why they have continued to be competitive. In this game, they took a 3-0 lead in the first period, stretching it to 5-0 in the second before the Bears pulled back to 5-3 at 14:24 of the third period. It was a balanced attack, with Victor Hall, Stan Colvin, Philippe Laurent, Johnny Ramsey, Wade Hamilton, and Don Betts scoring a goal each. The Bears hit double-digit losses and are nine points back of a playoff spot. They will host the Royals, while Labrador gets Pons Aelius at home. For Aquae Sulis, they've got to be able to beat good teams, while the Caribou will try to keep the offensive streak going against the Steelers' stifling defense.

Eboracum Sharpshooters 3, Vinovium Lumberjacks 3 (1-0 SO): Eboracum had a tougher time than they expected, but they managed to take down the Lumberjacks and pick up a much-needed win. Tim Smith, Will Richardson, and Christian Ball scored for the Sharpshooters, who led 3-1 going into the third. Their defense wasn't up to the task in the third, though, as the Lumberjacks' Max Getz and Parker Martindale scored at 3:21 and 11:35 to tie the game. Then Glen Gray had the only, and winning, goal in the shootout. Vinovium loses their winning streak, but the point they picked up gives them ten for the year, tying them with Mancunium for eleventh place. Eboracum remains four points back of Londinium and Labrador, but in contention for fourth place.

Pons Aelius Steelers 4, Newfield Rangers 1: With DC and Labrador breaking out and scoring six goals, it looks like Pons Aelius didn't want to be left out. Unfortunately, they're not really capable of scoring six goals; it's not in their nature. But four goals is an explosion of offense for Pons Aelius, and they routed the Rangers. The Rangers did take a brief 1-0 lead, scoring the small victory of breaking the Steelers' streak of five consecutive shutouts. But they were buried under an avalanche of goals in the first and second periods, with Aaron Black, Brooks Worrell, Joe Strickland, and Hank Gross all scoring for Pons Aelius. You could tell the Steelers were itching for a rematch after the Rangers nipped them 1-0 in Newfield, and they took it out on a team that has now lost seven of their last eight games after a promising start. Newfield will try to get back on track versus another struggling team in Portus Abonae.

Mancunium Raiders 0, Londinium Royals 1: The Raiders have now lost four straight games, including three consecutive games by a 1-0 scoreline. That is a rough stretch. This one saw them look particularly out of sorts, outplayed by a more youthful and energetic Royals squad. Heath Lindsay made 31 saves on the night, or it could have looked a lot worse in front of the home fans. Nico Nielsen scored at 11:27 of the first for the game's only goal .With this loss and the point Vinovium picked up for their shootout loss to Eboracum, Mancunium and Vinovium are tied at the bottom of the standings. Meanwhile, Londinium picks up their 11th win to keep pace with Labrador for fourth place. 

No comments:

Post a Comment