The colorful Battery neighborhood in Londinium, image credit to Travel Zoo
In close games, Isca Town triumphs over Pons Aelius, Londinium and Eboracum win in overtime, and Vinovium sends Labrador to another home loss.
Pons Aelius Steelers 0, Isca Town Captains 1: The last time these two titans played, it ended 0-0 after overtime, and Isca Town took the shootout 2-1. There was a single, solitary goal this time, but Isca Town won again. After two periods of excellent glove, stick, and pad work from both netminders (McQueen and Smith), Robbie Reid found the net at 5:26 of the third period, sneaking one in under the pads of McQueen. The Steelers threatened, but their offense isn't good enough to match up against Isca Town when the Captains don't make a mistake. The win puts Isca Town alone in first on 35 points. These head-to-head wins against top teams are key to get separation at the top and potentially break ties for playoff seeding. Isca Town will host Labrador next, while the Steelers get the opposite of a breather: a matchup against DC for second place.
Londinium Royals 0, Newfield Rangers 0 (1-0 OT): Either the Royals have a talent for winning close games, or they're lucky. During their six-game winning streak that was snapped last game, they won four one-goal games and two in shootouts. Here tonight, they couldn't break down Rangers goalie Augustin Gauthier until the waning moments of overtime, despite putting 34 shots on net. What won this game for them was their ability to limit Newfield's attack; the Rangers found themselves under constant pressure, unable to easily move the puck from the defensive to offensive zone. Even when they got it into their opponents' end, the Royals were pesky on defense, sticks and skates seemingly everywhere. The Royals' offense hasn't been spectacular; in fact, it's been fairly weak for the league, but their defense has carried them through. They are still in fourth place, playoff position. For the Rangers, the key here was surviving the onslaught and earning a point for going to overtime. While nine points behind Londinium for the playoffs, their grinding style could earn them a top-half finish, which would be a great result for a team that has struggled so much recently.
Eboracum Sharpshooters 4, Sept-Iles Whalers 4 (5-4 OT): This one was wild and woolly, which suited the Sharpshooters just fine. The lead changed hands three times, with Eboracum going in front 1-0, then Sept-Iles going up 3-1, then Eboracum charging back to take a 4-3 lead before conceding an equalizer with barely twenty seconds remaining on the clock. Glen Gray had his second of the night at 3:34 of overtime to end it in favor of the Sharpshooters. Both teams showed a lot of fight in this one, and the 9,800 fans in attendance roared their approval. The Whalers are a young team, which has its ups and downs. They can pour it on as they did when going up 3-1 or they can find the energy for a late equalizer, but they can also collapse like they did in giving up their 3-1 lead. They did get one point from it, which helps. Eboracum will travel to pesky Newfield, while the Whalers will host a Mancunium side with a leaky defense.
Labrador Caribou 0, Vinovium Lumberjacks 1: It was no 5-1 beatdown, but the Lumberjacks got revenge for their 5-1 defeat that cost former head coach Robert Petrie his job. And even sweeter, they broke the hearts of Labrador's home fans in the bargain. The game was scoreless for the first two periods, and looked like it was heading to overtime when it remained scoreless fifteen minutes into the third period. But Max Getz rifled one by Pete Henderson, Labrador's backup goalie, at 15:54 to finally put the Lumberjacks up. In the ensuing four minutes of regulation, the Caribou rang the pipes twice and forced Mel Pinson to make multiple good saves, but he was up to the task and the Lumberjacks skated off with the win. Vinovium has gone 5-4-1 over their last ten games, good for a .500 record and 11 points. That's an acceptable pace and one that might remove the "interim" tag from Dean Collins if it continues. Labrador has now lost three straight home games, and losing to the bottom-feeding Lumberjacks stings. They'll travel to Isca Town to try to knock off the leaders.
Aquae Sulis Bears 2, DC Oilers 3: It came down to the last three minutes of the game, and it came down to a power play. DC's Sammy Jensen beat Art Morrison with a wicked slap shot at 17:54 of the third to give the Oilers the win. Oilers head coach Sherm Willis was ecstatic after the game, saying, "Our attack's the best in the league; when [Bears forward Nick] May took that penalty, I knew we were going to win. You can't give our team a man advantage late in the game and not expect us to convert." The win keeps the Oilers one back of Pons Aelius and three back of Isca Town in the race for first. DC gets the Steelers at home next game, and since they lost their first matchup and the Steelers knocked them out of first place, they've been waiting for this one. It will be another major matchup to end the second round-robin and will be key in determining playoff position or even first place. For the Bears, this was a missed opportunity. They competed hard and skated well at home with one of the best teams in the league, but a badly timed penalty cost them a chance at at least one point. They will try to regroup against rival Portus Abonae, who are building a bit of momentum.
Mancunium Raiders 2, Portus Abonae Privateers 4: This was a complete game for the Privateers, something they've really struggled to put together in recent weeks. Jordon Upshaw, Cliff Holt, mike Henry, and Scottie Richards all scored in the first two periods to basically put this one to bed before the last twenty minutes. They led 4-0 going into the third, and so Todd Hagan and Brandon Scanlon's goals were essentially meaningless. This is Portus Abonae's second consecutive win after a string of six straight losses, which gives head coach Ken Keller some hope: "We've dealt with some losing streaks here early in the season, but I think the boys are starting to round into form. We've got our rivalry game against the Bears next, and we're definitely going to be ready." The Privateers will indeed take on Aquae Sulis next, and the two teams are very close in the standings, so it should be exciting. Mancunium's lost two in a row and gets Sept-Iles next, as they try to avoid getting leapfrogged by a suddenly competent Vinovium squad.
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