Tuesday, June 30, 2020

NAHL Day 24 - Whalers finally break down Steelers' defense


Whalers players celebrate after taking down Pons Aelius, image credit to Global News

Pons Aelius concedes three goals for the first time, Londinium slides while Eboracum gains, and Isca Town whomps Vinovium.

Pons Aelius Steelers 2, Sept-Iles Whalers 3: Talk about different. In these teams' first two encounters, both games ended 1-0 in favor of the Steelers. In Pons Aelius' first 23 games, they never conceded more than two goals. Well, now both things have changed. Not only did the Whalers win (on the road, no less), but they put three pucks past Brett McQueen and the Steelers defense for the first time this season. Rene Kelly and Denis Babin scored in the first period for Sept-Iles, which seemed to put the Steelers on the back foot. They are not used to trailing by two goals or conceding so early and so often. They didn't play well in the second either, but the Whalers could only get one goal, this one from Michel Picard to put them up 3-0. Trailing 3-0 going into the third period, it's amazing that Pons Aelius made a game of it, but Dirk Ziegler and Joe Strickland scored at 10:38 and 15:27, respectively, to make it a 3-2 game. All of a sudden, the Steelers' home crowd was back in it. But the gallant Quebecois team held firm against the late attack, and escaped hostile territory with a much-needed two points. Sept-Iles is one back of Newfield and two back of Labrador; if they can surpass those two teams, they will be in the playoff conversation, a big leap for last year's last-place team. Pons Aelius will look to recover against a Sharpshooters team that is also gunning for the playoffs.

Londinium Royals 1, DC Oilers 3: Two opportunities to climb higher in the standings, two losses for Londinium. Ben Malone scored in the first period, but the Oilers got goals from Wally McMillan, Jeff Sutton, and Shane Manning in the second and third periods to overwhelm the Royals and take the victory. Royals head coach Paul Bowman was frank after the game: "We had been playing so well, that it's disappointing to see us failing to take advantage of chances against the big boys. This is a young team, but we're not looking to just make the playoffs. We want a good seed and we want a championship. If we're not careful, we just might miss out." Oilers head coach Sherm Willis' postgame press conference was full of praise for his supporting players, noting it was the first time in a while the first line didn't score. The Oilers are still in second place and will host lowly Vinovium next. Londinium gets Portus Abonae, who are playing well, in a crucial bounce-back affair.

Aquae Sulis Bears 2, Eboracum Sharpshooters 2 (2-3 SO): Darin Drake and Cal Malone scored in the third period to rally the Bears from a 2-0 deficit, but the Sharpshooters would not be stopped in the shootout, taking the victory. Glen Gray, Tim Smith, and Will Richardson scored in the shootout, while goalie Wes Singleton made three saves to hold off Aquae Sulis. Between Eboracum's win and Londinium's loss, the Sharpshooters are just two points out of playoff position after falling sharply behind during Londinium's hot streak. The Bears did pick up one point, but will be looking for more in their next game against Mancunium. They've got a ways to go before they're relevant, but it starts with winning games against the bottom half. As for the Sharpshooters, they've now won four in a row, but face a tough assignment against Pons Aelius next.

Vinovium Lumberjacks 2, Isca Town Captains 5: It's not often you see Isca Town break out for five goals, but their control style of play is designed to expose opponent's weaknesses, and Vinovium fell into their trap. The Captains led 3-0 after the first, and never looked back. Jonathan Barnes, Shaun Webster, and Jason Gross had goals in the first, with Barnes' coming on the power play. Robbie Reid added a goal in the second, and Zeke Moseley scored in the third to cap it off. Vinovium got goals from Kevin Morgan and Jake Roundtree, but they made the score 4-1 and 5-2, respectively, so it was cold comfort. The Captains have won their last four after suffering a shock defeat to Mancunium on the road, and remain three points clear of their closest rivals. Vinovium is still in last place, having lost three in a row.

Labrador Caribou 1, Portus Abonae Privateers 2: That's the way to bounce back after your three-game winning streak comes to a mistake-filled end. The Privateers went on the road and got goals from Archie Cole and Jesse Brock to earn their ninth win and fourth in the last five games. Cole struck first, at 15:25 of the first period, zinging a snap shot past Dave Francis, who had just conceded five goals in the last game against DC. Brock made it 2-0 at 7:39 of the second when Labrador's Johnny Ramsey was whistled for hooking and Portus Abonae went on the man advantage. Victor Hall scored at 14:48 of the third to pull the Caribou within one, but good defensive hockey and a nifty save by "Rusty" Barbour foiled Labrador's attempts to tie the game and the Privateers left the ice with a win. These two teams are traveling in opposite directions, with the Privateers having momentum and the Caribou having stalled out, just 1-6-0 in their last seven games. Labrador had hopes, before this stretch, of competing with Londinium for the final playoff spot, but they have fallen six points behind and been surpassed by Eboracum as the primary challenger. They will get Sept-Iles next.

Newfield Rangers 2, Mancunium Raiders 2 (2-0 SO): Winning your games against the teams in the cellar isn't always a recipe for success, but not doing so is a recipe for failure. In two games against bottom-feeding Vinovium and Mancunium this round-robin, Newfield is 2-0-0, which brings their record against them to 3-0-3 for the year. This one wasn't able to be decided in regulation, however, as a late goal by Mancunium's Matt Harmon tied the score at two. The two teams battled the whole way through, with Newfield taking a 1-0 lead, Mancunium tying it, and Newfield going back in front 2-1 before Harmon's goal. In the shootout, Brady Dowell and Earl Switzer scored, but it was Augustin Gauthier who was the MVP, making four saves to deny the Raiders any chance of success. Newfield has now climbed within one point of Labrador for sixth place, though they remain significantly out of playoff position. They will take on Isca Town next, a daunting task. As for the Raiders, this is their first non-regulation loss, so the one point they scraped from this game is the difference between them and Vinovium right now. It's looking increasingly like a lost season, 17 points out of playoff position.

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