Brett McQueen had a strong game for Pons Aelius, image credit to Goalie Gear on Pinterest
Today we saw a clash between two teams tied for first, a continued losing streak for Portus Abonae, and DC keep pace with the new leader.
Eboracum Sharpshooters 0, Pons Aelius Steelers 1: The Sharpshooters and the Steelers entered the game tied for first, each with two wins. They offered contrasting styles, with Eboracum favoring aggressive attack and the Steelers content to turtle and look for their opportunity. After the clash of styles, it's safe to say the Steelers' play won out. Eboracum managed 35 shots on goal, but all of them were swallowed up by Steelers netminder Brett McQueen, a big reason for Pons Aelius' success in recent years. McQueen didn't play the last game against Sept-Iles, yielding to Christophe Collier because of flu-like symptoms, but he was sufficiently recovered to shut out the Sharpshooters. Although the Steelers didn't quite control the game the way they did against Sept-Iles, they nevertheless held strong. Finally, Eboracum winger Lewis Smith was whistled for interference, and the ensuing power play resulted in a goal from center Aaron Black at 5:24 of the third period, which provided the final margin.
DC Oilers 3, Vinovium Lumberjacks 1: At home, the Oilers claimed their third victory and the first that didn't come in a shootout. Julian Stephens had two assists and d-man Greg Ford notched his first career goal in the 3-1 victory that the Oilers controlled from start to finish. They are tied with Pons Aelius for first; unfortunately we won't see them confront each other until game eleven in DC. The good news for the Lumberjacks is that they scored a goal after being shut out in their first two games. The goal came from formerly injured prospect Parker Martindale, which is an encouraging sign. The bad news is they still lost handily. Even in a 66-game season, a slow start can be deadly.
Portus Abonae Privateers 0, Londinium Royals 3: After a fairly close game against Pons Aelius and an overtime loss to Labrador, the Portus Abonae Privateers returned home to be shut out and nearly blown out by the Royals of Londinium. The Royals scored a goal in every period, with Sheldon Cook opening the scoring, second-line center Daniel Roberts making it 2-0, and Thomas Bailey putting home a rebound for the final margin in the third. Despite 26 shots and two power-play opportunities, the Privateers could not manage to break the wall of Royals goaltender Eli Boyd. They fall to 0-2-1 and clearly have some work to do on defense.
Sept-Iles Whalers 0, Labrador Caribou 1: After a stinging 1-0 defeat on the road to Pons Aelius, fans packed "Le Navire", the Whalers' home stadium, home to roughly 9,000 seats, and cheered raucously for their team. But it was another disappointing night for the Whalers. Though they managed more shots than they did against the Steelers, and held their own physically and possession-wise, Caribou goalie Dave Francis stumped them. Francis made 30 saves, including a beauty of a glove save, snaring a sizzling shot from Marc Levesque late in the second period. Gaston Fortin, the young winger whom all of Sept-Iles sings about, managed just two shots on goal. Through a translator after the game, he said, "I apologize for my poor play. I love all our fans, I love to see the fleur-de-lis in the stands, and I am ashamed I disappointed everyone." For the Caribou, Francis' excellent play in goal was backed by a tic-tac-toe play on an odd-man rush between winger Johnny Ramsey and star center Victor Hall, with Hall providing the pass that Ramsey shot home for the lead in the third.
Isca Town Captains 3, Newfield Rangers 2: Isca Town won back-to-back games after dropping their first to Londinium. After a two-goal first period, the Captains got their third (and winning) goal from Jason Gross, brother to Steelers forward Hank Gross at 13:38. But the Rangers didn't make it easy. After looking sloppy in a 3-1 loss to Mancunium, they rallied from a 2-0 deficit, getting a power-play goal from center Earl Switzer early in the second period, and Elliott Parrish knocking home a rebound with just fourteen second left in the same period. They just got outplayed in the first and third, and will return home hoping for more consistent play.
Mancunium Raiders 0, Aquae Sulis Bears 1: Not a lot of fanfare here, but Bears fans are glad that their team fared well, getting its first win over a Raiders team held scoreless for the first time. Both of these teams are generally attacking, but there were a lot of missed passes, shots that didn't end up on goal, and more than one missed power-play opportunity. With better play on both sides, each team could have scored multiple goals. They will need to shore that up going forward, especially with the Raiders' significant offseason expenditures.
DC Oilers 3, Vinovium Lumberjacks 1: At home, the Oilers claimed their third victory and the first that didn't come in a shootout. Julian Stephens had two assists and d-man Greg Ford notched his first career goal in the 3-1 victory that the Oilers controlled from start to finish. They are tied with Pons Aelius for first; unfortunately we won't see them confront each other until game eleven in DC. The good news for the Lumberjacks is that they scored a goal after being shut out in their first two games. The goal came from formerly injured prospect Parker Martindale, which is an encouraging sign. The bad news is they still lost handily. Even in a 66-game season, a slow start can be deadly.
Portus Abonae Privateers 0, Londinium Royals 3: After a fairly close game against Pons Aelius and an overtime loss to Labrador, the Portus Abonae Privateers returned home to be shut out and nearly blown out by the Royals of Londinium. The Royals scored a goal in every period, with Sheldon Cook opening the scoring, second-line center Daniel Roberts making it 2-0, and Thomas Bailey putting home a rebound for the final margin in the third. Despite 26 shots and two power-play opportunities, the Privateers could not manage to break the wall of Royals goaltender Eli Boyd. They fall to 0-2-1 and clearly have some work to do on defense.
Sept-Iles Whalers 0, Labrador Caribou 1: After a stinging 1-0 defeat on the road to Pons Aelius, fans packed "Le Navire", the Whalers' home stadium, home to roughly 9,000 seats, and cheered raucously for their team. But it was another disappointing night for the Whalers. Though they managed more shots than they did against the Steelers, and held their own physically and possession-wise, Caribou goalie Dave Francis stumped them. Francis made 30 saves, including a beauty of a glove save, snaring a sizzling shot from Marc Levesque late in the second period. Gaston Fortin, the young winger whom all of Sept-Iles sings about, managed just two shots on goal. Through a translator after the game, he said, "I apologize for my poor play. I love all our fans, I love to see the fleur-de-lis in the stands, and I am ashamed I disappointed everyone." For the Caribou, Francis' excellent play in goal was backed by a tic-tac-toe play on an odd-man rush between winger Johnny Ramsey and star center Victor Hall, with Hall providing the pass that Ramsey shot home for the lead in the third.
Isca Town Captains 3, Newfield Rangers 2: Isca Town won back-to-back games after dropping their first to Londinium. After a two-goal first period, the Captains got their third (and winning) goal from Jason Gross, brother to Steelers forward Hank Gross at 13:38. But the Rangers didn't make it easy. After looking sloppy in a 3-1 loss to Mancunium, they rallied from a 2-0 deficit, getting a power-play goal from center Earl Switzer early in the second period, and Elliott Parrish knocking home a rebound with just fourteen second left in the same period. They just got outplayed in the first and third, and will return home hoping for more consistent play.
Mancunium Raiders 0, Aquae Sulis Bears 1: Not a lot of fanfare here, but Bears fans are glad that their team fared well, getting its first win over a Raiders team held scoreless for the first time. Both of these teams are generally attacking, but there were a lot of missed passes, shots that didn't end up on goal, and more than one missed power-play opportunity. With better play on both sides, each team could have scored multiple goals. They will need to shore that up going forward, especially with the Raiders' significant offseason expenditures.
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