Newfield Rangers players Toby Swan celebrates his first goal of the season, image credit to The Canuck Way
Newfield Rangers 1, Pons Aelius Steelers 0: For the second time in three games, a chink in the seemingly impenetrable Steelers armor appeared. And for the second time in three games, it was a lower-half team that took down Pons Aelius. Two games ago, it was Mancunium, winning in a shootout; this time, it was the Newfield Rangers claiming their second win and breaking the Steelers' shutout streak to boot. They had not allowed a goal in their last four games, but Toby Swan, a winger, was the recipient of some nifty passing between the Rangers and ended up tapping it in on Brett McQueen's weak side for the game's only goal. It was just the second goal allowed by McQueen in five games.
Londinium Royals 1, Mancunium Raiders 2: With the Steelers falling to the Rangers, the Royals had dreams of leapfrogging them and staying in first place. They had dreams of extending their three-game winning streak. But they may have been looking past the Raiders, because the Labrador-based squad crushed those dreams at the National Arena in Londinium in front of roughly 13,000 fans, a near-capacity crowd. Todd Hagan scored his first two goals of the season for Mancunium, splitting two defenders on the first goal, and showcasing a nifty spin move on the second. Quinn Baird is the big off-season acquisition for the Raiders, but it will be the supporting cast, like Hagan, that will truly determine their season. The Royals will travel to Aquae Sulis next and look to avoid getting tripped up by the surging Bears.
Labrador Caribou 0, Aquae Sulis Bears 0 (0-1 SO): If you told Bears head coach Reuben Cannady that two of his team's first three wins would come in games where they scored one or fewer goals, he'd have said you were crazy. "We're an attacking team for sure, but I've been really proud of our defense in these games. They've really picked up our offense and given us a chance to win even we aren't scoring." This was the Bears' third win in the last four games and they snapped the Caribou's four-game winning streak, dropping them out of a tie for first. For the Caribou, they did manage to snag a point, keeping them tied with Isca Town for second, but the loss in front of the home fans has to sting. Victor Hall said after the game, "We just didn't get it done out there. Hats off to Aquae Sulis for playing great defense, but we've got to find ways to grind out goals in tough situations, and we didn't today. No excuses."
DC Oilers 3, Portus Abonae Privateers 1: Two teams on opposite trajectories met in this game, and continued on those trajectories. DC won its second straight and fifth of six, while Portus lost its second straight and fifth of six. The Oilers took advantage of three penalties by the Privateers, going two for three on the power play to build a 2-0 lead. The Privateers struck back on a Jamie Atwood wrister with thirteen minutes to go in the third, but Julian Stephens rifled a one-timer past "Rusty" Barbour at 14:25 to put the Oilers up 3-1 and more or less salt the game away. With this win, DC claims sole possession of first place. Portus Abonae will host Newfield, fresh off an upset of Pons Aelius, as they try to climb back into contention.
Isca Town Captains 3, Sept-Iles Whalers 0: This is the Isca Town from last year, a team that controls the puck, limits the opposing team's chances, and has goal-scoring punch to boot. They got a goal in each period, from Robbie Reid in the first, Jonathan Barnes in the second, and a power play goal from Louis Tremblay to top it off in the third. After dropping their opening game to the Royals, they have won five straight, outscoring their opponents 8-2 along the way, and now sit tied for second, a point behind league leaders DC. When it comes to Sept-Iles, there were some trash-talking Whalers fans that are surely disappointed with this result. After beating winless Vinovium, there was some hope that the Whalers had built momentum to really challenge the Captains. But they managed just 23 shots, whiffed on both their power plays, and failed to put up enough of a fight. They will return home to face the Oilers, another difficult foe.
Vinovium Lumberjacks 0, Eboracum Sharpshooters 1: Vinovium stays winless, falling to 0-6-0, and being shut out for the third time this season. They have yet to score more than a single goal in any game, and rumors is that Lumberjacks ownership is growing increasingly uneasy with head coach Robert Petrie. It's one thing to have a down season, but a season-opening six-game losing streak with only three goals scored is trending into embarrassing status. For the Sharpshooters, this broke a three-game losing streak, but wasn't as impressive as they'd hoped. They have yet to find that extra gear and really break out like they did against Mancunium in their first game. Glen Gray scored the game's only goal at 15:24 of the second period.
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