The HeartBank Centre in Eboracum, image credit to TripAdvisor
Three games with a team scoring five goals, three shootouts, an overtime game, and no shutouts? Seems like the NAHL found the keys to the goal machine and fired it up this time around.
Eboracum Sharpshooters 5, Isca Town Captains 5 (2-3 SO): You have to feel for the Sharpshooters. They scored six goals in their first two games, then proceeded to score one or no goals for the next four. Searching for offense, they finally break out with five(!) goals and they don't even need overtime. But what's their reward? A shootout loss. Isca Town is not a team that should be scoring five goals, but all the good work done by Glen Gray, Tim Smith, and Will Richardson (six points between them) was undone by five penalties, three of which they failed to kill. If you give a team like Isca Town three power-play goals, it's hard to win. Jason Gross, Louis Tremblay, Robbie Reid, Jonathan Barnes, and Shaun Webster scored a goal each for the Captains. The Captains' Justin Smith made one more save than Wes Singleton in the shootout, and that made all the difference.
Portus Abonae Privateers 5, Newfield Rangers 5 (0-1 SO): These two teams like to score, and score they did. The Privateers had just seven goals through six games, which is well below where they like to be. Jordon Upshaw led the team with two goals and an assist, his first goals since game two, and fourth and fifth overall. Jamie Atwood, Jesse Brock, and Archie Cole had the other markers for Portus Abonae. Unfortunately for them, this is a scrappy Newfield team, and they battled back from deficits of 2-1 and 5-3 to take the game into a shootout and eventually win it. Graham Drummond had the winning goal in the shootout, and Brady Dowell, Elliott Parrish, Earl Switzer, and Toby Swan were the regulation goal-scorers. Portus Abonae hosts Sept-Iles next, while the Rangers will welcome Labrador to Noviomagus.
Mancunium Raiders 5, Vinovium Lumberjacks 3: A lot of what was said about Eboracum above could apply to Vinovium here. They've lost their first six, never scored more than one goal, they finally get three of them, and lose. The Raiders buried the Lumberjacks with a four-goal first period, peppering Mel Pinson with 15 shots en route to 39 for the game. Quinn Baird had a goal and two assists, while Todd Hagan, Matt Harmon, Jack Green, and Brandon Scanlon had a goal each to round out the scoring for the Raiders. Down 4-0 after the first, give Vinovium credit for not surrendering and allowing this to get uglier. Parker Martindale and Roman Massey scored in the second to narrow the deficit to 4-2, while Kevin Morgan scored his second goal of the season at 14:22 of the third to make things look more respectable.
Sept-Iles Whalers 3, DC Oilers 3 (2-1 SO): The Oilers had designs on pulling away from the rest of the league early; five wins in their last six games, sole possession of first place, and a win would keep them there. "Pas si vite!" say the Whalers, who knocked off the league leaders in a shootout a game after being shut out by another top-half club, Isca Town. The Whalers took an early lead on a one-timer from Gaston Fortin, then stretched it to two early in the second period when Fortin found Rene Kelly on Ted Carpenter's weak side. But this wouldn't last, as Wally McMillan and Malcolm Hogg found the back of the net in the second to tie the game going into the third. After Owen Jones put the Oilers head at 5:54, Denis Babin tied the score to the roar of the crowd at 16:36 to keep the Whalers' hopes alive. Fortin and Kelly were the scorers in the shootout, but give credit to Whalers backup netminder Maxime Dugas for making four saves in the shootout.
Pons Aelius Steelers 1, Labrador Caribou 1 (2-1 OT): On a matchday where goals were the order of the day, is it any wonder that these two teams bucked the trend? They both like disciplined, defensive hockey and that's what we got in Pons Aelius. Dave Francis made 30 saves for the Caribou, but Brett McQueen did him one better, stopping 32 and only allowing a single goal. Brooks Worrell had the winning goal in overtime, and these two teams are now tied for third with 11 points. It's an excellent beginning to the season for the Caribou, who have yet to lose in regulation, while Pons Aelius' defense is carrying them as always.
Aquae Sulis Bears 3, Londinium Royals 1: This is a blow to the Royals. They came off a nice rivalry win over the Sharpshooters, were tied for first, and then lost at home to Mancunium. Then they travel to a mediocre, yet hot Aquae Sulis team, and lose yet again. They've lost two in a row and have dropped back to fifth place. For the Bears, this is their fourth win in the last five games and they sit comfortably mid-table, tied for sixth. Darin Drake, Cal Malone, and Nick May were the goal scorers, one in each period for a balanced attack that overwhelmed the Royals. The Bears will try to stretch their winning streak to three as they travel to Vinovium next.
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