Sugar Island Nature Preserve, near Vinovium, image credit to New Brunswick Nature Trust
Vinovium Lumberjacks 1, Portus Abonae Privateers 0: If you were a betting sort of person, you probably wouldn't have taken last-place Vinovium over a Portus Abonae team that has won four of its last five and just knocked off Londinium. And yet that's exactly what happened in New Brunswick last night. Max Getz scored at 17:38 of the first and Mel Pinson made 30 saves to make the lone goal stand up as the Lumberjacks claimed just their seventh win of the season. Privateers head coach Ken Keller acknowledged the Lumberjacks' play after the game: "Give credit to Vinovium. I felt like we were playing really well and starting to round into form, getting back into contention. But they stopped us tonight. It's a long road to the playoffs, so we've still got time, but you have to fight for every point you can get in this league." The Lumberjacks remain in last place, three points behind Mancunium, but any win is a good win.
Pons Aelius Steelers 0, Mancunium Raiders 0 (2-3 SO): When you go to a shootout, anything can happen. Yes, even the eleventh place team beating the third place team. This is where the Steelers’ offensive struggles can come back to bite them. Give a team like the Raiders five shots at the net from point-blank range, and they’re going to score at least a couple. Quinn Baird, Brandon Scanlon, and Jack Green beat backup goaltender Christophe Collier to take home the shootout victory for Mancunium. This isn’t the first time the Raiders have defeated the Steelers in a shootout; they won 3-1 in their first meeting as well. Mancunium has now put together two straight wins, which could be the start of something for this team. As for Pons Aelius, they’re glad they picked up a point, but they are still two behind DC and by losing, they failed to take true advantage of DC’s loss to Isca Town.
Isca Town Captains 1, DC Oilers 0: Once more, the titans at the top of the standings clash. Each had won one game this season, but Isca Town takes a 2-1-0 lead in the season series after Jason Gross' third-period goal gave the Captains the lead. The real MVP of this game was Captains netminder Justin Smith, who made 33 saves to shut out the Oilers and preserve the win. Owen Jones, Sammy Jensen, Julian Stephens, no matter who took the shot, Smith was always there to make the stop. Gross put back a rebound midway through the third, the only one of 30 shots Ted Carpenter didn't stop. The Captains now have a five point edge at the top of the standings and look likely to enter the All-Star break as the league leaders. The Oilers' offense is still tops in the league and the main reason they are contending, but it was shut down tonight. They will look to get back on track against Newfield.
Londinium Royals 3, Sept-Iles Whalers 2: This was a much-needed win for the Royals. They had struggled over their past several games, seemingly stuck on 32 points for quite a while. Meanwhile, the Whalers were coming off a big win against Pons Aelius. They may have experienced a bit of an emotional letdown after such a big win. Whether it was Londinium’s need for a win, a young Sept-Iles team’s emotions, or something else entirely, the Royals came away with the win in the capital city. Nico Nielsen, Sheldon Cook, and Thomas Bailey scored for the Royals, with Bailey’s goal at 13:44 of the third representing the winning goal. Jean-Luc Broussard and Rene Kelly scored for the Whalers, whose furious efforts in the waning minutes couldn’t break Eli Boyd’s defenses. The Royals remain two points up on the Sharpshooters for fourth place. The Whalers had their momentum interrupted, but they should be able to get it back when they host Vinovium; of course, that’s what Portus Abonae thought too.
Labrador Caribou 1, Eboracum Sharpshooters 2: This was a big road win for Eboracum. It comes after a gut-wrenching 3-2 defeat to Pons Aelius and keeps them in the playoff hunt. After drawing within two points of Londinium, but failing to take advantage of their loss and tie them in the last game, this win keeps them in contention after Londinium's victory over Sept-Iles. Glen Gray and Christian Ball scored in the first and second periods, respectively, giving the Sharpshooters a 2-0 lead going into the third period. When Wade Hamilton scored at 11:34, it cut the deficit in half and made for a tense final 8:26, but the Sharpshooters hung on behind several key saves from Wes Singleton. The Caribou, meanwhile, have lost six in a row and are just 1-7-1 in their last nine games. Only the mediocrity of the teams below them have kept them from falling out of sixth place. As it is, they are seven back of Londinium for the playoffs, and three up on Portus Abonae, who currently occupy ninth place. Labrador will play rivals Mancunium next.
Newfield Rangers 3, Aquae Sulis Bears 5: The goals were flying fast and furious in Noviomagus between the Rangers and the Bears. A tight first two periods saw the two teams tied 3-3, but Martin Wong and Darin Drake scored in the third to give the Bears the eventual win. Brady Dowell scored twice, one in each of the first two periods, to lead the Rangers. The home fans saw a competitive game, but Newfield could not give them the win against a team lower down in the standings. For the Bears, this was a good rebound effort after a lackluster showing against Mancunium. They are still moored in tenth place, but improvement is the name of the game. The Rangers are going in the wrong direction; after having won their first two games of the third round-robin, they have lost two in a row. The Rangers will play DC next as they try to separate themselves from the middle of the pack.
No comments:
Post a Comment