Londinium at night, photo credit to the Weather Network
The Royals start the second half with a bang, Pons Aelius gains ground on Isca Town, and Eboracum leapfrogs Sept-Iles
NAHL Day 34
Londinium Royals 1, Isca Town Captains 0
Pons Aelius Steelers 2, Portus Abonae Privateers 1
Mancunium Raiders 2, Eboracum Sharpshooters 3
Labrador Caribou 2, DC Oilers 3
Aquae Sulis Bears 0, Sept-Iles Whalers 3
Newfield Rangers 0, Vinovium Lumberjacks 1
NAHL Day 35
DC Oilers 0, Londinium Royals 0 (0-1 OT)
Sept-Iles Whalers 0, Pons Aelius Steelers 2
Eboracum Sharpshooters 1, Aquae Sulis Bears 0
Isca Town Captains 2, Vinovium Lumberjacks 1
Portus Abonae Privateers 2, Labrador Caribou 1
Mancunium Raiders 3, Newfield Rangers 3 (1-3 SO)
The big news of this update is that Londinium has pulled two big upsets! Yes, they're the fourth place team, but they're significantly behind both DC and Isca Town, whom they defeated. The win gets them some breathing room from the pack behind them, while putting them a not-insurmountable six points behind DC. 3rd place for Londinium would be a coup, as it would mean avoiding Isca Town in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Pons Aelius won two in a row, scoring twice in each game and defeating two would-be playoff contenders in Portus Abonae and Sept-Iles. Brendan Bryan, their 1st round pick, scored his first NAHL goal to put them up 2-0 on Sept-Iles late in the third. In the battle for the right to be the team just behind Londinium, Eboracum won both their games, Labrador lost both their games, and Sept-Iles and Portus Abonae split their games.
Who's hot: Three and a half teams
-Portus Abonae lost their five-game winning streak, falling to Pons Aelius, but they bounced back to defeat Labrador and have won six of their past seven games. Their strong run still puts them seven points out of the playoffs, though. They were encouraged, however, by their first round pick Alexandre Boulanger's play in their victory over Labrador. He scrapped hard on defense, won pucks to keep possessions alive, and even assisted on the winning goal. They have high hopes for him.
-Pons Aelius is a machine, now winning five in a row and eight of their last ten. They took down Portus Abonae 2-1 and Sept-Iles 2-0. More consistent scoring from them can only be a good thing, as they had the league's worst offense in the first half. They still sport the league's best defense as well, with the victory over Sept-Iles being their 21st shutout of the year, tying them with Isca Town for msot in the league. They have also closed to within two of the Captains, and have designs on being the first team in a while to be in first besides the Captains.
-The Londinium Royals have won four in a row, and these past two wins have been big. Victories over DC and Isca Town solidified their grip on fourth place and clawed them back to within six of DC. Their first round pick, Gabe Chambers, didn't come away with any points from his first two games, but he gave them good energy and work rate from the third line and they hope he'll continue to buoy the lower end of the team. The Royals get the Privateers next; a win would keep the momentum going and stifle a potential challenger, while a loss might herald another run of poor play like the one the Royals recently ended.
-The Londinium Royals have won four in a row, and these past two wins have been big. Victories over DC and Isca Town solidified their grip on fourth place and clawed them back to within six of DC. Their first round pick, Gabe Chambers, didn't come away with any points from his first two games, but he gave them good energy and work rate from the third line and they hope he'll continue to buoy the lower end of the team. The Royals get the Privateers next; a win would keep the momentum going and stifle a potential challenger, while a loss might herald another run of poor play like the one the Royals recently ended.
-The Eboracum Sharpshooters are our half a team this week, as they've won two in a row, but still lost seven of their last eleven games. But their two wins, over Mancunium and Aquae Sulis, have jumped them back into sole possession of fifth place. Tim Smith, Glen Gray, Christian Ball, and Archie Cole were the goal-scorers in their two wins, a balanced attack that delivered them the victory and snapped a five-game losing streak. They will need to keep up that success against teams higher than them in the standings, something they've struggled mightily with, going just 1-7-4 against the four teams currently in playoff position. They will get Pons Aelius next in a key test for them.
Who's not: Three teams
-Perhaps not on a big losing streak, but the DC Oilers are just 3-2-2 in their last seven games, dropping games against Sept-Iles, Mancunium, Pons Aelius, and Londinium. Three of those four teams are decent, but the Oilers have now fallen four back of Pons Aelius and six back of Isca Town. Their once-larger lead over Londinium has also shrunk and they are in some danger of falling too far behind the leaders.
-Perhaps not on a big losing streak, but the DC Oilers are just 3-2-2 in their last seven games, dropping games against Sept-Iles, Mancunium, Pons Aelius, and Londinium. Three of those four teams are decent, but the Oilers have now fallen four back of Pons Aelius and six back of Isca Town. Their once-larger lead over Londinium has also shrunk and they are in some danger of falling too far behind the leaders.
-The Mancunium Raiders have now lost four games in a row: a shootout with Portus Abonae, a 5-2 whipping by Sept-Iles, and a pair of tough losses to Eboracum (3-2) and Newfield (shootout). Their first round pick Cam Ferguson played well in his limited ice time, but they couldn't stop Eboracum and Heath Lindsay was outplayed by Augustin Gauthier in the shootout against Newfield. They're still respectably ahead of Vinovium, but their game against Aquae Sulis next will be crucial.
-Isca Town had lost four of their last five before their 2-1 victory over Vinovium, a remarkably poor stretch of play for this elite team. But their selection of Zach Gill in the first round of the NAHL draft showed they weren't panicking or concerned about the trajectory of the season. The Captains have reached a deal to send Gill on loan to a team in the Alps Hockey League, where he will gain valuable experience while not being overpowered by the level of play.
-Isca Town had lost four of their last five before their 2-1 victory over Vinovium, a remarkably poor stretch of play for this elite team. But their selection of Zach Gill in the first round of the NAHL draft showed they weren't panicking or concerned about the trajectory of the season. The Captains have reached a deal to send Gill on loan to a team in the Alps Hockey League, where he will gain valuable experience while not being overpowered by the level of play.
Surprise of the update: Just one this time
The surprise is Londinium defeating Isca Town and DC in back-to-back games. Those two teams have twenty losses combined, better than five teams on their own. Sheldon Cook scored the only goal in their defeat of Isca Town, while Daniel Roberts found the net in overtime, beating Ted Carpenter to give the Royals the win. They are now 3-3-2 against those two teams, a respectable record that is the difference between them and Eboracum, who are just 1-3-2 against them.
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