Nova Anglican fishing boats on the Bay of Fundy in autumn, image credit to The Telegraph
Pons Aelius loses, but stays on top, while DC catches Isca Town as the slide continues for the Captains; meanwhile, Londinium and Sept-Iles try to be the only two contenders for fourth
NAHL Day 38
Pons Aelius Steelers 0, Aquae Sulis Bears 0 (1-0 OT)
Isca Town Captains 1, Portus Abonae Privateers 0
Newfield Rangers 0, DC Oilers 0 (0-1 OT)
Londinium Royals 2, Eboracum Sharpshooters 1
Vinovium Lumberjacks 3, Sept-Iles Whalers 4
Labrador Caribou 0, Mancunium Raiders 0 (2-1 SO)
NAHL Day 39
Pons Aelius Steelers 1, Newfield Rangers 1 (0-2 SO)
Portus Abonae Privateers 0, DC Oilers 1
Sept-Iles Whalers 3, Isca Town Captains 0
Mancunium Raiders 3, Londinium Royals 5
Aquae Sulis Bears 6, Labrador Caribou 3
Eboracum Sharpshooters 2, Vinovium Lumberjacks 2 (2-1 SO)
Pons Aelius doesn't hang on to their winning streak, but they do maintain their grip on first place. Meanwhile, Isca Town's split and DC's pair of 1-0 wins means the two teams are now tied for second. Londinium wins both their games to stay up in fourth place, though third place is looking increasingly like a dream. Sept-Iles wins both, and with Labrador's and Eboracum's split and Portus' dual losses, the Whalers are trying to pull away. Finally, is Newfield on the move?
Who's hot: Five teams
-Pons Aelius won nine in a row before having it snapped in a shootout by Newfield, so they're still hot. I'm sure they would have loved to win ten in a row and continue to challenge Isca Town's thirteen-game streak from earlier this year, but nine is plenty fine. They still have a three-point lead over Isca Town and DC for first place, and their defense is just outstanding. 19 goals in 39 goals is a 32-goal pace for the entire season, which would be an NAHL record.
-The Londinium Royals are 7-1-0 in their last eight, defeating the Sharpshooters for the fourth time in four games, and then pulling away from the Raiders in the third period to win that one 5-3. Eric Benson, Sheldon Cook, Nico Nielsen, Ben Malone, Thomas Bailey, and Daniel Roberts all had goals across the two games. They now sit on 50 points, eight behind DC and Isca Town. Incidentally, their four wins over Eboracum make up the bulk of the eight-point differential between them and the Sharpshooters.
-The Londinium Royals are 7-1-0 in their last eight, defeating the Sharpshooters for the fourth time in four games, and then pulling away from the Raiders in the third period to win that one 5-3. Eric Benson, Sheldon Cook, Nico Nielsen, Ben Malone, Thomas Bailey, and Daniel Roberts all had goals across the two games. They now sit on 50 points, eight behind DC and Isca Town. Incidentally, their four wins over Eboracum make up the bulk of the eight-point differential between them and the Sharpshooters.
-The offense is clicking for the Sept-Iles Whalers right now. They've won nine of their past thirteen and three in a row, scoring 12 goals in those three games. Perhaps most impressive was their 3-0 blanking of Isca Town. The Captains are really down right now, but they rarely lose by three goals. Kris Howell, Denis Babin, and James McDaniel had goals in that win, which had "Le Navire" rocking and roaring from start to finish. They've started to create a little separation between them and the rest of the would-be playoff crowd, but they still have work to do to catch the Royals.
-The Newfield Rangers couldn't extend their winning streak against the Oilers, but an overtime loss is a good achievement, and the shootout win over the Steelers is even better. They have won four of six since the start of the second half, and have nine points in those six games. Their bounce-back effort has been good enough to drag them within two points of playoff hopeful Portus Abonae. Of course, they're still seven points out of fifth, and thirteen out of fourth, but if they ended up in seventh, it would be a good season for them and a good psychological rebound after their disastrous losing streak.
-The Newfield Rangers couldn't extend their winning streak against the Oilers, but an overtime loss is a good achievement, and the shootout win over the Steelers is even better. They have won four of six since the start of the second half, and have nine points in those six games. Their bounce-back effort has been good enough to drag them within two points of playoff hopeful Portus Abonae. Of course, they're still seven points out of fifth, and thirteen out of fourth, but if they ended up in seventh, it would be a good season for them and a good psychological rebound after their disastrous losing streak.
-The DC Oilers are well and truly hot, having won five of their six games since the All-Star break. Their only loss? A 1-0 OT defeat against playoff team Londinium. They've even improved their defense, allowing just five goals in those six games, with three shutouts. This update, they needed overtime to defeat Newfield and could only put one past Portus Abonae, but they won both games. They're tied with Isca Town and only three points behind Pons Aelius. If they can keep up their hot streak, they will threaten for first place.
Who's not: Three teams
-The Aquae Sulis Bears snapped their five game losing streak in emphatic fashion, pouring six past Labrador backup netminder Pete Henderson. Nick May, Cal Malone, Kip Maddox, Darin Drake, Martin Wong, and David Richter all had goals in the win. Unfortunately, the Bears have still lost six of their last nine and are flip-flopping with Mancunium for 10th/11th place. Jermaine Roy let in three goals against Labrador, so he's still getting used to the NAHL versus university play.
-The Aquae Sulis Bears snapped their five game losing streak in emphatic fashion, pouring six past Labrador backup netminder Pete Henderson. Nick May, Cal Malone, Kip Maddox, Darin Drake, Martin Wong, and David Richter all had goals in the win. Unfortunately, the Bears have still lost six of their last nine and are flip-flopping with Mancunium for 10th/11th place. Jermaine Roy let in three goals against Labrador, so he's still getting used to the NAHL versus university play.
-The Mancunium Raiders took a couple of tough losses this update, losing in a shootout to Labrador in their rivalry game, and hanging with the Royals for the first two periods until they pulled away in the third for the 5-3 win. They've lost seven out of eight, and it is looking increasingly unlikely that they will finish any higher than 10th this year. Cam Ferguson, however, seems to be adapting just fine to the rigors of the NAHL. Head coach Cary Hodges says he's "got a great motor and is a great teammate. From what [Hodges has] already seen, he's going to be a franchise player for us."
-Isca Town has three wins and seven losses in their past ten games, an almost inconceivable run of play for a team that won thirteen consecutive games earlier this season. Portus Abonae isn't a bad team, and the Captains looked like they still knew how to defend against them. But then they traveled to Sept-Iles and got wiped out. They are reportedly taking a mental health day to clear their heads before traveling to Eboracum. They need to recover quickly, or their dreams of first might just slip away.
-Isca Town has three wins and seven losses in their past ten games, an almost inconceivable run of play for a team that won thirteen consecutive games earlier this season. Portus Abonae isn't a bad team, and the Captains looked like they still knew how to defend against them. But then they traveled to Sept-Iles and got wiped out. They are reportedly taking a mental health day to clear their heads before traveling to Eboracum. They need to recover quickly, or their dreams of first might just slip away.
Surprise of the update: Just one this time
The surprise? Newfield defeating Pons Aelius for the second time this year. The Steelers looked unstoppable, conceding just one goal in their nine-game winning streak. But the Rangers got a goal from Brady Dowell in regulation, and Dowell and Elliott Parrish scored in the shootout, while Augustin Gauthier made four stops to defeat the Steelers. Big win for the Rangers.
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