NAHL Day 8 - Bears stay hot, leaders all win

Aquae Sulis Bears celebrate winning shootout goal, image credit to NJ.com

The Bears win their third straight, the four top teams all win, Sept-Iles and Portus Abonae tangle trying to get back in it, and Vinovium finally gets a point.

Vinovium Lumberjacks 4, Aquae Sulis Bears 4 (0-1 SO): Yes, it was the Lumberjacks, and yes it took a shootout, but the Aquae Sulis Bears are now riding a three-game winning streak and are victors in five of their past six games. Nick May scored the opening goal for the Bears and had the winning shootout goal, while Chinese-Nova Anglican Martin Wong had a goal and an assist. The Lumberjacks were starting their second-string goalie, Simon Barnett, both to give veteran Mel Pinson a rest, but also to see if it would spark the team. Barnett made 27 saves, but it was the four in regulation and one in the shootout he didn't make that made the difference. Parker Martindale had a goal and an assist to lead the Lumberjacks, while Roman Massey notched his second and Max Getz and Jake Roundtree scored their first goals of the season. Aquae Sulis has now leapfrogged Londinium for fifth place in the league. For Vinovium, they did earn their first point, but they have now scored seven goals in two games and only have a single point to show for it. Robert Petrie's team has improved somewhat over the past two games, but he is still on incredibly thin ice (pardon the pun).

DC Oilers 5, Eboracum Sharpshooters 2: For the second straight game, the Sharpshooters allowed five goals. Unfortunately, they did not score five goals for the second straight game. This resulted in a 5-2 smackdown at the hands of the league-leading Oilers. Both goals came in the third period, so this game was even more lopsided than it looks. The Oilers took a comfortable 2-0 lead in the first on goals from Sammy Jensen and Malcolm Hogg, then buried the Sharpshooters in the second when Julian Stephens, Owen Jones, and Reed Harrison all found the back of the net. Eboracum sit tied for 9th, not exactly where they wanted to be at the moment. DC's win keeps them in first place, tied with Isca Town, and, they hope, restores some of the momentum they lost in their shootout defeat to Sept-Iles.

Isca Town Captains 1, Mancunium Raiders 0: The Captains are on a serious hot streak. Since losing the season opener to the Londinium Royals, they have won seven consecutive games, doubling up their opponents on goals, 14-7, along the way. While this was a far cry from the five goals they scored in their last game, their solid defense (only one penalty committed) and good passing allowed them to maintain a possession edge that eventually led to their winning goal. After a seemingly interminable round of passes bamboozled the Raiders defense, Jonathan Barnes shot home a one-timer past Heath Lindsay for the winning goal at 12:09 of the third period. Mancunium saw a two-game winning streak snapped.

Londinium Royals 1, Pons Aelius Steelers 2: The Royals put up a fight, but a goal from Pons Aelius' Nate Fuller at 18:22 sealed the regulation win for the Steelers. The Londinium crowd got on their feet when Brendan Ellis scored the game's first goal at 9:44 of the first period, hoping for an upset over the vaunted Steelers. But Pons Aelius struck back at 19:36 of the first, getting a goal from Aaron Black. That shocked the home crowd and sapped a lot of the momentum the Royals were feeling going into the second period. The two teams then played evenly for nearly 39 minutes before Fuller's game-winner. For Pons Aelius, that's two wins in a row, while the Royals are now on a three-game losing streak. The Steelers are still one back of league leaders DC and Isca Town, while Londinium has slipped all the way to sixth place during their losing streak. 

Newfield Rangers 0, Labrador Caribou 1: The Rangers had a short-lived two-game winning streak snapped, as Caribou backup netminder Pete Henderson made 31 stops to shut out the Noviomagus squad a game after they netted five against Portus Abonae. The Rangers are tough to beat; of their five losses this year, two have been by one goal in regulation, and two in overtime or a shootout. But they are beatable, and Labrador claimed their fifth win to stay one point behind leaders DC and Isca Town. The Caribou snapped a two-game losing streak of their own, getting a third-period goal from Johnny Ramsey at 6:48 for the win.

Portus Abonae Privateers 2, Sept-Iles Whalers 0: It's so up-and-down for the Whalers this year; a game after knocking off DC at home and scoring three goals, they are shut out for the fifth time this year. In fact, the Whalers have failed to score a single goal in games they have lost and are undefeated when they have scored. They sport a strong 3-1-0 record at home, but are 0-4-0 on the road. This time, it was Portus Abonae shutting them out, with backup goaltender Will Boone spelling "Rusty" Barbour for his first start of the year. Jamie Atwood opened the scoring at 4:24 of the first period, and Cliff Holt added his first of the year at 2:24 of the third for the final score. The Privateers are now tied with Eboracum for 9th. They are looking for some consistency of their own as we near the end of the first round of round-robin play.

NAHL Day 7 - Goals Abound!

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.

Learn more about Nova Anglicana - History

Nova Anglicana History and Background Information

Nova Anglicana, officially known as the Sovereign State of Nova Anglicana, is a country located in North America. It is bordered on the north by Nunavut, Canada, on the south and east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by Quebec and the United States of America. Nova Anglicana covers 610,393 square kilometers (an additional 119,139 km² is water). 

Nova Anglicana exists in an alternate universe where the divergence point is the secession of the easternmost provinces of Canada from that state. Its unique founding as a liberal Christian political experiment has contributed to its character greatly, and it is consistently considered among the most religious countries in the alternate universe. 

Specifically, Nova Anglicana was formed out of a desire by many Christians (primarily Canadian Anglican Christians, but including others as well) for a free, just and religiously motivated state that would represent to the world the power of good Christian government. It started as the Movement for a Just Government, a politico-religious movement by members of the Anglican Church of Canada that sought to introduce true, compassionate, Biblical values based on Anglican beliefs into the Canadian government. Frustrated by both the Canadian government and church, the Bishop of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, William Kelly, issued a call for members of the Movement across Canada to move to the eastern regions of Canada for "the formation of a new region to bring about the Kingdom of God."

Members of the Movement as well as members of the Anglican Communion from around the world flocked to his call and soon they began discussing political and/or religious secession. Through a referendum, the people of these eastern provinces indicated their desire to leave Canada. After much wrangling in Parliament and in court, it was decided to allow their peaceful exit via the Nova Anglican Concession Act, and Quebec (who had already become independent) sold a little-used strip of territory to them in the Leblanc-Moran Treaty. The state of Nova Anglicana was founded, as well as the Anglican Church of Nova Anglicana, with William Kelly as its first Primate (he took the name of the Apostle Andrew). They petitioned for acceptance into and were received by the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as the Anglican Communion.

Nova Anglicana is composed of all or part of these former Canadian provinces, whose names they retain: Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and parts of the Cote-Nord region of Quebec.

Nova Anglicana comes from Latin, and is comprised of two parts: Nova(new) and Anglicana (English). The name was chosen to reflect the Anglican religious heritage of many of the residents of the new country. The standard way to refer to a citizen of Nova Anglicana is as a "Nova Anglican." Nova Anglicans can be a bit prickly about their demonym, with some taking offense at being called "Nova Angelicans" or "Nova Anglicanans". The latter is less offensive, while the former is the result of lazy spelling.

The Anglican-founded, pan-Christian Movement for a Just Government that resulted in the founding of Nova Anglicana, had both a liberal and a conservative wing. For the conservative wing of the movement, this was a chance to live among like-minded people in intentional Christian community and to see their values propagated by their state. For the liberal wing of the movement, this was a chance to strike back at an image of Christianity as Bible-thumping, prudish, hypocrites. They wanted to fight the narrative of Christians as seen in the "religious right" by showing the world that a Christian state would promote the health, welfare, and dignity of every human being and that by running the government according to the words and actions of Jesus Christ, would demonstrate the radical love and care for humanity that Christianity preaches.

Despite their secession from Canada, Nova Anglicana maintains very good relations with Canada and usually seeks to work with the Canadian government on major international issues. They share a separatist bond with the nation of Quebec, which had seceded a few years earlier, and are on good terms with them. They have excellent relations with other members of the Commonwealth, especially the United Kingdom, and are on good terms with the United States of America, even if most American officials think them a bit strange and most American citizens have trouble locating Nova Anglicana on a map. Nova Anglicana has embassies in nearly all countries, and High Commissions in Commonwealth countries. Exceptions include Abkhazia, Transnistria, Somaliland, South Ossetia, Nagorno Karabakh, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. 

Nova Anglicana has traditionally preferred a "soft power" diplomatic approach, using the UN and negotiation to achieve its aims rather than force. Nova Anglicana is not a member of any international military alliances, but was grandfathered into NAFTA, which is the only multinational trade agreement it is part of. It prefers to agree to trade agreements with individual nations. Nova Anglicana has never deployed a soldier outside of Nova Anglicana except as protection for Nova Anglican citizens visiting other countries (e.g. national sports teams) or as international peacekeepers. The Armed Forces are intended to protect the borders of Nova Anglicana from invasion, rather than to be used as an offensive force against other nations.

NAHL Day 6 - DC separates themselves, plus upsets!

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.

NAHL Day 5 - Leaders keep pace, jam in the middle

NAHL Day 5

All five teams that were tied for first or just off the pace won last night, while Sept-Iles' win vaulted them into a six-way tie for sixth.

Eboracum Sharpshooters 1, Londinium Royals 2: This is a rivalry game, and while it had its fair share of hard hits, trash talking, and jeering fans, it also featured some nice hockey. When the Sharpshooters turned it over in their own zone, Nico Nielsen passed it to Sheldon Cook cutting through the middle of the zone. He drew Wes Singleton towards one end of the net, then slipped the puck between his own legs before flipping it casually past a now out-of-position Singleton. That brought cheers from the Royals fans and an ocean of boos from a riled-up Eboracum crowd. When the Sharpshooters tied the game in the second period, the noise was deafening. But Eric Benson dampened their enthusiasm when in the third, he won the puck around the center line, slipped the puck by Sharpshooters d-man Gavin Kirkwood, causing Kirkwood to lose his stick, then avoided Kirkwood trying to skate into him, deked the goalie and fired the puck into the net on the opposite side for the winning goal. This young core for the Royals is outstanding.

Aquae Sulis Bears 0, Pons Aelius Steelers 2: The Bears had their two-game winning streak snapped by the Steelers, while Pons Aelius bounced back from a disappointing shootout loss to Mancunium. "We were too timid last night," remarked Steelers headman Porter Herman. "We let the Raiders' d-men push us around a little bit and got complacent. But our boys did well here. This was Steelers hockey tonight." In controlling the pace of play and limiting the Bears' offensive opportunities, holding off the forecheck of their opponents while methodically finding a weak point to snap home a shot, they did play Steelers hockey. At this point, they have not allowed a goal (save in a shootout) for four consecutive games, including two overtime periods. Hank Gross and Brooks Worrell scored in the first and second periods, respectively, to give the Steelers the win.

DC Oilers 1, Newfield Rangers 1 (2-1 OT): We'll give the Rangers this: for a team with only one win in five games, they have been surprisingly tough to beat. They've lost by only one goal to Isca Town, lost in a shootout to Aquae Sulis, and now took the Oilers to overtime. They have lacked the finishing punch to put teams away, and their third period play has been lacking, with just 30 shots on goal in those five third periods. Brady Dowell had an open shot with under five to go, but Ted Carpenter is proving himself the MVP of this Oilers team, snaring it and keeping DC alive. Julian Stephens opened the scoring for DC in the first, and Reed Harrison scored with just forty-five seconds to go in overtime, giving the Oilers the win. They are a part of the current top tier of teams, but won't play one of the top five teams until Pons Aelius in game 11. With a bit of a softer schedule, could they build some separation early on?

Mancunium Raiders 0, Labrador Caribou 1: While a lot of attention has been on the other teams at the top, the Caribou have been quietly climbing the standings. In this intra-Labrador rivalry game, they crushed the Raiders' scoring chances, blocking seven shots and only committing one penalty. Victor Hall scored his third goal of the year at 17:42 of the second to provide the final margin. As for Mancunium, their play has been up and down. They followed an opening loss with a good win over Newfield, then dropped a sloppy game to Aquae Sulis, but bounced back to beat league-leading Pons Aelius in a shootout. And now this. Can you say inconsistent?

Portus Abonae Privateers 0, Isca Town Captains 0 (0-1 OT): Only a game after breaking their opening four-game losing streak, the Privateers are back on the losing trail after dropping a tough one at home. Portus likes long passes, breakouts, defensive gambles that lead to odd-man rushes, and exploiting other teams on the power play with their quickness and passing. But this was more of Isca Town's game. They play a controlling, possession-based style that waits for their opponents to make a mistake and then ruthlessly takes advantage. They outshot the Privateers 32-24 and controlled more than 57% of the possession, but couldn't find an opening in regulation. Give credit to "Rusty" Barbour for holding off the Captains. Finally, Jonathan Barnes, an Isca Town center, was the open man after the Privateers mixed up their defensive assignments, and he rifled a shot past Barbour to end the game at 2:19 of overtime. The Privateers have a tough assignment next, traveling to DC.

Sept-Iles Whalers 2, Vinovium Lumberjacks 1: After not scoring for 188:12 in their previous three-plus games, the Whalers made it an even 200 minutes between goals. Gaston Fortin, the promising winger who has played poorly the last few games after notching three points in Les Balineres' first game, scored at 12:08 of the first period, beating Mel Pinson glove side with a nice wrister. It was only 15 minutes between goals the next time for them, with Marc Levesque hammering home a rebound attempt at 7:01 of the second period to give the Whalers a 2-0 lead and the home crowd more to cheer about. Although the Lumberjacks' use of a sixth attacker resulted in a goal from Kevin Morgan at 19:44, they were unable to tie the game in the final sixteen seconds. For most of the game, the Whalers were in control. They will look to build on this victory when they travel to Isca Town next. Meanwhile, Vinovium will head home to take on Eboracum and try to break this opening losing streak.

NAHL Day 4 - Shootout City

Isca Town Captains warming up before their game against DC, image credit to AirBnB

Three(!) shootouts today, two new teams tie for first, and a winless team gets its first win!

Isca Town Captains 0, DC Oilers 0 (4-3 SO): This game was definitely played more to Isca Town's liking than the Oilers', as no goals were scored in regulation or in overtime. Both teams managed a decent number of shots 30 for DC to 27 for Isca Town, but Ted Carpenter stopped them all for DC and the Captains' Justin Smith matched him. There were two penalties apiece, but the penalty kill for both sides was fabulous, including Isca Town's top pairing of Tremblay and Gross. In the shootout, everything seemed to go out the window until Carpenter stopped Isca Town's Robbie Reid on the fourth shot to keep the Oilers up 4-3, which was the final margin. For DC, this is their third shootout and first loss. They remain tied for first place, while Isca Town, following their opening loss, has won three straight to climb one point back of the leaders.

Pons Aelius Steelers 0, Mancunium Raiders 0 (1-3 SO): Shock in Pons Aelius as 65 minutes of excellent defensive hockey comes to nothing when the Raiders prevail in a shootout. As much as the Steelers locked down the Raiders, allowing only 22 shots through regulation and overtime, much credit must be given to Raiders defensemen Troy Buchanan and Jack Green. The two combined for eight blocked shots and harassed Pons Aelius forwards all night. For a team not known for its defense, they put up an impressive performance. On the Raiders' fourth shot, they led 2-1, and needed to score to put the game away. Matt Harmon faked left and went right, sneaking the puck by McQueen, the Steelers netminder, and putting the game away.

Newfield Rangers 3, Aquae Sulis Bears 3 (1-2 SO): The third shootout didn't involve any top teams, but it did feature some actual goals before the shootout. Aquae Sulis showed up in Noviomagus and put the Rangers in a 2-0 hole before ten minutes had elapsed, getting goals from center Cal Malone and winger Darin Drake. However, the Rangers potted two in the second period to tie the score, including a nifty wrister from Brady Dowell. Both teams traded goals in the third before the Bears prevailed in the shootout. The Bears have won two straight while the Rangers are going in the opposite direction, now on a three-game losing streak.

Londinium Royals 1, Sept-Iles Whalers 0: Disappointment for the Whalers fans who traveled to the capital for this game, as they saw their team fall 1-0 yet again. At this point, they have not scored in 188:12, a staggering time to be scoreless for a team that scored five goals in their opening game. Is this their true talent level and the first game a product of an unprepared Aquae Sulis team? Maybe not, but there is going to be a lot of frustration in the Sept-Iles locker room as they return home. For Londinium, this was a closer than expected game, but it vaulted them into a four-way tie for first. Ben Malone, a second-year player who debuted with just 13 points a year ago, had the only goal, outhustling Whalers players to score on a breakaway in the second period. For the moment, these two young teams seem to be going in opposite directions.

Labrador Caribou 1, Eboracum Sharpshooters 0: Of all the teams tied for first, Labrador is probably the biggest surprise. DC and Pons Aelius are perennial playoff teams, and Londinium is usually close to a playoff spot, but the Caribou usually find themselves in the bottom half and out of contention. It's early, but could this be a sign of things to come? After all, they have now held their own against some usually competitive teams, losing in a shootout to DC and beating Portus and Eboracum. For the Sharpshooters, this is not only their second loss in a row, it's their second shutout in a row. Eboracum's team prides itself on its goalscoring ability, but Wade Hamilton's second of the year for the Caribou was the only scoring to be had in this game. They will look to regroup and find what they've been missing at home against Londinium, a traditional rivalry game for them.

Vinovium Lumberjacks 1, Portus Abonae Privateers 2: In this matchup of previously winless teams, it's the Privateers who finally get a win. Looking visibly relieved after the game, Portus Abonae's head man, Ken Keller, said, "It always feels good to get that first win of the season and to snap a losing streak. Took a little longer than we'd hoped, but a win is a win. Hopefully this will start something for us." The Privateers scored both goals in the first period, getting a heavy slap shot from defenseman Doug Dixon and a surprising goal from fourth-line center Tony Boykin on a rebound. They would hold on from there. For the Lumberjacks, it's progress; back-to-back games with goals and they played much better after the first period, racking up 19 shots and 26 for the game. Still, they have to win at some point and for that, play has to improve. 

NAHL Day 3 - Clash at the Top, Privateers continue to slide

Brett McQueen had a strong game for Pons Aelius, image credit to Goalie Gear on Pinterest

Today we saw a clash between two teams tied for first, a continued losing streak for Portus Abonae, and DC keep pace with the new leader.

Eboracum Sharpshooters 0, Pons Aelius Steelers 1: The Sharpshooters and the Steelers entered the game tied for first, each with two wins. They offered contrasting styles, with Eboracum favoring aggressive attack and the Steelers content to turtle and look for their opportunity. After the clash of styles, it's safe to say the Steelers' play won out. Eboracum managed 35 shots on goal, but all of them were swallowed up by Steelers netminder Brett McQueen, a big reason for Pons Aelius' success in recent years. McQueen didn't play the last game against Sept-Iles, yielding to Christophe Collier because of flu-like symptoms, but he was sufficiently recovered to shut out the Sharpshooters. Although the Steelers didn't quite control the game the way they did against Sept-Iles, they nevertheless held strong. Finally, Eboracum winger Lewis Smith was whistled for interference, and the ensuing power play resulted in a goal from center Aaron Black at 5:24 of the third period, which provided the final margin.

DC Oilers 3, Vinovium Lumberjacks 1: At home, the Oilers claimed their third victory and the first that didn't come in a shootout. Julian Stephens had two assists and d-man Greg Ford notched his first career goal in the 3-1 victory that the Oilers controlled from start to finish. They are tied with Pons Aelius for first; unfortunately we won't see them confront each other until game eleven in DC. The good news for the Lumberjacks is that they scored a goal after being shut out in their first two games. The goal came from formerly injured prospect Parker Martindale, which is an encouraging sign. The bad news is they still lost handily. Even in a 66-game season, a slow start can be deadly.

Portus Abonae Privateers 0, Londinium Royals 3: After a fairly close game against Pons Aelius and an overtime loss to Labrador, the Portus Abonae Privateers returned home to be shut out and nearly blown out by the Royals of Londinium. The Royals scored a goal in every period, with Sheldon Cook opening the scoring, second-line center Daniel Roberts making it 2-0, and Thomas Bailey putting home a rebound for the final margin in the third. Despite 26 shots and two power-play opportunities, the Privateers could not manage to break the wall of Royals goaltender Eli Boyd. They fall to 0-2-1 and clearly have some work to do on defense.

Sept-Iles Whalers 0, Labrador Caribou 1: After a stinging 1-0 defeat on the road to Pons Aelius, fans packed "Le Navire", the Whalers' home stadium, home to roughly 9,000 seats, and cheered raucously for their team. But it was another disappointing night for the Whalers. Though they managed more shots than they did against the Steelers, and held their own physically and possession-wise, Caribou goalie Dave Francis stumped them. Francis made 30 saves, including a beauty of a glove save, snaring a sizzling shot from Marc Levesque late in the second period. Gaston Fortin, the young winger whom all of Sept-Iles sings about, managed just two shots on goal. Through a translator after the game, he said, "I apologize for my poor play. I love all our fans, I love to see the fleur-de-lis in the stands, and I am ashamed I disappointed everyone." For the Caribou, Francis' excellent play in goal was backed by a tic-tac-toe play on an odd-man rush between winger Johnny Ramsey and star center Victor Hall, with Hall providing the pass that Ramsey shot home for the lead in the third.

Isca Town Captains 3, Newfield Rangers 2: Isca Town won back-to-back games after dropping their first to Londinium. After a two-goal first period, the Captains got their third (and winning) goal from Jason Gross, brother to Steelers forward Hank Gross at 13:38. But the Rangers didn't make it easy. After looking sloppy in a 3-1 loss to Mancunium, they rallied from a 2-0 deficit, getting a power-play goal from center Earl Switzer early in the second period, and Elliott Parrish knocking home a rebound with just fourteen second left in the same period. They just got outplayed in the first and third, and will return home hoping for more consistent play.

Mancunium Raiders 0, Aquae Sulis Bears 1: Not a lot of fanfare here, but Bears fans are glad that their team fared well, getting its first win over a Raiders team held scoreless for the first time. Both of these teams are generally attacking, but there were a lot of missed passes, shots that didn't end up on goal, and more than one missed power-play opportunity. With better play on both sides, each team could have scored multiple goals. They will need to shore that up going forward, especially with the Raiders' significant offseason expenditures.