Last week before Christmas

It was a busy week, so I didn't have an opportunity to write articles for every game, so here's a summary of the week's action.

On Tuesday we had the Lions playing the Osprey at 10:00 and after the more senior Zamboni driver came out to fix the mess of a job the first guy did, we got underway with Matt Simpson in the timekeeper's box blasting his favourite Christmas tunes.

Matt Ryder, known for his late starts, had zero hesitation and was on a roll from puck drop, assisting on a Branden Rankin goal then scoring one of his own on the next shift.  The Lions were able to shut him down for the rest of the period after that as the teams kept things close with the top two goaltenders playing well in their respective nets.

Even the second period was fairly devoid of goals until 3:40 left when Taylor MacKay got one to make it 3-0 Osprey, and then 10 seconds later Jamie Richard got the Lions on the board.  At 3:12 Keith Webb got that one back and Bobby Sacre got another at 2:21 as a couple bad bounces deflated the Lions hopes of a comeback.  To top it off we had a Christmas miracle as Stevie "Snipes" Power batted a rebound out of the air and into the Lions goal to make it 6-1.  

The close game ended with 5 goals in 2 and a half minutes and teams shook hands and then stayed chatting after the game until getting the boot from rink staff.

On the rink next door, the Greyhounds played the Evergreens.  Landon Miron, leading the league in points and averaging over 3 of them a game, and also leading in goals, got himself a little more of a lead when he scored in the opening minute of the game.  While he ended up with 2G and 2A and edged closer to taking the Nomad assist lead as well, it was Drew LeFrank who stole the show.  Drew came into the game with just one goal on the season but was looking like a certified sniper as he made some incredible dangles en route to the hatty.

The game, just like the Osprey/Lions, would end with a 6-1 scoreline, ensuring the Evergreens would go to the Christmas break in sole possession of first place, a nice turnaround for captain Kyle Publicover after a rough season a year ago.

Wednesday night's matchup between the Aurora and Eurekas would be a good test for the Eurekas as they added a new player in replacement of Matt Peters whose season ended early.  In came Andrew Smardon, a true Hockey Nomad, playing in the Australian Ice Hockey League last year, but he'd been off the ice for a while, so he was going to have to get his legs under him.  Even so, he played well.  

For the first time this year, the Eurekas had a full lineup and the Aurora on the other bench were ready for them.  It was an unexpected player leading the Aurora on the night with Dylan Kugler looking like he was feeling it.  He scored the first two goals of the game.

Matt Simpson, looking to keep his streak if a point every game alive, got a beauty pass in front of the net with the whil thing open and he shanked it.  Would this be the night he ended his streak like Bessey and Hall did theirs the night before? No, no it wouldn't.  Simpson set up Crowell, then scored as the Aurora went up 4-0.

The Eurekas struggled to get shots on goal in the first period but apparently excel in shorthanded situations.  Andrew zsmardon's first shot in the league came on a breakaway shorthanded and as he faced down Logan MacLean, he saw an opening five-hole.  Logan won the battle and the rebound went to the corner.  Then the Eurekas got down 2 men and they found themselves somehow on a 2 on 0, Shannon Farrell with the puck.  She elected to shoot and unfortunately missed high.  Back at even strength, Ryan Kinley came in and fired a shot that ramped off the defender's stick and right under the bar to ruin Logan's shutout bid.

The first period was very clearly owned by the Aurora as the led 4-1 and were outshooting the Eurekas 26-4.

It took 6 minutes to see the opening goal of the second and it was Dylan Kugler getting the hat trick as he took a puck off the chest which redirected in past Nick Comeau.  Comeau had been getting bombarded and was making some great saves, but bounces like that were just the way the night was going.  The next goal however was just a great shot by Chris Stickings as the season parted in front and he rifled it five-hole.

Andrew Smardon made an impact a minute later when he scored on a delayed penalty call.  It was 6-2 and what was going to be a power play became a penalty kill for the Eurekas as Tyler Carr got himself in trouble for beaking at the refs.  Matt Simpson scored on the PP, and then Andrew Smardon found Connor MacPherson alone at the side of the net for an easy tap in as the Aurora took the game 7-3.  The shots would end 44-17 for the Aurora, with about 9 of those Eurekas shots being taken in the final 2 minutes.  If they can play their whole next game like the final two minutes, they could be a team to watch out for.

Our final game before the holidays was the Tigers playing the Norsemen.  Josh Stevens had been worried about his All-Star chances so he was playing hard to fight his way into the votes after getting points in his first 2 games but then going 4 games without.  Coming off a 4 point night he opened the scoring vs the Tigers.  Blake Whebby scored from the slot to make it 2-0 before the line of Stevens, Tousignant, and Warwick went back to work, Tousignant with the finish.

Dan Keays clawed one back for the Tigers when he tapped the puck into the open net after Blake Isenor drove Allan Beaton into his own goalie, taking him out of the play.

The Norsemen would prove to be too strong though as they kept coming in waves, scoring the next 3 before Darren Ells got one for the Tigers, and then finishing the game with one more for the 7-2 Norsemen win.

Stephen Warwick led the way with a 4 point night, Josh Stevens and Thomas Saunders each having 3 points.  The Norsemen hold 3rd place for the next couple weeks while the Tigers have just the Eurekas beneath them.

The season starts back up again January 7th, so enjoy the Wirkd Juniors, the Spengler Cup and whatever other non hockey things you may get up to over the break.