Chassie With All the Assists - For the Wrong Team

We only had 3 games in the docket Monday night, meaning the Astros and Wolverines were at home nursing their injuries and getting ready for next week while the other 6 teams were in action.

 

The Wolfpack were taking on the Voyageurs in the first game and it wasn’t long before the Voyageurs got a golden opportunity.  Josh Beitel fed a pass across the ice to Voyaguers captain Shannon Farrell and she just missed scoring to the blocker side of Nick Comeau as he slid across.  

 

Rylan d’Entremont, after scoring twice in each of his first three games, was looking to get back on the board after his team was in a 0-0 game last week, and he gathered speed in his own end and raced up ice.  He got down to the last man to beat, Matt Anderson, and as Rylan made the deke, Anderson shut him down and cleared the zone.  The Wolfpack came right back in and moved the puck around the zone, getting the puck back to the point where the D wound up a clapper.  Nick Marshall pressured the point and got his stick on the puck and was off to the races.  He was all alone from the red line and he shot as he got in close, but Nick Comeau made the stick save.  

 

The Voyageurs had a little momentum, and they got another odd man rush.  Josh Beitel once again was the disher, but this time Cobee MacNaughton took the pass and he fired low.  The puck squeezed through the pads of Comeau and Michael Finlayson was there to tap it in to give the Voyageurs a 1-0 lead with 11:47 to play.  The game slowed down from there.  Dare I say it?  Yes. The Wolfpack are the New Jersey Devils of Nomad.  Just stingy with opportunities against.  Boring to watch too.

 

That being said, Conor MacLean had a nice rush up the ice and handed it off to Ivan Kravchenko with about 4 minutes to play.  Ivan sent the biscuit right into the chest of Andrew Lowery for a snuggle.  Jared MacDougall had a better go at the net 20 seconds later when he grabbed a rebound and clanged it off the post.

 

The Voyageurs took the 1-0 lead into the half but they got another Wolfpack got the game back to even when Glenn Boyce had an easy tap in off a rebound shot.  Andrew Lowery was then overheard speaking about a Pro Hockey Life discount after the game, but it was probably unrelated.

 

The chances were few and far between, but the Voyageurs made good on a 2 on 1 when Shannon passed the puck to Bo Lowery and he scored what would prove to be the game winner with just under 9 minutes to play.

 

With the victory, the Voyageurs jump ahead of the Wolfpack in the standings.  The Wolfpack are yet to earn a regulation win so far this season, but will be seeking a change to that next week when they face the Astros

 

 

 

The second game on Rink D was between the Highlanders and Starrs.   Lake Isenor’s Starrs were holding on to first place as they entered action Monday night, while the Highlanders sat in a tie for 4th.  

 

Taylor McKay’s scored a wraparound goal that went off Phil Sprague’s skate and in to open the scoring.  It was his second of the season, but Brock Bethune’s 3rd of the year was what everyone was talking about after the game.  He pretty much made the Starrs his bitch as he dangles every last one of them and then went short side shelf on Phil Sprague to make it 2-0 at 7:17 of the first.

 

Keith Webb got himself in on the action when Mya Ferguson gave him an outlet pass and he drove the net from his own blue line, gutting up the wing and then getting in close and scaring Sprague into submission.  3-0 Highlanders is how the first ended, and the second was a low opportunity kind of period so Mike Chassie made it interesting as David Lacey stole the puck from him and took the puck for a breakaway.  His shot found the back of the net via five hole as Chassie recorded his 4th assist on a Highlanders goal.  During his post game interview, he was asked about his lacklustre performance he said “it was the worst game I’ve ever played in Nomad”.  When pressed for more, he indicated that a teammate spilled his pre game pop and it was all downhill from there.

 

It wasn’t all bad for the Starrs though.  Despite Logan MacLean having their number all night, Blake Isenor ended his scoring drought.  He last scored on February 8th of 2024.  The goal last night was with just 56 seconds remaining and came off a rebound as Logan MacLean vacated the post for a reason unbeknownst to even him, ruining his shutout bid.

 

Finally, we had the Falcons and Sable living the good life on the NHL sized of rink B.  The Sable were siting 3 points back of the Falcons before the game started, so a Sable win would put them ahead of the Falcons and into 3rd place.  Mike McIsaac helped them make that a reality when he scored on a wrister from the slot just over a minute into the game.

 

Joe MacDougall responded a couple minutes later with a shot over the glove of Trevor Pate.  Then Kyle Lucas had a mad dash up the ice and Pate made the initial save, bu5 Josh Flemming was on the doorstep to make it 2-1 Falcons as the Purple and gold scored twice in 20 seconds.  Jory Uhlman would make it 3-1 a minute later when he went backhand bar down from the faceoff dot.

 

Pressure kept coming from the young legs of the Sable and Jared Creelman found Silas Bonnell alone on the back door, just hanging out in the crease for an easy little tap in to get the Sable back in it.  

 

A 3-2 Falcons lead began period number two and Kyle Lucas, having shown up midway through the first and having to leave part way through the second, popped out of a scramble and was flying up the ice.  He dangled Kyle Weatherbee so badly that his draft stock dropped 3 rounds, and then Lucas deked Pate just as badly and slid the puck into the open net.  Captain sick hands ended his shift and said his goodbyes as the Falcons and Sable picked their jaws up off the floor.  Joe MacDougall and Nick Hodgson would add goals to make it 6-2.

 

After a erroneously disallowed goal for the Falcons, the Sable’s Riley Hurlbert received a gift in the slot to the left of Josh McCarther with 30 seconds left, and beat him with a snapshot top glove to make the final score 6-3 for the Falcons.

 

The win elevates the Falcons into first place with 12 points.  The Starrs also have 12 points, but have one more game played.

 

Every team will be back in action on Monday June 30th as the summer starts to heat up.