Eurekas and Greyhounds get Festive

The 2nd game of Tuesday night was between the Eurekas and Greyhounds.  Neither team showed up ready to play as action was slow to pick up.  The best chances early on went to speedy Jake Rankin for the Eurekas, and Connor LeBlanc for the Greyhounds, though neither was a serious threat.

 

5 minutes in, Kyle Gouthro cut into the middle of the Eurekas zone and fired a shot low along the ice.  With his head down, he ran right into Carter Nickerson and dropped like a sack of bricks.  The shot slid just wide of the goal as the ref’s arm went up for a penalty.  The Eurekas got themselves a 2 on 1, Dylan Warren passed to Ryan DeWolfe, but the pass didn’t quite connect.  They killed the rest of the penalty and after what seemed like an eternity devoid of scoring chances, we had a goal!

 

Dylan Warren threw a puck to the net and DeWolfe’s foot hit the puck.  The goal, was called back.  Even upon video review, there wasn’t consensus as to whether the puck was kicked or not.

 

Greg Delano had a decent scoring opportunity but as he took a weak shot, he was seen favouring his hand, an action which would send reporters to team’s medical staff asking about health concerns.  Luckily, Delano will get a Christmas break to heal up before a Nomad Cup run in 2026.

 

Finally, at 4:53 of the first, Jake Rankin broke the deadlock.  He curled in to the net, beating one sock McLeod and going five hole for the 1-0 Eurekas lead.

 

On the penalty kill Connor MacPherson missed Connor LeBlanc for a breakaway pass, but he didn’t make the same mistake twice, hitting Brock Bethune who was all alone with Kyle Gouthro skating hard to the net with him.  Bethune went along the ice to tie the game with the shorty.  Ashley Leonard nearly put the Greyhounds up a goal with 10 seconds left, but Speight made a good save to keep the game tied.

 

Into the second period we’d go as there was no holiday spirit between these two apparently fierce rivals.  The Eurekas controlled the first couple minutes, but Logan MacLean was stopping everything, but 3 minutes into the period, after a barrage of shots, Dylan Warren one timed a shot from the slot and the Eurekas were back on top.

 

Bryan Gillis nearly tied it up when Brian Collins backed away and gave him the slot.  Gillis took the shot and Ashton made the save, then dove to poke away the rebound.

 

Jake Rankin must be single or something as you can tell by his speed that he’s not skipping leg day, but little Jake couldn’t find a way to replicate his early success.

 

Connor LeBlanc then stood up on Dylan Warren at the blueline and the ref’s arm went up so quickly that he almost toppled himself.  LeBlanc went to the box as a penalty parade was now under way.  The Greyhounds are apparently a shorthanded team as Kyle Gouthro, verified member of the blue helmet crew, got a breakaway and skated straight to the net where he fired his shot unsuccessfully.

 

To elevate himself into arch enemy status, Connor LeBlanc came out of the box after serving his penalty and as he took the puck into the Eurekas zone, he toe dragged Eurekas captain Brian Collins and then zipped a shot through Brian’s legs and the legs of Ashton Speight to tie the game.  He would then make a stick save in the crease when Logan got deked, putting his stamp on all areas of the game.

 

The game remained tied until the dying seconds of the game.  Thanks in part to Jeff Snow with a whiff of the year candidate as he had all day and barely even got a shot off.  Well, with 20 seconds on the clock, Greg Delano got a shot off and it deflected off Brian Collins, having a struggle so far, and Ashton made an incredible adjustment to grab the deflected puck out of the air as he reached back.  Jeff Snow swung at nothing but air below Ashton’s glove as the catch was made.

 

This game was going to a shootout.  

 

Dylan Warren was in the box, so the Eurekas leading scorer was ineligible to shoot as has always been a Nomad Hockey League rule since day 1.  

 

Eurekas were up first.

Carter Nickerson - forehand, backhand, roof. Goal.

Connor LeBlanc - forehand, backhand, along the ice. Goal.  Then a fall and long lay down on the ice.

Matt Anderson - shot low. Denied.

Mat McLeod - wrister off the glove and toe. No goal.

Ryan DeWolfe - hard cut, goes around Logan, can’t get there. Nope.

Greg Delano - comes in top speed, so… slowly.  Forehand, backhand, forehand. Goal.  Greyhounds win!

 

The Greyhounds win gave them an extra point over the Eurekas and that single point is the difference as the Greyhounds enter the Christmas break in 6th, while the Eurekas are in 7th.