Archive for January 2015

Saturday Night Special

Posted on Monday, January 26, 2015 by WCHL Hockey

Ducks double up Preds

 
 


Nashville Predators (2) vs Anaheim Ducks (4)..........
Logan Couture scored two first period goals and added a late second period assist as the Ducks doubled up on the WCHL leading Predators. The loss gave Nashville three in a row, while the win was Anaheim's fifth in as many games. 
Logan Couture opened the scoring at the ten second mark of the first as he took a feed from Mikkel Boedker while darting through the neutral zone and wristed a puck between the legs of Jonathan Quick, the second assist was given to Patrice Bergeron who won the opening face-off clean from Ryan Kesler. Couture struck again at 13:54 on a Ducks' powerplay as Kesler was victimized again in the face-off cycle, as he won the draw but so well that it went off Boedker and right on Couture's stick where he easiely slid it past Quick. Nashville led 15-8 after 20 in shots on net.
Ryan Kesler cut the Ducks lead to one at 3:56 of the middle period as he  deflected a Dmitry Kulikov slapshot over the shoulder of Tuukka Rask in net for Anaheim, Milan Lucic was given the second assist. Boedker got his third point of the night as he restored the Ducks' two goal lead at 18:50 with his twelfth goal of the year as he cut across the front of the net and roofed a backhand past Quick. The Preds coach Dallas Eakins pulled Quick in favor of Niklas Backstrom after that goal, the Ducks' tender allowed three goals on fourteen shots. Nashville led 22-14 in shots after forty.
Anaheim's  Sami Vatanen skated into the Predator's zone and fired a slapshot that was accidently redirected by Pred Jonathan Sim, the goal came at the five minute mark of the third. Nashville got one back at 8:22 as Artem Anisimov beat Bergeron in the faceoff circle to the right of Rask, the puck went back to Frolik who snapped the biscuit past a startled Rask. 
Tuukka Rask made 29 saves for his 19th win of the campaign. Backstrom stopped 13 of 14 in relief for the Preds.
MOLSON'S 3 STARS:
1 - Logan Couture (Ana)....... 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 shots
2 - Mikkel Boedker (Ana)...... 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 shot
3 - Sami Vatanen (Ana)......... 1 goal, +2, 1 shot

Reporting For The WCHL Network

Peter Puck

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Saturday Night Special

Posted on Monday, January 19, 2015 by WCHL Hockey

Oilers turn leafs to mulch

 
 


Edmonton Oilers (5) vs Toronto Maple Leafs (1)..........
The Oiles arrived in Toronto on a two game win streak, sitting on the outside of the playoff race looking in, hoping to put some distance between themselves and the Avalanche. The Leafs nursing a three game losing streak, their second longest this season.
The Oilers scored twice in thirty-eight seconds part way through the first on goals by Vernon Fiddler(1st) at 8:54 on a re-direct from Philip Larsen, then Brad Richards(10th) scored on the powerplay at 9:32, thanks to a great set up by Jason Pominville. The Leafs cut that lead in half on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' tenth of the year at 10:52 on a nice three way passing play with Troy Brouwer, Patric Hornqvist. Just over five and a half minutes later Edmonton re-gained their two goal lead on a Derick Brassard(7th) blast from the right face-off circle with assists going to Craig Smith and Marek Zidlicky at 16:32. The shots after one were even at 13-13.
The second period was scoreless thanks to a great display of goaltending by Oiler goalie Ilya Bryzgalov who stopped fifteen Leaf shots in the period. Shots after forty, 28-19 Leafs.
The third was scoreless until the Oil struck for two again, late in the period. Alex Chiasson(3rd) at 14:23 from Eric Brewer, Adam Cracknell pretty much put the game away, but just sixty-one seconds later Brooks Laich(5th) from Matt Hendricks and  Brian Gionta at 15:24 added yet another dagger. 
Leafs starter, Jonas Hiller was pulled after allowing three goals on eleven shots in sixteen minutes and thirty-two seconds of work. Rookie Mark Visentin came in and allowed two on fifteen shots for the remainder of regulation.
MOLSON'S THREE STARS:
1 - Ilya Bryzgalov (Edm)........... made 39 saves for his 13th win
2 - Brooks Laich (Edm)............ 1 goal, +1, 3 shots
3 - Alex Chiasson (Edm).......... 1 goal, +1, 1 shot

The Leafs are back at it on Monday as they visit the Philadelphia Flyers who stopped a three game slide of their own at the expense of the Canadiens on Saturday by a score of 4-0 and are led by Captain Ryan Getzlaf who has 31 pts in 25 games played.
The Oilers are right back at it on Sunday as they play host to the suddenly hot San Jose Sharks, winners of their last five straight, outscoring their opponents 20-10 in the process. 

Reporting For The WCHL Network.......

Peter Puck

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Saturday Night Special

Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2015 by WCHL Hockey

Blackhawks down

 
 


Colorado Avalanche (3) vs Chicago Blackhawks (1)........
The Avalanche entered Saturday's game in Chicago riding a two game win streak, their latest a 2-1 shoot-out win over another top Western Conference team, the Minnesota Wild. With Chicago on a season high six game win streak the game was gonna be another tough one for Colorado. 
The first period proved to be uneventful, the shots were 11-7 but neither squad could find the back of the net. Just one penalty called as both teams seemed afraid to make the first mistake.
In the second the visitors connected for two goals in alittle over seven minutes and a half minutes on tallies by Patrick Sharp(8th) at 6:52, assisted by Marian Hossa and David Desharnias and then Loui Eriksson(3rd) at 14:37 from Jaden Schwartz, Ryan Johansen. The Blackhawks did get ten shots on Jonathon Bernier in the Avs net but couldn't beat the 26 yr old tender. The Avs held a 25-17 shot advantage after 40 minutes.
An unlikely sniper got Chicago on the board in the third as fourth liner Nigel Dawes notched his first of the season at 4:59 off of a re-direction of a Trevor Daley slap shot from the blue line as Dawes set up a screen in front of Bernier. That score held up until 13:03 as Sharp powered between a pair of Hawk defenders to score his second of the night thanks to his two linemates, Hossa and Desharnias. Chicago did play with more desire in the third as they out-shot Colorado 9-6 but was for not as Jonathon Bernier finished the night with one more in the winner column as he stopped twenty-five shots for his seventh win of the year.

MOLSON'S THREE STARS;
1 - Patrick Sharp (Col)......... 2 goals, +2, 3 SOG
2 - Jonathan Bernier (Col)... allowed 1 goal on 26 shots
3 - Marian Hossa (Col).......  2 assists, +2, 5 shots

NEXT UP:
On Sunday the Avalanche play host in the back half their home-and-home series against the Chicago Blackhawks. Colorado will try to extend their win streak to four and the 'Hawks win try to avenge their two goal loss to the Avs on Saturday. An interesting note from Saturdays game --- Neither David Krejci, leading point getter for Colorado or Mike Santorelli who is leading Chicago in scoring could find the scoresheet. 

Reporting For The WCHL Network......
Peter Puck

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Column

Posted on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 by WCHL Hockey

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Saturday Night Special

Posted on Sunday, January 4, 2015 by WCHL Hockey

Canucks slip past Wild on back of Sedin

 
 


Minnesota Wild (2) vs Vancouver Canucks (3)........
The Wild visited Vancouver on Saturday to take on the Canucks who were not-so proud owners of a 10 game losing streak. The Wild who are three points out of first in the West were on a slide of their own, losers of three straight. So this was the game where Minny got their game back right?.... Not so fast !
The Canucks opened the scoring at 11:35 of the first when Daniel Sedin scored his 3rd of the season as he picked up a Jack Johnson rebound that went wide of the net and was allowed three whacks at the puck without a Wild player touching him as he slipped it past Antti Niemi. After twenty Vancouver outshot Minny 13-6.
Minnesota tied the game off the stick of Thomas Vanek(9th) at 4:11 of the second from Tyler Bozak. Bozak won the faceoff against Henrik Sedin in the Canucks' end and got the puck to a charging Vanek who lifted a cheeky backhand over Tomas Vokoun's shoulder. Vancouver took their second lead of the game at 7:23 thanks to Teddy Purcell(5th) who picked up a loose puck in the slot and snapped it over Niemi. With Vancouver's Mark Fistric in the box for hooking, Jay Bouwmeester(4th) hammered home a blast from the point to even the score once more at 10:53. The shots were 25-14 after fourty.
With Purcell in the box for the Canucks for high-sticking, Vancouver's penalty killers went to work and Viktor Stalberg 
(3:23) scored his first of the season as he grabbed the loose puck in his own zone off a face-off win by Alex Ovechkin and raced down the right side before cutting to the middle of the ice and snapping a shot through Niemi's pads, a shot this reporter thinks the tender would love to have back. The shots in the third much closer (4-3 Minny) but the Canucks outshot Minnesota 28-18.
Canucks Derek MacKenzie was ejected at 6:02 of the third as he was sent to the showers early for arguing what he thought was a blown penalty call as he claimed he was caught by a Wild high stick but couldn't supply any physical proof.
MOLSON'S THREE STARS:
1 - Daniel Sedin (Van).......... 1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 4 shots
2 - Viktor Stalberg (Van)...... 1 goal, +1, 2 shots
3 - Thomas Vanek (Min)...... 1 goal, 1 assist, even =/-, 3 shots

With the loss Minnesota fails to make up any room between them and West leading Nashville, in fact they fell back two more points with Nashville's 3-2 overtime win over the Lightning in Music City. Minnesota will look to rebound again as they host the Oilers on Sunday, the Oil coming off a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Canadiens.
The win for Vancouver was just their second of the season and first in ten games. The Canucks will host San Jose on Sunday, the Sharks are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Capitals at the Shark Tank on Saturday and have now lost four of their last five games.

Reporting For The WCHL Network........

Peter Puck

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