Feb 02, 2013 | SCorrigan | 587 views
Week 17 & 18 Recaps
The flu bug has hit the Minor Atom division with full force over the last two weeks, including this author, so there have been some lean benches, white faced players and sickly coaching staffs. Regardless there has been great entertainment offered the last two weeks with each team having a degree of mixed success.
The Penguins entered last week on their usual roll and did not disappoint their fans. In their Saturday game they were simply all over the Leafs and cruised to an easy 7-2 win. Tyrus Morrissette led the way offensively (3 g, 1 a) and the defense was stabilized by solid plays from Sam Fleury. On the Sunday the Penguins took part in the OHL experience against the Bruins and continued to roll along with a 3-1 win thanks to a pair of goals from Eric Wehrle and a pair of assists by Alex MCCallister. This Saturday, however, was not the Penguins day as they ran in to the Sharks and their win streak ended.
The Bruins played perhaps their best game of the season last Saturday as they easily handled the offensively minded Sharks 3-1. It was a complete game with timely scoring by Devon Taylor (3g) and stiffling defense by the likes of Reid Merritt and Mason McCormick. During the OHL experience the next night Devon Taylor continued his scoring streak but the team fell 3-1 in what has become a traditionally close rivalry with the Penguins. During today's game the Bruins outchanced the Flyers thanks to some booming shots from the point by Cameron Hutchinson and a nifty end to end rush by Jeff Favaro. However, they fell short in a 2-1 loss.
The Leafs last weekend lost 7-2 to the Penguins and the team was not prepared to accept excuses. That showed today as they played a energetic and engaged game from the drop of the puck. Despite the fact that in previous meetings with the Habs the Leafs have ended up on the losing side there seemed little doubt of that today early on. Make no mistake, the Habs, as they always seem to do, made it close in the end, but the Leafs effort this weekend deserved full marks. Braden De Mann set up a pair of goals and Conor Jones (1g, 1A) netted the winner half way through the third.
The Habs continue to play games close but seem to come up just a little short by the final buzzer. Last weekend they played the Flyers close for two and a half periods but the 2-2 tie slipped from their hands with 3 quick goals given up in the last 5 minutes. On that day Jackson Soucie was spectacular in net and Conor Short (2g) the goal scoring hero. Today the Habs came out and were a little flat footed as the Leafs jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Full credit goes to Dylan Hall, who played his first game in net this year and really kept his team in the game. Additionally Tristan Boyce (2g, 1 a) had a break out game offensively. The team battled back but still lost 5-4.
The Flyers are the only team that can claim back to back wins over the last 2 weekends and their recipe for success has been stingy defense an great goaltending. Their 5-2 over the Habs a week ago was thanks in no small part to key saves early on by Jack Murphy and a hat trick by Chase Machin. This weekend they again relied upon solid goaltending, this time by Logan Gorman, and an end to end goal by Ethan Reynolds to seal the deal.
The Sharks lost 3-1 to the Bruins last weekend but every Shark player would admit that the Bruins simply outplayed them at every end of the ice and in all the small battles. That does not bode well for a team facing the high flying first place Penguins. However, this weekend the Shark players were hungrier and they won those battles along the boards or in front of the net for loose pucks. That puck pursuit was complemented by smart passing and good shooting. The result was a 9-3 win. Jason Duench had a trio of pretty goals and Gage Rud's blazing speed earned him a pair as well.