Jan 13, 2013 | SCorrigan | 284 views
Week 16 HL Recap
This week marked the return to our regular slate of games, although a pair of teams were also participating in a tournament at the same time. All three games proved close, although they were quite distinct from one another.
The first game saw the Penguins take on the Bruins. Both teams were also participating in the Walter Gretzky tournament in Brantford. As has become the norm between these two teams, it was a fast paced, end to end affair with no shortage of scoring chances. The game was tied after 2 periods at 2-2 but the Penguins pulled ahead in the 3rd and secured a 4-2 win. The bright lights for the seemingly unbeatable Penguins were John Bulten and Tyson Barnhardt who both scored nice goals and also each added an assist. For the Bruins Linzee Brodhaecker continued his scoring streak by netting another goal while Bryn Palin matched the Penguins stars with his own goal and an assist.
The second game involved the Flyers and the Leafs. In the previous meeting between the two teams during the Christmas tournament the flyers had been all over the Leafs but that was not to be the case today. This was a close checking game with players on both teams driving hard to the nets. The Leafs opened the scoring on a nifty backhand goal by Braedan De Mann in the first. During the second the teams exchanged a pair of goals with Luke Meadus of the Leafs capitalizing on a pair of rebounds and Chase Machin of the Flyers rifling a shot late in the period to draw the game closer at 3-2. The third, however, saw no more goals. The Leafs forecheck remained strong and they continued to test the Flyers Logan Gorman who kept the game within reach.
The final game between the Habs and the Sharks was a good old fashioned fire wagon special. Goals were in no shortage and the coaches on both sides had ulcer attacks. Still it was an entertaining game for the fans that went back and forth with 11, yes 11, lead changes. At the final buzzer the Sharks were able to skate off with an 8-6 win. For the Habs a familiar duo lead the offensive charge on this day, Alex Moon (1 g, 2 a) and Conor Short (2 g, as they were seemingly everywhere. For the Sharks, they relied heavily on a pair of players just back from sick bay: Janson Duench, still suffering from the effects of pneumonia (3 g, 1 a) and Ben Farrell, just recovered from a pulled rib cage (3 g, 1 a).