Xtreme 11 Mayhem 2
Goals – Bussard 6, Jewell 3, Stitt 1, Walter 1
Goals – McGinnis 1, Deloia 1
Assists – Jewell 5, Stitt 2, Walter 2
Assists – Deloia 1
Saves – Sutter 31, Lingenfelter 14
Scratches: Smith, Zimmerman
Joe Bussard’s 6 goals and Dave Jewell’s 8 Points leads Xtreme to 11-2 win over Mayhem
The 2019 xhl playoffs got under way last night with the 3rd place Xtreme choosing the Mayhem instead of the Colonials as their first round opponents. Any thoughts of the Mayhem providing a scare or frustrating the Xtreme with their defense were erased after the first period. The Xtreme were able to score 6 first period goals, three of them from Joe Bussard, to go up 6-0 and they never looked back. The lead would grow to 11-0 in the 3rd period before Matt McGinnis and Vinnie Deloia scored back to back goals for the Mayhem to avoid a mercy rule or shutout. Joe Bussard had 6 six goals. Dave Jewell assisted on 5 of the Xtreme’s goals and added 3 goals himself in the win. Henry Sutter saw 42 shots fly his way last night, making 31 saves. Clint Lingenfelter made 14 saves. Game 2 will be Wednesday night at 6 p.m. An Xtreme win will send them to the 2nd round starting next week. If the Mayhem can pull off an upset, game 3 would be next Monday night.
Yeti 10 Colonials 4
Goals – Jacobson 4, Currin 2, Fatula 2, Reiter 1, Steve Pompeii 1
Goals – Brian Anderson 2, Bob Anderson 1, Matchock 1
Assists – Schuckers 5, Reiter 3, Steve Pompeii 1, Jacobson 1
Assists – Bob Anderson 2, Day 1, Kalgren 1
Saves – Herman 30, McKinley 21
July an afterthought for the Yeti
Going into July, a lot of people who follow the XHL thought the Yeti were going to be choosing from a list of 4 teams as their first round playoff opponent. They dropped in the standings each week, and by the time the final week of the regular season came, they dropped all the way to 4th place and were suddenly stuck playing against the Colonials, the team that started the Yeti losing streak back in early July. It looked like July was going to carry into August when Bob Anderson scored on a long slap shot from mid court to put the Colonials up 1-0 early in the first period. It would be the only colonial lead of the night. Dan Fatula scored on a setup from Cody Schuckers to tie the game at 1. Brandon Reiter would later score on a power play kill to put the Yeti ahead 2-1 going into the 2nd period. Jarrod Currin made it 3-1 but the Colonials eventually found themselves with a 4 on 2 advantage. Not only did they fail to score on it, but the Yeti were quickly able to widen their lead after Steve Pompeii and Mike Jacobson found the back of the net to make it 5-1 going into the 3rd period. Early in the 3rd period, Bob Anderson found a way to get a long slap shot past Adam McKinley. McKinley was temporarily able to prevent it from going all the way past the goal line but Brian Anderson trickled it the other inch to temporaily give the Colonials a little life. Mike Jacobson quickly answered to make it 6-2. The Colonials were able to pull within 6-4 with around 5 minutes to go in the 3rd period after John Matchock and Brian Anderson found the back of the net, but any hope they had of a comeback quickly went away following a penalty on Derik Day. The Colonials were unable to kill the penalty. Jarrod Currin’s power play goal in the 3rd period all but put the game away. Mike Jacobson would find the back of the net two more times in the final minutes. Dan Fatula found the back of the net as well to officially clinch the 10-4 win. Mike Jacobson’s 4 goals led the way. Brandon Reiter and Cody Schuckers only combined for one goal, but were able to get other teammates involved. The two assisted on 8 of the 10 goals. Tim Herman made 30 saves for the Colonials. Adam McKinley made 21 saves. Bob Anderson led the Colonials with a goal and 2 assists. Game 2 will be Wednesday night at 8. The Colonials could be playing without Steve Kalgren. He was injured in the 3rd period and did not return. Kalgren said his chances of playing are 20%.
Knights 12 Spare Parts 0
Goals – Schindler 3, Calvert 3, Tosh 3, Kline 2, McMinn 1
Goals – N/A
Assists – Calvert 4, McMinn 2, Schindler 2, Tosh 1
Assists – N/A
Saves - Luzier 10, Schickling 4
Knights score 9 times in first period
The Spare Parts knew they had a huge task ahead before they walked onto the court last night. The task became even bigger when they found out they were going to be playing ironman. Then there was the first period. The Knights found the back of the net 9 times in the first period and officially clinched the mercy rule win early in the 2nd period. Andy Calvert, Kurt Schindler and Jordan Tosh each had 3 goals. Spare Parts goalie Tyler Luzier made 10 saves. Todd Schickling only had to make 4 saves for the Knights. Game 2 will be played Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Renegades 16 Jagrbombs 6
Goals – Lehman 6, Hunter 5, Stinchcomb 2, Llewellyn 1, Vollmer 1, Matchock 1
Goals – Capetta 3, Rossi 2, Schuckers 1
Assists – Stinchcomb 3, Matchock 2, Hunter 2, Vollmer 2, Llewellyn 1
Assists – Schuckers 2, Kruckow 1
Saves – Lee 38, Clontz 17
Lehman/Hunter dynamic duo
Mike Lehman has spent most of the season limiting his gifted offensive skills to emphasize more defense. The Jagrbombs probably wish he would have stuck with that approach last night. Six goals from Mike Lehman led the way for the Renegades, who suddenly look to be returning to championship form following wins over the Colonials and Knights to end the regular season. They won those 2 games with defense. Last night, they won with offense, scoring 16 goals. Last years finals mvp Pat Hunter had 5 goals to complement Lehman’s 6 goals. The game was close and high scoring after the first period. Pat Hunter put the Renegades up 2-0 but Steve Capetta found the back of the net twice to tie the game at 2. Mike Lehman quickly answered with 2 goals of his own to put the Renegades up 4-2 but Ben Rossi got the Jagrbombs within a goal at 4-3 going into the 2nd period. The 2nd period proved costly for the Jagrbombs. The Renegades scored 7 goals in the 2nd period and found themselves up 11-4 going into the 3rd period. Five more goals in the 3rd period added more cushion to their 16-6 win. Steve Capetta had 3 goals to lead the Jagrbombs. Ben Rossi and Cory Schuckers each had 2 points. Aside from watching the Hunter/Lehman connection, Denny Stinchcomb was able to score 5 points of his own. Jeremy Lee didn’t have much time to breathe last night, facing a total of 54 shots. He was able to make 38 saves in the losing effort. Game 2 will be Wednesday night at 9. Ryan Johnson was not present for the Jagrbombs last night.