3 Stars --- February 23rd

#3.  Noah Kline ----- 4 goals and a nice set up to Brian in the Colonials 7-6 shootout loss to the Yeti.

#2.  Adam McKinley ---- A little bit of a tough start for him, but he turned into a brick wall in the Yeti’s 7-6 shootout win over the Colonials.

#1.  Andy Calvert ---- 4 goals to lead the Invaders to another win.

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Standings After February 23rd Games

1.       Invaders 12 (59/32)

2.      Yeti 10 (64/35)

3.      Colonials 9 (63/36)

4.      Eagles 6 (47/41)

5.      Bear Claw 4 (45/78)

6.      Venom 2 (42/88)

Clay Halpin (Eagles)

1. You had a boatload of shots fired your way last night. How are you feeling today?  Sore! But I’d rather have a busy night than a boring one.

 2. You held your own and kept your team in the game. Are there any goals you thought you should’ve prevented? Absolutely. Especially in the first period. I had a piece of a couple of them but they found their way in. With the amount that they scored it’s hard not to point the finger at yourself as a goaltender

3. No Zac. How do you think the rest of the team did trying to fill his void? The absence of Zac’s stuck accelerator is hard not to notice when he isn’t there. I do think the team had a lot of quality shots on net and played hard defense for me.

4. What have you observed from the invaders from their first game against you compared to the way they are playing now? Those guys and gal are full of talent. This is the third time we’ve played them and I’ve got to say I didn’t see much difference. I knew I’d see a lot of shots and high quality chances. They move the ball well. Clint had another great game in between the posts as well.

5. USA over Canada. Did you watch and if so, what was your overall take on the game?  Of course! Hellebuyck was fun to watch. Loved seeing those sad faces as team Canada got their plush toys.

Zach Smith (Eagles)

1. 9 to 5 win over the eagles last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? I thought it was good game by everyone. Clint is like a brick wall in net for us night in and night out. Our skating was pretty good last night. I had some mental lapses to get cleaned up, but overall we had a solid night.

2. Andy had the biggest goal scoring night. What’s it been like being a teammate with him instead of the opposition ? . It's definitely better to be playing with him than against him. He has some of the best vision and hands in the league. There were a few times that he caught me off guard with some great passes that I wasn't ready for. They would have led to great chances if I would have been ready for them. He is also a finisher, and I love playing with guys that can finish off some of my passes.

3. Lots of tough games for you guys this stretch. How do you think you have been able to win these last 5 games? I think Clint has bailed us out some. It has been a mix of our speed and skill that have helped us. We are finishing on a good amount of our chances and I think that is the difference.

4. Yeti picked up a nice shootout win over the colonials. Were you surprised at all? From the parts of the game I watched, it seemed like the colonials controlled play for most of the game. The Colonials were up by 3 or 4 goals at one point and the yeti came back. Adam made some good saves, but I feel the Colonials needed to shoot more and get those shots on net. I'd give credit to the yeti though. They collapsed and made it tough on the Colonials. I didn't think the shootout would ever end. Match and Adam were putting on a show at the end there.

5. USA over Canada. Do you have any opinion on the overtime format? Canadas coach spoke out against it in the hours after the game.   I like the 3 vs 3 format. It doesn't drag on forever and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Usually the best players are on the ice in those situations, so you get to see an immense amount of skill on the ice for the whole overtime. I'm not sure I would like it as a player though. You basically have to shorten your bench to 9 or so guys. The rest of the guys just have to sit and watch.

Bob Anderson (Colonials)

1.   7 to 6 shootout loss last night.   What can you say about the overall team effort in the loss?

To be perfectly honest, that's a game we will want to forget about as soon as possible.  We were in total control and then all of a sudden, it was tied up.  Then we couldn't score a goal to save our lives in the shootout.  But full credit to the Yeti.  They were resilient and Adam was a brick wall when he had to be. 

 2.  A 5 to 1 lead got away.   What do you think went wrong after that?

Everything fell apart after Brian left the game to suit up as a goalie for the 7:20 game.  Also, a game like that is a testament to the idea that no lead is safe in the XHL.  A four-goal lead can evaporate in a hurry if you take your foot off the gas.  I think we did that and before we could pick it up again, we were in a dogfight.

  3.   What’s your approach when it’s just you against the goalie in the shootout?

I'm probably not a good person to ask.  I'm not very good in shootouts.  The more I think about making a move, the worse I do.  That said, the plan should probably change depending on which goalie you face.  We were all trying to beat Adam with a wrist shot.  That wasn't working.  I almost had a second chance to shoot.  I would have tried to deke if I had another chance.  Adam was feeling it so it probably wouldn't have mattered either way.

4.  Yeti are without Derik and Zach plus they have had people missing most of the season.   How do you think they have been able to maintain being an elite team this season?

They lost a lot of skill but they still have a lot of experience.  They play smart and are sound defensively.  If you limit odd-man rushes and play smart in your own end, Adam will always give you a chance to win.  They were also opportunistic last night.  They took advantage of our mistakes and buried them.

5.  USA got the big win.   How would you compare that win to some of the big Pens Stanley cup wins over the years? 

It was a great accomplishment to beat Canada and the first time the USA captured gold in men's ice hockey since 1980.  That said, and at the risk of sounding unpatriotic, it doesn't even come close to touching the cups in my opinion.  They played 6 games to win gold and they only played two good teams during that stretch.  It takes 100+ games to win a cup and you have to win 4 best of seven rounds to do so.  That's a much bigger accomplishment in my mind.