Clink's Corner Plus Recaps from April 6th

1. 8-7 win over the Eagles last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? The effort is always there! Has been all year! I feel like we did get a little outplayed last night but cashed in on the opportunities we had!

2. They threw a lot at you, especially early in the game. Were you expecting such a barrage of shots from them before the ball dropped last night? I knew I'd be busy! It's playoffs! They seemed to just have it staying on their sticks alot last night! Kudos to them on a great game!

3. 7-6 deficit with 5 minutes to go. What did you guys discuss in your time out? Just keep playing! We know we have the talent to win on any given night but you have to earn it! Nothing comes easy in hockey

4. A one goal deficit quickly turned into a one goal lead. How were you able to turn it around that quick? We just stuck too it! Jay made a good move to get a good shot on net and placed it just right! Then Cory had a great pass up to Andy to send him into the zone alone! Hes the type of guy you dont want one on one with ur goalie!

5. Llew was all over the court last night. You have been teammates with him in the past but you have mainly been an opposition. Whats it like playing both on his side and on the opposing side of him? Llew's been one of the better scorers for many years! I love playing against him because of his competitiveness! But you always know where he'll be! Picking cherries until the sun goes down!

6. They really had a big 2nd period against you guys. What do you think went wrong in that period?  We just had a few defensive lapses that cost us! Either by not moving our feet or some bad luck! They started throwing it on net from far out and we're getting the favorable bounces and redirects!

7. Did you think they outplayed you guys overall? Last night, yes.

8. Jay had a big goal in the 3rd period. What can you say about that fancy goal he had? It was a great goal that couldnt of came at a better time! He mightve got a lil lucky with the ball staying with him on the wall but he finished it off!

9. With the win, you guys get a date with a couple former teammates next week. Are you looking forward to it and what are your expectations? Of course! Always look forward to playing in the finals! I've been blessed to play on some good teams in the past! Both winning and losing! Its always fun either way! Gonna be an exciting series!

10. How far will the Pens go if they make the playoffs?  They'll punch their ticket Thursday night and smoke Philly in the first round! After that it's a coin flip! I cant think of anything else I'd rather see than watching Sid lift one more cup!

11. Who do you think was the biggest surprise team in the NHL this season and the biggest disappointment? Biggest surprise has to be Buffalo! I mean, I knew they'd be good but they've exceeded expectations! And I gotta go with Edminton! I just feel like their cursed! I thought that trade for Jarry was one of the worst I've seen in awhile! Have a feeling Mcdavid will be the Dan Marino of the NHL!

12. What are your expectations for the Pirates as the season goes forward? They'll be good! I expect a playoff berth! I know, thats wishful thinking but their rotation is gonna be tops in the league! So we'll see if their bats can keep up or not!

13. NFL draft in Pittsburgh ---- you thinking of going to it and who do you want the steelers to draft? No way! That place will be a mad house! Ill enjoy it comfortably on my couch! I dont know a ton of players tbh but I'd like to see them go after a WR or a guard in the first round!

14. You had a rough championship experience about 6 or 7 years ago when you played on the Xtreme. What did you learn from that experience that has benefited you in recent championship games? Confidence is key! I wasnt too confident in myself back then and thought about the game too much! It's just rec hockey! Have fun, get some exercise and if you win great, if not, gotta still go to work in the am!

15. After last nights win ---- you have any other random thoughts going through your head? I'll always enjoy playing in Reynoldsville but im excited for Brockway! It's so much nicer as a goalie playing on a surface that you can actually slide on! And its much easier on your pads than wood! Playing outside is a bonus too!

Colonials 6  Yeti 3

After playing on an undefeated championship team last season, Jake and Noah thought it was time for a new challenge.  While the transition hasn’t always been smooth throughout the season, they are a big reason why the Colonials have found their way back to the championship for the first time since 2021.   Bob was pretty much non existent in the regular season (just kidding) but saved his best for the games against the Yeti.  He factored in on the Colonials first 5 goals last night.  Match also played a big role in the Colonials win last night.  It didn’t look like he would after RJ scored just a minute or so into the game but he settled in and made a lot of good saves throughout the game, especially late in the 3^rd period when the Yeti had a lot of good scoring chances after they pulled Adam from net in an attempt to draw closer.   Noah wasn’t sure if he would be able to play last night due to an injury but it’s a good thing he did.  His presence alone means everything, but the colonials were without Jay Edmiston and Phil Mace when the game began.  Late in the 2^nd period, Fred was forced to remove himself from the game after a collision with Bob leaving the Colonials ironman for the 3^rd period.  The only good news for the Colonials at that point was having a 5-1 lead.  After several missed 2 on 1 opportunities that would have put the game away, the Colonials were only up 5-3 with about 3 minutes to go in the 3^rd period before Noah scored an empty net goal with under 30 seconds to play to put the game away.  Most empty netters come easy, but Noah made this particular empty netter from the opposite end of the court.   Match had to make a lot of good saves in the final 3 minutes of the game to preserve the 2 goal lead for the Colonials.     Both the Jewells scored 3^rd period goals for the Yeti to cut the Colonial lead to two.  One of the goals came on a nice son to father set up.   Luckily for the Colonials, they gained some separation in the 2^nd period.   Noah and Bob had a good connection going.  Each set each other up for goals on a couple different occasions throughout the 2^nd period.  Bob also set Brian up for an early 2^nd period goal that gave the Colonials a 3-1 lead.  Adam played a solid game in net for the Yeti but fell victim to some good colonial passing.  Bob scored the Colonials first goal midway through the first period to tie the game at 1 with Noah scoring their 2^nd goal on a good pass from Bob.  They did that a couple more times in the 2^nd period to help them go up 5-1 and gain just enough of a lead to hang on playing ironman in the 3^rd period.    Midway through the season, the Yeti picked up 2 big wins over the Eagles and a 4 goal comeback win over the Colonials but they weren’t able to keep that momentum going into the playoffs.   They ended the regular season with losses to the Invaders and Colonials and played a lot of their games without either Ben or Jeff.  A full team would have looked much different in these 2 close losses to the Colonials.  Before the season started, Adam wasn’t sure if he would even find enough people to form a team.   They held their own all season but it would have been nice to see how well they could have done with their full lineup on a steady basis.  Regardless, they had a good season.  Some of us may not be playing long enough to see how good Matt Jewell will be when he gets older.  For the Colonials, Jake and Noah will try to bring their undefeated championship team luck to the Colonials when they go up against some of their former championship teammates next week.  

Invaders 8  Eagles 7

No championship for the Eagles again this season, but they went out in championship form last night.  One week removed from an 11-4 loss, the Eagles found themselves down 4-1 midway through the 2^nd period last night.  For anyone who may have just got to the rink around that time, the score was a bit misleading, but it looked like the Invaders were a goal away from taking complete control of the game.  For the longest time, it didn’t look like we were even going to see a goal in this game.  It wasn’t from lack of opportunities.   Clint was in no mood for a do or die game 3 while Clay was doing everything he could to keep his team in the game until they could find a magical way to score against Clint.    Clint made a lot of big saves in the first period with 2 of them standing out in particular.  One came on a pass from Denny to Eric Llewellyn only for Clint to rob them of that important first goal.  Soon after, Llewellyn made a good pass from Larry, Larry made a great shot, but once again, Clint made a great save.  While not quite as flashy as Clint, Clay too made a lot of big saves for the Eagles to keep the game scoreless for the majority of the first period.   By the time someone finally did score, it felt like a really big surprise.  With around 2 minutes to go in the first period, Andy broke the ice.  Soon after Andy broke the ice, Zach Smith scored and just like that, a period that the Eagles would have had a 2 or 3 goal lead against any other goalie, found themselves down 2-0.    When the 2^nd period begun, it was one of those games that felt like the next goal would really set the tone for the remainder of the game.   About 3 minutes into the 2^nd period, Clay made a nice save on a Jason Stamler shot attempt but Cory was there for the rebound and it looked like the Invaders would remain in control the rest of the way.   Austin Boyd gave the Eagles a glimmer of hope when he scored on a faceoff win to cut the deficit to 3-1 but less than a minute later, Cory set Laken up for a goal to make it 4-1 and more importantly, the little momentum the Eagles had after Boyd’s goal was quickly taken away.   In last weeks opening game of the series, the Invaders used the 2^nd period to pull away after a competitive first period.  We thought it was déjà vu from the first game, but the Eagles had answers last night.  A couple minutes after Laken’s goal, Eric Llewellyn set Denny up for a goal to cut the lead to 4-2 and soon after, Llewellyn scored a goal of his own to cut the deficit to 4-3 late in the 2^nd period.  The final minute of so of the 2^nd period was pretty adventurous with Jerred Amick setting Llewellyn up for a tying goal but just as the second period was about to close, Andy scored again for the Invaders to give them a 5-4 lead going into the 3^rd period.  Eric Llewellyn continued his scoring ways in the 3^rd period and with about 5 minutes to go in the 3^rd period, he scored the go ahead goal to put them ahead 7-6 forcing the Invaders to call a time out.    Llewellyn’s first goal of the 3^rd period tied the game at 5 with Brandon Reiter scoring the next goal to put the Invaders ahead 6-5 until Llewellyn’s goals put the Eagles ahead 7-6.    Less than a minute after the Invaders time out, they turned a one goal deficit into a one goal lead.  The tying goal was perhaps the fanciest goal of the game from Jason Stamler while Andy got his 3^rd goal of the game, the biggest, to put the Invaders ahead 8-7.   No one scored in the final 4 minutes of the game despite a number of good scoring opportunities from both teams were turned down.    Clay made a couple of real good saves late in the game to keep his team to within a goal, but Clint made sure that goal didn’t happen.    This will go down as one of our most competitive, entertaining and clean xhl playoff games we have seen in recent memory.  With the win, the invaders are now on a 10 game winning streak going into their championship series with the Colonials.  Jake and Noah are on the opposite side this time, but they appear to be doing just fine without them.   From the sounds of it, the Eagles intend to bring back the same squad next season barring any significant life changes.  They had a great showing last night and it was really nice to see Clay back after being away for all those years.   The Invaders will go up against the Colonials twice next week starting at 715.

Brian Anderson (Bob sent the questions)

1. You guys got up 5-1 last night then lost Fred and had to hang on in the 3^rd period playing ironman.  Did you feel like the game was slipping away late when the Yeti scored a pair of goals to get within two?  Not really.   There was only 3 minutes left when they scored their 3^rd goal and we had a lot of good scoring chances on the other end that we couldn’t capitalize on.  Credit to Match, he made some really good saves in the final 3 minutes of the game.  The Yeti also deserve a lot of credit for not giving up when we went up 5-1 on them in the 2^nd period. 

2.  Fred and Bob had a collision in the 2^nd period and Fred did not return to the game.  He said he's done playing.  What has it been like to play with Fred all this time and what would you say to him about potentially retiring?   Fred has always had a strong passion for the game.  He rarely misses unless its injury related.  You won’t see his name get on a stat sheet very often, but he has always done the little things well.   Considering his age, he still holds his own back there playing defense.  Depending on the severity of his injury, hopefully he reconsiders, especially if the injury doesn’t end up too serious.  I was hoping he just got the wind knocked out of him and could return at some point last night.   Who else am I going to buy skates off of if he hangs it up?      Overall, a great guy and a great teammate.  He will be greatly missed if he decides to hang it up but hopefully he will make the decision out of more thought and consideration instead of frustration. if he follows through on his word, I can't blame him. We aren't getting any younger.

3.  The Invaders advanced with a hard earned 8-7 victory over the Eagles.  What do you think was the difference in that series?  Clint was definitely the difference last night.  The Eagles threw a lot at him in the early part of the game.  If they get a 2 or 3 goal lead, the whole complexion of the game changes.  They deserve a lot of credit for not giving up once they got down by 3 goals in the 2^nd period.  The invaders have a lot of star power with Brandon, Zach and Andy plus Cory still does all the little things as well as can be expected while Laken and Jay each had big goals for them last night. Congratulations to them for moving on.  They beat a really good team to get to the finals.

4.  The Colonials and Invaders will square off in the finals beginning next week.  The Invaders have only lost 1 game so far this year.  How big of a challenge will it be to win not only one game against them, but two?   We just have to focus on the small things and take it one period at a time.  I think getting off to a good start in game 1 would go a long way.  We are crazy if we think we are going to shut them all down but we have to find a way to contain some of their bigger guys and make some of the others beat us.   It will be a big challenge but hopefully we will be able to give them as good of a challenge as the Eagles gave them last night. 

5.  What's your overall assessment of the XHL this season?  What went well, what didn't?  Any plans for the league moving forward?  I think its been a really fun season.   There have been a lot of competitive games, Dave has been very flexible and accommodating with our schedule throughout the playoffs and people like Laken, Cory, Match, Zach and Bob have stepped up to ref some of these highly competitive playoff games.  Its all made the league run much smoother.   The only tough part about the season is seeing some people have to miss a decent amount of games.  Ben Rossi and Jeff stand out the most.   We had to patch the bear claw together all season but it was nice seeing guys like AJ, Derrian, Josh Clontz and Joe Spencer, Vinnie and girl (Erika) fill in some throughout the season.  My favorite part was getting to goalie for them a few times. 

As far as moving forward, I haven’t thought too far ahead yet but I did offer one of our league veterans the leadership role in place of me after this season concludes.  Not because I am ready to give it up, but because I feel like a change could possibly benefit and refresh the league operations going forward.   I have been going at this for 10 plus years and will gladly continue to do so if this particular individual decides not to take me up on the offer.  I am one of those believers in "term limits" and do not want to take away from someone who is capable of offering a good leadership role.    I gave this particular individual all summer to think about it and to let me know by the end of the SRHL season.  If this individual decides not too, I may open it up to anyone who wants a chance to lead the league going forward. If no one wants too, I will gladly continue on with my current role for future leagues. Its actually a breeze now compared to what it once was. 

People seem to enjoy the draft league in Brockway and I think we should try to keep that going after SRHL is over but I am wondering if we should take a month or so off after that draft league is over before organizing another league in Reynoldsville.   Those are all some things to think about through the summer.  Whatever happens, my goal will always be to do whats best for continued organized hockey going forward.