January 26th Games

Standings After January 26^th Games

1.       Colonials 4 (27/13)

2.      Eagles 4  (17/7)

3.      Invaders 4 (24/12)

4.      Yeti 2 (18/9)

5.      Venom 2 (23/36)

6.      Bear Claw 0 (13/45)

***Eagles and Yeti game got moved to February 16^th.   Games will be played at 6, 7, 8 and 9 on that night.  We can try to move the games along as quick as we can that night so we can avoid getting done as late.  First 3 games will be played in the same order with the Yeti and Eagles being slotted for the last game of the night.

Venom 16  Bear Claw 8

The Venom picked up their first win of the season with an impressive 16 goal showing against the Bear Claw last night.   Troy Gaydosh continues to impress those watching.  He played a large role in his team’s fall league championship success and while not surrounded by the same group he had in the fall, he continues to do his part.  Cody Haag also had a strong showing in the fall league but was limited on how often he could attend games late in the fall league season.  Gaydosh and Haag combined for 14 of the Venom’s 16 goals last night.  Tony Conforto earned his first XHL win as a goalie a week after getting bombarded with shots against the Colonials.  He got to watch Kaden Coulter get bombarded with shots last night.  The Venom led 5-1 after the first period and 10-5 after the 2^nd before pulling away a little more in the 3^rd.  Adam, Braxton and Coltyn Schuckers each had a couple goals for the Bear Claw.  Josh Clontz and John Matchock filled in last night to help round out the two teams last night.   The Venom will look to keep the momentum going against the Yeti next Monday night while the Bear Claw will get the Colonials.

Invaders 6  Colonials 5

It was a nice bounce back win for the Invaders a week after giving up a 3 goal lead against the Eagles in the 3^rd period.  Jake scored early for the Colonials, but Clint dialed in after that and made goals tough to come by for the Colonials, despite numerous high quality opportunities for the Colonials throughout the game.  Noah would go on to score a couple goals for the Colonials in the game but could have easily had 5 or 6 if not for Clint standing in the way.  Neither team had more than a 1 goal lead in this game.  The teams exchanged first period goals (Jake for the Colonials and Brandon for the Invaders).  Bob set Noah up for a nice goal in the 2^nd period while Zach Smith set Laken up for a goal. Zach would go on to score a 2^nd period goal as well.    Noah and Bob each had 2 goals for the Colonials.  John Matchock played a solid game in net for the Colonials but his solid play got outweighed by Clint’s play on the other end.  With the game tied at 3 in the 3^rd period, Brandon Reiter had a shot denied by Match only to bounce to Cory with a wide open net in front of him to give the invaders a 4-3 lead.  Noah’s goal on Bob’s set up tied the game at 4 but Andy scored two late 3^rd period goals to put the Invaders on top for good.  Bob scored a goal with around 10 seconds left to round out the scoring for the game.  The Invaders will look for revenge against the Eagles next week while the colonials take on the bear claw.  Adam, Braxton, Dave Jewell and Matt Jewell should be available to skate out with Jaron Buffone and Coltyn for the Bear Claw next week. 

Bob Anderson (Colonials)

1. 6-5 loss to the Invaders last night. What can you say about the overall team effort?  It was a great effort by both teams. It was a 50-50 game that could have easily gone either way. It was nice to play an up tempo game where we were able to keep up speed wise.

 2. You were originally planning on goal tending last night instead of skating. What made you change your mind and is your elbow feeling ok after skating out last night?  . I planned to goaltend but I didn’t want to let my team down. If we weren’t playing a team with Brandon, Zach, Andy and the rest, I would have been more apt to give it a go in net. But I’m not sure that would be the best “first game” scenario. As for the arm, I’m pleasantly surprised that it doesn’t feel like it’s ready to fall off today. I was on a steroid for a week that seems to have helped immensely and I wore and ACE bandage that seems to have made a difference too

 3. The team had a lot of chances to score. Is that encouraging even in a losing effort? Oh for sure. Clint played well in net and they play well defensively, so it’s not like you’re going to get a ton of grade A chances. But we had plenty of shots. We just couldn’t get one to go in when we needed it in the third period.

4. 2 goals from Andy late in the 3rd period. What do you think went wrong in the last 5 minutes of the game?  The go-ahead goal was set up by a really nice long pass from Zach. Andy had just the slightest bit of room and he made his shot count. It was just a bang-bang play. We either need to do a better job getting in Zach’s face there or a better job of denying Andy from getting that pass. Andy’s last goal was more a matter of us trying to push with about a minute left to get the equalizer. We had to take a chance there and that opened up space for them.

5. Mike McCarthy----- any thoughts on the hire? . What a boring, vanilla, bland, lousy hire. This was a golden opportunity for the Steelers to hit reset and bring in a fresh face with some new ideas. But the Rooneys are so desperate to win a playoff game that they can’t see beyond the next season. It’s really hard to be a Steelers fan right now.

Cody Haag (Venom)

1. 16-8 win over the bear claw. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? Overall team effort was great! We started out fast and actually played like we are capable of playing!

2. You and Troy led the way offensively. What have you observed in Troy in the last couple leagues you have teamed up with him?  Troy is a great player! Very under the radar but can skate through an entire team and score. He is exactly the type of player our team needs!

 3. Only 3 games into the season ---- what have you been most encouraged by so far?  I have been very impressed with the way our team has played. Even though we had a big loss to the eagles the first game, we actually played a pretty solid game for our skill level. Second game was kind of a disaster but we picked it back up with the third game! I think as a team we play better with 1 sub because we seem to have better chemistry throughout the game.

 4. Bear claw simply need some more players right now. What did you observe with the players they had in their line up last night? Bear claw has good players and a good team they took advantage of opportunities when they presented themselves. I think they just need to play together more and the chemistry will pick up.

5. We got lots and lots of snow. Are you one of those people who likes to see a lot of snow or aren’t you a fan of winter weather? I am a fan of the snow maybe not 20 inches of snow but I like the cold weather and snow for the season. I am actually hoping for some snow on Saturday for the outdoor hockey game at beaver stadium.