Standings after January 8th:
1. Eagles 2 (12/0)
2. Knights 2 (11/2)
3. Jawas 2 (9/2)
4. Mayhem 2 (4/3)
5. Colonials 1 (3/4)
6. Hounds 0 (2/9)
7. Yeti 0 (2/11)
8. Walkers 0 (0/12)
Eagles 12 Walkers 0
The Eagles are dressing in style for another xhl season. Tony Dodd and the Walkers were able to hold the Eagles scoreless for the first 8 minutes or so, but then the Eagles started scoring goals in style as well. It seemed like everyone got involved with some nice passing throughout the game. Eric Llewellyn set Jerred Amick up for their first goal then Alex Waddell set Zach Foradori up for a goal and then added a goal of his own off another good pass to put the Walkers up 3-0 after the first period. The 3-0 turned into a 7-0 lead by the end of the 2nd period. Jerred Amick and Eric Llewellyn scored early 2nd period goals to extend the lead to 5-0. The Walkers did get a few opportunities to score but Henry Sutter was determined to start the 2024 xhl season out with a shutout. The game was officially a mercy rule with about 6 minutes to go in the 3rd period. The Eagles will look to continue their momentum against the Jawas next week while the Walkers will face another tough early season task against the Yeti. Austin Boyd was not present for the Eagles last night.
Knights 11 Yeti 2
As late as Sunday evening, the Knights were planning on seeing the Mayhem while the Yeti were planning to see the Hounds. Things quickly changed when an 8th team got put together on Sunday night. Some players on both sides weren’t exactly excited about the schedule change, but the Knights already appear to be in midseason form. They picked up where they left off last season, with a win against a core of Adam McKinley, Derik Day and Dave Jewell. Brandon Reiter and Andy Calvert carried the load offensively with 3 to 4 goals each while Jake Kline blocked a bunch of shots. He may have blocked more shots than his own goalie had too. A 2-0 early 1st period lead got cut to 2-1 after Dave Jewell scored for the Yeti, but the Knights quickly answered with 2 of their own to go up 4-1 by the end of the first period. The lead actually got up to 7-1 at one point in the 2nd period and they kept pulling away as the 3rd period went on. The Knights will get their matchup with the Mayhem a week later than they originally anticipated when they go up against each other at 8:30 next week. The Yeti will look to bounce back against the Walkers at 740 next week. Steve Pompeii was the only one missing for the Yeti last night while Rooster was not present for the Knights.
Mayhem 4 Colonials 3 (Overtime)
The Colonials weren’t planning on playing last night but things changed when the 8th team got put together. Phil Mace, Denny Stinchcomb and John Matchock were not able to make it as they had already had other arrangements prior to the schedule change. The Mayhem were missing Trent Bembenic and Anthony Schuckers. Halfway thru the 3rd period, it appeared that both these teams were out of energy. Vinnie Deloia was not able to continue in the 3rd period which left both teams ironman for the last several minutes of the game. Derrian Matchock did a good job of filling in for his Dad last night, but Peach may be making a phone call to Larry and Eric Llewellyn trying to get Henry Sutter back in a Mayhem jersey on a weekly basis. With some missing goalies last night, Derrian filled in for the Colonials while Henry Sutter filled in for the Mayhem. Bob Anderson snuck a long shot passed some Mayhem defenders and Henry Sutter to put the Colonials ahead 3-1 at the end of the first period, but no one would have guessed that the Colonials would go the last 30 plus minutes without scoring again. Kevin Smith set Brian Anderson up for the 1st goal about 5 minutes into the first period to put the Colonials up 1-0 but Tyler Stitt scored soon after on a nice set up from Tyler Waltman to tie the game at 1. Kevin Smith found a way to get one past Henry Sutter to put the Colonials up 2-1 and the lead grew to 3-1 on Bob Anderson’s long shot at the end of the first period. The Colonials had some good opportunities to score in the first period but Henry Sutter made a lot of good saves to keep his team in it. The Mayhem scored twice in the 2nd period to tie the game at 3 and their positioning on defense was very solid throughout the last 30 minutes of the game. When the Colonials got chances, Henry Sutter shut the door. Jason Stamler scored the tying goal and had some chances to put the Mayhem ahead in the 3rd period, but Derrian made some good saves on him. Vinnie Deloia scored the Mayhem’s 2nd goal early in the 2nd period. With about a minute to go in overtime, Tyler Waltman got one past Derrian Matchock to clinch the win for the Mayhem. It initially looked like Matchock stopped the shot, but the ball just got by the line to give the Mayhem the upset win. The colonials will look to get some more firepower and body’s back in the lineup when they take on the Hounds next week. The Mayhem will look to carry their momentum into next week against the Knights.
Jawas 9 Hounds 2
Not bad for a team that was just put together on Sunday night. We weren’t even sure who was going to show up for last nights game with some of the confusion going on so we put some people on standby. The Jawas got some good passing and goal scoring early. Laken Dodd batted in an Adam McKinley shot to put the Jawas up 1-0 just a minute into the first period. Jeff Wehner and Jeremy Sawey probably don’t even know one another, but they had some good chemistry going early in the game when they set each other up for goals to extend their lead to 3-0. Adam McKinley led all scorers with 3 goals including the 4th goal to put the Jawas up 4-0 late in the first period. Hounds goalie Chris Snyder gave up 4 early goals but went quite a while without giving up another goal. Brenden Chesley scored the Hounds first goal to close the gap to 4-1 at the end of the first period. It took a while for anyone to score in the 2nd period. The Jawas went up 5-1 late in the 2nd period before Brenden Chesley set Mark Chesley up for a goal to close the gap to 5-2 at the end of the 2nd period. The Jawas got some early scoring in the 3rd period and never looked back. Adam McKinley scored on the opening faceoff to make it 6-2. Jeremy Sawey and Derik Pearce contributed goals as well. Tony Dodd filled in for Kaden Coulter and only allowed 2 goals. The Jawas will look to carry their momentum into next week when they take on the Eagles at 650. The Hounds will get the Colonials at 6. The official roster for the Jawas: Adam McKinley and John Matchock will skate out as much as they can, Derik Pearce, Laken Dodd, Jeff Wehner, Joe Roush with Rob Reed and Jeremy Sawey filling in from time to time.
Kyle Dilling (Hounds)
1. 9-2 loss last night. What can you say about the overall team effort? . I think we started off decent. We all skated hard and put shots on the net. One thing we need to work on is keeping possession of the ball in the offensive zone and passing more but it was the first game and I think all the kinks will work themselves out as the season continues
2. It was your first game back for a while. What was it like being back on skates? It was definitely a challenge. I spent majority of the last 10 years between the pipes. Transitioning to skating is definitely a huge difference so I hope I can get used to skating again.
3. Both teams are new together. What kind of game were you expecting going into it? When you have teams that are new you always expect lack of chemistry. Every player plays a different style of hockey. Pretty much the outcome of the game is what I expected but I know the more games we play the better we will be.
4. What positives can you take out of the game? The positives I seen last night is we definitely have the speed and talent to be a competitive team.
5. What made you decide to give up goalying? I gave up being a goalie due to my body health. Iv played goalie for about 20 years ice and roller. With the concussions and damage to my knees I made the decision to give it up and try skating out
Clint Lingenfelter (Knights)
1. 11-2 win over the Yeti last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? Everybody just kept their legs moving! Forechecking and backchecking hard! Which led to alot of turnovers that we cashed in on!
2. You guys went from having to play the Mayhem to playing the Yeti. Considering most of the Yeti players played you guys in the championship last season, were you more excited for the challenge on opening night? I was! I love playing in those types of games! I anticipate the next game being much closer!
3. Brandon and Andy led the way offensively. How do you think their chemistry has been since they paired up last season? They've been a great compliment to one another! They're both playmakers and finishers so u never know what's coming!
4. Cory has not played for a while. How do you think he looked? Cory looked great! Had a pretty nice goal and played great defense! Other than the one that hit his behind and redirected past me!
5. Jake continues to play solid defense. Whats it like as a goalie to have a guy like Jake playing the defense that he plays? It changes every aspect of how u play! When u can focus on fewer things as a goalie, it makes ur job much easier! And him being a good friend, he'll give me shit for letting in a bad goal!
Jeremy Sawey (Jawas fill in)
1. 9-2 win over the Hounds last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? We played well throughout the game and everyone stuck to their role. There was a great balance of substitutions that allowed us to keep playing at a higher level.
2. This team was assembled over the weekend. How do you think they looked overall? They looked good, I think the team has a solid balance with Steve and Laken taking a lot of the defensive responsibilities so the rest of the guys can focus on attacking the net. Everyone was getting back on turnovers as well which limited the black team’s ability to get their offense established
3. You contributed offensively. Did you like some of the guys (And girl) you were surrounded with last night? It was a very easy team to fit in with and establish my own role within. Everyone was looking for passes, moving to get open, taking good shots, and crashing the net for rebounds. Definitely enjoyed playing with those guys and Laken.
4. How do you think your goalie (Dodd) looked in net for you guys? Tony was making some really nice saves all game long. He handled all of the odd-man advantages well and effectively stopped a team that likes to fire shots all game from wherever. Might even be better than Henry.
5. If available, would you want to try to fill in for this team from time to time after playing last night? Yeah if they’d have me back I’d be more than happy to play with them again when I can.
Tony Conforto (Walkers)
1. 12-0 loss to the Eagles last night. What can you say about the overall team effort? I think we held our own in the first period but lost some steam as the game wore on… everyone gave 100% effort and I am confident we are going to win some games soon!!!!
2. They pulled away in the 2nd and 3rd period. What do you think went wrong for you guys in that stretch? I think that we got in our own heads and did not make enough individual adjustments to our game. But realistically when Henry is having a shut out game and the eagles sticks were hot, we really didn’t have much of a chance
3. What signs of encouragement did you see from the team that can carry into the rest of the season? Positive attitudes and willingness to keep playing regardless of the score! But really we have added speed and agility with additions to the roster and I am sure we will learn from each other and continue to get better as the season goes on.
4. Derrian has been goalying but found himself skating out last night. How do you think he did on skates? I think Derrian did well as a skater, he has a great sense for offense and I am sure as he continues to play forward and gets used to Brice and Troy’s playing styles he will get more scoring chances
5. Corey Bassett and Troy are new to this team. What do you think both those guys can bring to this team as the season goes on? Troy brings offensive skill and we can learn from him if we listen… I don’t know Corey well, but he looked good out there and seems to fit in well with the team.
xxx Keep Checking Back here for More Interviews throughout the next day or so xxx
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