There are a couple additional free agents for the xhl season. Erika Dodd and Laken Dodd will not be back with the Walkers this season. The Walkers will be adding Troy Gaydosh this season along with Derrian Matchock (As a skater). Laken is rumored to be joining the Knights but nothing official yet? It sounds like the Eagles will have the same team as they did last season (Amick, Boyd, Cody, Foradori, Llewellyn, Larry, Waddell, Sutter). Other potential free agents. Jason Stamler, Corey Bassett, Tyler Stitt, Cody Haag, Vinnie Deloia, Andrew Britton, Garrett Britton, Anthony Schuckers, Kyle Dilling (as a skater), Ben Rossi. Steve Kalgren is talking with a person about joining a team.
In a conversation with a member of last years Knights Championship team, it does not appear that Laken Dodd will be joining the Knights because their roster is going to be similar (if not the same) to what it was last season.
Steve Hetrick confirmed the Walkers Roster for the Upcoming Season: As noted above, they will be losing the Dodd girls in an attempt for them to take their next step. Steve Hetrick, Tony Conforto, Troy Gaydosh, Morgan Lyons, Derrian Matchock (Skater), Brice Miller, Tony Dodd.
Final Regular Season Standings
1. Green 13 (63/50)
2. Red 12 (56/40)
3. Orange 12 (52/37)
4. White 10 (48/53)
5. Black 3 (50/53)
6. Gray 3 (46/73)
Team Red gets the tie breaker over Team Orange (head to head is the first tie breaker). Even though the teams split, team red earned a point by taking last nights game to a shootout. Red got 3 points against Orange while Orange got 2 points against Red.
Monday, November 27th Schedule
615. Team Gray (6) vs Team Green (1)
715. Team White (4) vs Team Orange (3)
815. Team Black (5) vs Team Red (2)
*If team Green beats team Gray, they will play again the following week* (the winner with the best seed plays against the loser with the worst seed).
The 2 other losers from November 27th would then play against one another and the 2 other winners from November 27th would play against one another. Last season, the #6 seed beat the #1 seed in the first round. A couple weeks later, the #6 seed ended up playing the # 1 seed again in an elimination game. Once again, the #6 seed won. Will it happen again this year?
White 9 Gray 8 (Steve Pompeii, Peach and Chris Snyder were missing, Jerred Amick filled in while John Matchock played goal)
For the 5th time this season, Team White found itself on the winning side of a one goal game. Team Gray found itself up by a goal with 3 minutes to go but Team White was able to score twice at the end. Larry K scored a bunch of goals for Team Gray including a couple in the 3rd period to put his team in a position to win. Team White tied the game when Bob Anderson tried to set Brian Anderson up for a tying goal but John Matchock originally denied the shot. Unfortunately for Matchock and company, the ball found its way to Denny Stinchcomb’s stick and he was able to tap in the tying goal. A couple minutes later, Stinchcomb found himself in the right position again for a goal after another Anderson shot was turned down. Team Gray tied the game early when Jerred Amick (playing in place of Steve Pompeii) scored a wrap around to even the score at 1. Later in the first period, Bob Anderson scored on a pass from Brian Anderson to give white a 2-1 lead. Gray once again evened the score when Jason Stamler scored on one of his impressive wrist shots to tie the game at 2. Denny Stinchcomb once again led team white in goals including 2 first period goals to help white go up 3-2. Team Gray scored 3 consecutive goals including a couple from Eric Llewellyn to put Gray up 5-3 midway thru the 2nd period. White was able to tie the game at 5 when Bob Anderson set Brian Anderson up for a goal and later set Cody Haag up for a goal. Larry K was in the right spot all night for Gray by scoring 4 goals which helped find his team in a spot to win the game until White got the two goals at the end. It was the 2nd time that these two teams played a one goal game. Team Gray had some good chances to tie the game at the end but Clint Lingenfelter made sure that did not happen. The first game was decided in overtime. Team Gray will take on Team Green in the first game of the double elimination tournament. Steve Pompeii said that he will be out for the playoffs for team Gray. We will work on finding a replacement for him. Team White will get another shot at Team Orange next week. Orange swept the regular season series (6-2 and 5-3).
Orange 5 Red 4 (Shootout) (No one was missing except Jeremy Sawey)
Just like white and gray, team orange and team red found itself in their 2nd straight one goal game. Red won the first game 4-3 but came up on the short end in a shootout last night. Both Henry Sutter and Adam McKinley put on impressive showings in net for their respective teams. They both had more defensive support around them than Clint and John Matchock had in the previous game mentioned above but they both made some big saves when there were defensive lapses. Steve Kalgren arrived a little late but he contributed a goal when he got himself onto the court. In the 3rd period, he arrived on the court realizing that he had the wrong stick in his hand. Tyler Waltman and Andy Calvert helped give Red a 4-3 lead midway thru the 3rd period but Noah Kline was able to tie the game at 4. From there, neither goalie allowed the opposing team to go ahead. Laken Dodd had a couple good opportunities turned down by Adam McKinley in the later stages of the 3rd period. The two teams tied in the standings with 12 points but Red will get the tie breaker (first tie breaker is head to head) . Red earned 3 points against Orange during the regular season while Orange earned 2 points. In the shootout, Zach Smith found a way to get a shot past Henry Sutter. It was the only goal scored in the shootout. Adam McKinley turned down Andy Calvert on the last shot to give Orange the shootout win. Team Red will play against Team Black at 815 next week. Team Orange will look to keep its win streak going against Team White at 715 next week.
Green 8 Black 7 (Missing Rossi, Clontz)
Brandon Reiter was originally scheduled to play for Team Green last night (he plays for them on nights when Cody can’t play) but Cody informed us over the weekend that he would be available to play. He was itching to play because he wants to condition himself for games in Oil City. With that said, he did not mind Brandon Reiter playing for team Black since they were missing a couple guys last night. Reiter’s presence made a difference for Black as they found themselves up 3-1 late in the first period. Jerred Amick scored once and Reiter scored twice in the first period for Black. Anthony Schuckers and Cody Schuckers led the way offensively for Team Green. Jake Kline closed the gap to 3-2 and Cody Schuckers scored another to tie the game at 3. Anthony Schuckers later batted in a shot from Cody Schuckers that was originally saved (Tony Dodd) to tie the game at 4. The teams went back and forth in the 3rd period. Troy Gaydosh put Green up 5-4 but Brandon Reiter kept answering for Black including a tying goal with about 5 minutes to go (to tie the game at 7). Anthony Schuckers scored to put Green ahead 8-7 and the lead would hold up despite some good late opportunities for Team Black. The win earned team Green the top seed which means they will get to play the lowest seed (Gray) next week at 615. Cody said that he will be available to play next week and the following week. Team Black will play against Team Red at 815 next week.
Cody Haag (White)
1. A wild 9-8 win over team Gray last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? It was a good overall team effort! I thought we played well the first period, little slow the second period, and then played well again in the third period.
2. The game was back and forth the whole way. What do you think made the difference? The difference I think was the goalies. Both teams gave up a lot of chances and both goalies game up big for their teams. I thought the game had a very good chance to go into OT but Clint came up with some big saves to keep that from happening.
3. It was the 5th one goal game of the season for your team. Do you like playing in those kind of games? I am not always a fan of them but I do enjoy that it keeps the game competitive!
4. It looks like team orange will be the opponent (They won twice against you). Are you looking forward to playing them again? Sure, it be nice to get a win against them! Orange is a very good team. Everyone on their team can carry and play with the puck. They also don't really give us any space to set up our offense out their and have a great goalie as well. It should be a good match up and hopefully this time we can get a win!
5. You have scored some big goals on this team and made some good passes as well. How do you think you have been able to fit in considering you have probably never been teammates with a lot of the guys before? I have not played with anyone on this team in other leagues except for peach. It's nice to play with Bob and Denny who can carry the puck well and set up other guys. My style is to stand in front of the net and screen the goalie. I have had lots of opportunities to score on sets up by Bob and Denny while a couple have found the back of the net and I have missed a lot more. I think my passing a play making have improved a little this season but still got a long way to go!
John Matchock (Goalie for Gray)
1. 9-8 loss last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the loss? I thought we played well. We got down early and kept battling back.
2. You guys had a one goal lead with 3 minutes to go. What do you think went wrong at the end? UGH. I let in a few goals I should have had.
3. Each team had some 2 on 1 breaks last night. As a goalie, are you more focused on the person with the ball or the person without the ball? Always on the person with the ball. They are the one that is the most dangerous.
4. What positives can you take out of the game? We were able to put up some goals. That has been a problem all season.
5. You will be the Colonials full time goalie this season. Are you looking forward to it? It should be fun. I just hope not to disappoint the guys.
Tony Conforto (Green)
1. 8-7 win over team Black last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? The team really bands together and makes adjustments throughout the game. Not just last night but throughout the whole season. We are lucky to have such a solid goalie that keeps his cool and confidence throughout the game as well.
2. The game went back and forth the whole way. What do you think made the difference for you guys? I think that adjustments made on defense and trying not to get caught in the offensive zone was the real key to the 3rd period. We knew that we had to take away Brandon’s shot and not let them have wide open passing lanes.
3. A lot of these guys haven’t been on your team before. Whats been your impression of some of the newer faces? . I really like playing with these guys. They all are very supportive and make positive suggestions to improve each others game. I would gladly play with any of these guys in future draft leagues!
4. How do you think Troy has done adjusting from ice hockey to roller hockey? I think that Troy is doing great at shifting between ice on the weekends and roller on Mondays. He is an asset when it comes to having more shots on goals and is working on his stopping ability. I only see him getting better with more exposure to the roller hockey style and speed of play as he continues to play
5. Walkers will be back for another season. What can you say about the roster from what you know of it? The Walkers are definitely not the walkers of three years ago! We have evolved into what I believe will be a very competitive team. We will continue to have the team spirit and desire to win without the drama and pressure that can be seen on some of the other teams historically. Very glad to have Tony in goal and welcoming back Brice and Morgan. Adding Troy (Gaydosh) and Matchock (Derrian) as skaters will be a welcome addition to our style of play!
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