Green 13 Gray 1 (Waddell filled in for Pompeii, everyone else was present)
Jake Kline was one of the guys who played on last year’s regular season first place fall league team only to get beat by the #6 seed twice in a 3 week span. Team Gray played a stretch of competitive games to end the regular season but any hopes of a repeat from last years fall league playoffs were quickly dashed when Green jumped out to a 4-0 lead just minutes into the game. The lead would extend to 7-0 by the end of the first period. They got some all around contributions throughout the game. Cody Schuckers led the way but had plenty of offensive help from Anthony, Troy Gaydosh and Brice Miller. Tony Conforto scored the 13th goal to clinch the mercy rule win with about 5 minutes to go in the 3rd period. Conforto assisted on their 12th goal as well. Team Gray had some good chances to score in the 2nd period but green goalie Derrian Matchock played a solid game for his team. Gray’s only goal came midway thru the 2nd period on a pass from Alex Waddell to Larry K. Chris Snyder made some good saves as the game went on but was the victim of some long slap shots (mainly from Cody) that made its way past gray defenders and himself early in the first period. The win for team green gives them another game against gray next week. Cody will be available to play next week and Brandon Reiter said he should be available to play the two weeks that Cody can’t make it.
White 8 Orange 3 (Steve Kalgren was missing for Team Orange)
Bob Anderson and Team white avenged its 2 regular season losses to team orange by picking up an 8-3 win last night. It wasn’t a matchup Anderson was overly optimistic about going into the game, but he was more than ready for it. Team White went up early in the game after Anderson’s shot made it past Orange goalie Adam McKinley. That shot may have felt like a relief for Anderson as McKinley had his number in the teams 2 regular season matchups. Noah Kline would later tie the game at 1 midway thru the first period. Soon afterwards, Bob Anderson scored again to put White ahead 2-1 but Zach Smith answered late in the first period to tie the game at 2. The 2nd period perhaps set the tone for the rest of the game as team White scored the only 3 goals of the period. Team White went ahead 3-2 when Bob Anderson set Brian Anderson up for a back hander in front of the net to put White up 3-2. Bob Anderson and Denny Stinchcomb would score late in the first period to put White ahead 5-2 going into the 3rd period. Stinchcomb’s goal came on a nice pass from Cody Haag. Team White went ahead 6-2 on another Bob Anderson goal but Zach Smith answered to make it 6-3 before Bob scored again later to make it 7-3 with about 5 minutes to go. Denny Stinchcomb scored late to give White the 8-3 win. Any hopes of an orange rally were dashed when Clint Lingenfelter denied a lot of their opportunities in the 2nd and 3rd period. Afterwards, Denny Stinchcomb said that Clints play and Cody Haag’s hustle played a big part in the win for White. The win for White gives them a matchup with Team Red next week. Team Orange will need to take the scenic route to a championship starting in an elimination game against Team Black next week. A couple years ago, Adam McKinley played for team Pink. They lost their first double elimination playoff game but would go on to win their remaining playoff games. He will hope some of that magic returns starting next week.
Red 10 Black 4 (Nate Galentine was missing for Team Black)
Team Red got off to a quick start last night and never looked back. Trent Bembenic was excited for the playoffs to begin and it showed when he scored on a power play early in the game to give Red a 1-0 lead. Bembenic later committed a penalty but Team Black was unable to capitalize on it. Andy Calvert, Tyler Waltman and Laken Dodd had multiple goals in the game to keep red comfortably ahead throughout. With Red ahead 3-0 early, Ben Rossi scored to close the gap to 3-1 but Andy Calvert soon answered to make it 5-1 at one point. Alex Waddell batted in a Rossi shot to close the gap to 5-2 but Red answered again to go ahead 6-2 at the end of the first period. Tony Dodd initially saved a couple Red shots but Laken was there to bat one of them in. Word has that they rode together going to the game, but Laken may have had to find another way home following the first period last night. The lead would grow to 8-2 after 2 periods (did not see the 3rd period). Team Red will face Team White next week while Team Black will have to beat Team Orange to avoid elimination.
Schedule for Monday, December 4th
Black (5) vs Orange (3) at 615
Gray (6) vs Green (1) at 715
White (4) vs Red (2) at 815
Looking ahead a little: If Team Green wins next week, they would play the winner of the White/Red game at 715 on Monday, December 11th.
The winner of Orange/Black would play the loser of the White/Red game at 615 on Monday, December 11th with the winner of that game playing against the loser of the 715 game at 815 that night. A win for gray next week sets up for an interesting bracket going into the final couple of weeks.
XHL Rumors
Laken Dodd is still searching for the right fit. Make sure you contact her if you have a roster spot that needs filled. RJ and Ben Rossi may have found a team for the upcoming season. Which team is it?
Peach almost has his roster complete: Peach/Trent/Waltman/Anthony/Vinnie/Tyler Stitt so far. Corey Bassett was offered a roster spot but he cannot play the first two or three weeks. Will Peach still give him their final roster spot or will he look elsewhere to fill that final spot?
Cody Haag, Brenden Chesley, Garrett Britton, Andrew Britton and Erika Dodd are going to possibly team up to form another team. Jason Stamler may still be available if no one has contacted him yet about joining a team. Kyle Dilling has expressed interest in skating out for a team if needed. Mark Chesley isn’t 100% decided yet. If you see this thread and don’t have a team yet, make sure you let us know.
Cody Schuckers (Green)
1. 13-1 win over team gray last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? Everybody played great everyone was stepping up playing their position and hustling
2. How would you compare the teams overall play now to when the season first started?
I honestly think we’ve all meshed pretty well from the first game
3. Were you surprised to win by 12 goals considering gray’s roster?
Kinda yeah they have good defense and offense
4. Their team has the league’s newest goalie playing on it. What words of encouragement can you give to people just starting out hockey whether its playing goalie or skating out?
Keep with it play as much as you can join every league you’re able to
5. You guys will play them again next week. Do you expect a more competitive game this time around considering a loss will eliminate them?
I’d think so but we’re just gonna focus on us and do what we know we can and plan for the same outcome
Bob Anderson
1. 8-3 win over team orange last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win?
Timing is everything and we picked the right time to put together our best game of the season. Effort has rarely been our problem, but our attention to defense and positioning was top notch last night. We were patient and didn't give up the number of high danger chances that we did throughout the regular season. When we did, Clint was there to bail us out.
2. Team Orange won both regular season meetings. What do you think your team did better last night than in the first 2 games against them?
The scores of those previous games don't really give justice to how competitive they were. The same is true of last night's game. All of them were closer than the final score indicated. Last night we were able to get a lead early and play from ahead. When you fall behind, you tend to take some chances offensively that can lead to better chances against. We didn't have to do that as much this time around. And of course, goaltending is always the X-factor. Clint was on top of his game last night.
3. Did you think there was a particular play in the game that swung the momentum on your teams side?
I can't really think of one specific play in particular, but I think our ability to answer when they scored was big. We scored first and they tied it up shortly after. We were able to get the lead back before they tied it again. Then we were able to get the lead back for good after that. Again, it was nice to not play from behind at all in that game.
4. What can you say about Clint’s play in net last night along with some of the other guys around you
Everybody played their roles very effectively. Clint probably played his best game of the season. He was sharp and made a number of good saves, especially early in the third period when they really turned up the pressure. Cody and Brian both added some big goals and Peach and Freddy played great defensively. Denny always hustles and opens things up for the rest of us.
5. Team Red will be waiting next week. What kind of game do you expect from them (Andy/Waltman/Laken/Trent/ Steve Hetrick/Henry Sutter)?
I'm expecting another high-paced game that will require our best effort to win. Their team and the orange team are very similar. They both have star players that you have to focus on taking away, but have secondary players that can score and hustle. Henry is always a challenge to beat just like Adam. I'm looking forward to it!
Morgan Lyons (Gray)
1. 13-1 loss to team Green last night. What can you say about the overall team effort? I think once green got up so far in the first period some people didn’t have their head in the game but most of us kept playing.
2. Whats your mindset when the opposing team gets a big lead? To just keep trying and have fun with it
3. What positives can you take out of a game like that? I think hockey is fun win or lose and I think losing games makes it feel better when you do win.
4. Chris is one of the newest players in the league playing the most difficult position in hockey. What words of encouragement can you give to him (considering our league doesn’t have many goalies)? He plays great and needs to take into consideration that’s he playing against people who have alot more experience. Playing in these drafts league is what will help him get better.
5. Walkers will be back for another season this year. Are you looking forward to the season? Yeah I’m excited for the new season. I heard there are some new players so I’m looking forward to playing with them.
Robb Reed (Orange)
1. 8-3 loss to team white last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the loss? Effort was good, execution not so much. We've been playing really well the last several weeks and just wasn't the same last night.
2. You guys limited their goals the first two games but they broke thru last night. What do you think went wrong this time around? Bob had all the magic we were missing, and the whole white team was in playoff mode.
3. You guys will play against Alex’s team next week in an elimination game. What kind of game do you expect and will you two be riding in the same car considering you will be on the opposite side during the game? Yeah we'll probably ride together, neither of us are the sore loser type lol. Elim games will be hard fought for sure.
4. Steve was not there for you guys last night. Did you think your team may have wore down at the end considering you only had one sub? No I dont think we were tired, but Steve is a big part of our overall flow. I think we're a better, more complete team with him.
5. You will be playing in the Christmas tournament on December 28th. Do you like the idea of playing ironman for a 10 minute stretch without a break? Can't wait. Yes I love the ironman play. I wouldn't want to play 3 15 min periods without a sub but 10/12 minute games are the best.
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