We will post more interviews at the bottom of this page if people respond.
Standings after February 26TH Games
1. Knights 16 (86/19)
2. Yeti 12 (76/29)
3. Colonials 11 (58/62)
4. Mayhem 10 (52/43)
5. Eagles 8 (58/38)
6. Walkers 4 (45/80)
7. Jawas 2 (30/66)
8. Hounds 2 (25/89)
Knights 6 Eagles 5
The Knights were in unfamiliar territory last night, but rallied for two goals in the closing 6 minutes to remain unbeaten on the season. They had not trailed all season up until Zach Foradori scored his 2nd goal of the contest to put the Eagles ahead midway thru the 3rd period. The goal came on a pass attempt from Cody Schuckers that did not initially connect but did enough to lead to a goal to put the Eagles ahead 5-4. The lead would last for a couple minutes until Andy Calvert tied the game at 5 with under 7 minutes to go in the 3rd period. Following an Eagles timeout, the Knights went ahead on a Nate Galentine goal with just over 5 minutes to go. The goal would turn out to be the game winner, but not without some good scoring opportunities and a power play opportunity for the Eagles in the closing minutes. Cody Schuckers found himself on multiple breakaways but either overshot the net or got denied by Knights goalie Clint Lingenfelter. Both goalies made their share of big saves throughout the game. The Eagles had some chances to tie the game in the final seconds, but could not capitalize. Zach Foradori had a loose ball find his stick in front of the net in the final seconds but got a little too much air on his shot attempt. Another slow start for the Eagles and some missed opportunities throughout the game ended up costing them. The Knights found themselves up 3-0 just five minutes into the game. Brandon Reiter scored the first goal and 3rd goal with Noah Kline scoring the goal in between and it looked like the Knights were about to cruise to another win when Andy Calvert made it 4-0 later in the first period. The Eagles had answers this time around. Austin Boyd got their scoring started and Eric Llewellyn had a really impressive backhander to cut the deficit to 4-2. Zach Foradori’s first goal cut the Knights lead to 4-3 late in the 2nd period. Just a couple minutes into the 3rd period, Larry scored to tie the game at 4. That set the stages for an entertaining final 10 minutes. Despite the loss, some of the Eagles players were upbeat following the game. If not for a few missed opportunities late in the game, they could have been on the other side of this game. They will get a 2nd chance against a reeling Colonials team next week. The Knights will go up against the Yeti next week. The Yeti are currently on a 5 game winning streak but lost 11-2 to the Knights on opening night. Can they give the Knights the kind of game the Eagles did last night?
Mayhem 8 Jawas 2
A 6 goal 2nd period for the Mayhem was the difference in this game. Vinnie Deloia got the scoring started about 5 minutes into this game, but Adam McKinley would later answer for the Jawas to tie the game at 1. Tyler Waltman scored in the later stages of the first period to put the Mayhem up 2-1. That set the stage for a big 2nd period. Tyler Waltman set Anthony Schuckers up for a goal to make it 3-1. Schuckers would score 3 goals in the 2nd period for the Mayhem. Peach scored twice and Jason Stamler scrored as well during that 2nd period stretch. Laken Dodd was the only person to score in the 3rd period. The Jawas will go up against the Walkers next week while the Mayhem go up against the Hounds. Derrian Matchock was in net for the Mayhem last night.
Walkers 11 Hounds 3
Did Tony Conforto, Troy Gaydosh and Brice Miller talk about getting off to a fast start on the way to the game last night? (they car pool together). All 3 played a big role in last nights win.
A bad first period and some solid goaltending from Hounds fill in goalie Joe Spencer cost the Walkers in their first matchup, but last nights game was much different. Troy Gaydosh put the Walkers ahead 1-0 early in last nights contest and they never looked back. He would later add another and got some help from Brice Miller in the first period which saw them go up 7-0 at one point early in the 2nd period. Corey Bassett continues to play well in his first season with the Walkers. Tony Conforto scored twice in the 2nd period which saw their lead grow to 11-2 at one point. Neither team scored in the 3rd period. Garrett Britton scored the first goal for the Hounds to cut the deficit to 7-1. Each of the Dodd’s scored as well (Laken filled in for the Chesley’s). Laken set up Erika for the Hounds 2nd goal. The Walkers now have 2 wins on the season and look like are improving by the week. The Hounds were missing both Chesley’s last night. Clint filled in for a missing Tony Dodd for the Walkers.
Yeti 12 Colonials 0
This was a 1-0 game at the end of the first period, but it got away real quick for the Colonials. John Matchock had a really good first period for the Colonials, but they were not able to generate a lot of good scoring chances in the opening 15 minutes. Neither team scored until Ben Rossi scored late in the first period to put the Yeti up 1-0 going into the 2nd period. The lead could have been much larger if not for good goal tending from John Matchock. Derik Day scored 3 times to open up the 2nd period and Zach Smith later scored to push the lead to 5-0. It looked like the Colonials were going to stop the bleeding when Kevin Smith freed himself up for a 2-1 breakaway with Brian Anderson on the other side, but Adam McKinley kept the bleeding going when he prevented Anderson’s shot from going past the goal line. McKinley also denied some good scoring chances from Denny Stinchcomb and Phil Mace. Zach Smith later set RJ up for a goal and Ben Rossi scored another goal to help the Yeti pour it on. Derik Day and Zach Smith’s 3rd period goals eventually led to a mercy rule win with 7 minutes to go in the 3rd period. John Matchock was injured early in the 3rd period but played thru pain up until Zach Smith’s mercy rule clinching goal. The Yeti have now won 5 straight games following a 1-2 start to their season. The Colonials were once again without a full lineup when Bob Anderson could not play last night. Phil Mace had missed the two previous games while Kevin Smith had to miss 3 games. They last had a full line up when they played against the Eagles a month ago and will hope to have a full line up in their rematch next week. The Yeti will look to avenge an 11-2 loss to the Knights on the first night of the season.
Peach (Mayhem)
1.8-2 win over the Jawas last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? . It was a great overall effort! They put up a tough fight against the Colonials last week, and we knew they’d be tougher this time ar
ound. Everyone battled hard, kept the mistakes to a minimum, and moved the ball well. Our passing and possession in the offensive zone created a lot of opportunities, and that was the difference in the game.
2. You guys had a big 2nd period. What do you think you guys did better as the game went on? Just the little things. Communication, crisp passes, great outlet passes, and an all around team effort.
3. Vinnie was not there last week against the Eagles but was there last night and contributed offensively. What does his presence do for you guys? Vinnie is a great 2-way presence, and you can definitely tell when he’s not there. He’s sound on the point, backchecks hard, and he’s got the speed and skill to open things up on offense. He and Walt are both underrated and I’ll happily take advantage of that each and every season.
4. Kaden is in his first xhl season with the Jawas. Have you seen improvement in his play since he was on your winter league team a few years back? Oh my yes! Kaden has a bright future as an XHL goalie. I noticed an improvement just since the last time we played them. I think the number of shots he faced took its toll last time. He’s big in the net and he’s starting to look more comfortable. I should have had a hatty last night but he said “Not Todaaaaay”
5. Would you consider this to be the best Mayhem team you have had? I’d have to say yes. We’ve got a great mix of youth and experience, most everybody can play well at each end, we’ve got some speed, and Anthony and Stamler give us a big offensive boost that we’ve been missing. I feel like the weakest link on the team, but at least I was able to get us some nice swag.
Zach Smith (Yeti)
1. 12-0 win over the Colonials last night. What can you say about the overall team effort last night? . I thought it was really good. We skated hard on the forecheck and on the backcheck also. We only gave up a couple of odd man rushes from my recollection. Those are recipes for success on most nights.
2. You have won 5 straight now. Do you think chemistry is coming together? . I think it is. We have fewer moments of confusion on where everyone should be, and our postitioning on the breakout is way better than it was towards the beginning of the season.
3. Is a win extra special when you shut out the opposition? It's always nice to get that for adam or whoever the goalie for my team is. I'm not sure how much it means for a goalie, but it must feel pretty good not to alllow a goal in this league
4. Knights next week. With your 5 game win streak and with the Eagles nearly beating them last night, are you feeling like you may have a decent chance against them next week? . I think we will put up a better fight this time around compared to the beginning of the season. It was painfully obvious that we didn't play well as a team, while the knights looked like a well-oiled machine. It will be a good test for us to see how much we have improved.
5. Some people around the league think you would be a perfect fit on the Colonials. How do you think you have been able to fit in with the Yeti so far? . I think I play really well with derik and dave. We have had some success with winning some tournaments together this past couple of years. I play with most of the guys on the colonials during the summer league in brockway and have really good chemistry with most of those guys also. I know I would fit in with Kevin and Bob, considering our past success and how we seem to all think alike and our playing styles seem to feed off each other. It's fun to think about, but I just want to focus on helping the yeti win some games down the stretch.
Clint (Knights)
1. 6-5 win over the Eagles last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? It was great! A couple of us werent 100% last night but everybody kept pushing as hard as they could!
2. A 5-4 deficit turned into a 6-5 win. What do you think you guys did better in that final stretch last night? We just kept at it! Didn't get discouraged from some bounces not going our way early!
3. They had some good chances to tie the game late. Were there any particular plays where you thought they should have scored? Not off the top of my head! I know there was the one late that somehow got up over me and hit the crossbar. I was too focused on not letting in another bad bounce!
4. You haven’t been tested much all season. How do you think yourself and your guys did at responding to their best shot last night? We did great! I let in a couple from not being perfect on my angle and they got a couple fortunate bounces their way! Can't let those discourage ya at all. Head down, keep moving!
5. Yeti are on a 5 game win streak. Are you expecting a similar game from them as you had with the Eagles last night? I am! Outcomes of past games don't interest me. In this league, games can go either way any night! Excited for this stretch of tough games!
Morgan Lyons (Walkers)
1. 11-3 win over the Hounds last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win? I think it was one of our games that we connected better in. Sometimes I feel like we get goal hungry and forget to pass and make plays.
2. What does a good win like last night do for overall team confidence going forward? Everyone was having a good time and excited so I feel that we’ll go into next week feeling pretty good and looking for another win.
3. Corey and Troy are the newest walkers this season, along with Derrian skating out. How do you think they have all fit in so far? i think all three fit in super well and have helped the walkers immensely with offense. They also work super well together.
4. Your team got off to a slow start against them last time. How important did you think it was to get off to a better start this time around? It helped us to built momentum and once we got ahead we knew we just had to keep it there.
5. Jawas next week. What kind of game are you expecting from them? I’m expecting a fast paced, close game.
Eric Llewellyn (Eagles)
1. 6-5 loss to the Knights last night. What can you say about the overall team effort in the loss? That was our best game of the season. They know were after em. They know what happened before will never happen again
2. A 5-4 lead got away from you guys in the 3rd period. What do you think went wrong in that final stretch for you guys? Couple mistakes. For us to beat them we have to play a 99% clean game maybe even 100%. When I say clean I mean mistake free hockey. Thats hard to do for 45 mins against the Knights. We also hit 2 posts in the last 2 minutes of the 3rd. They know they were lucky to escape without a loss.
3. You guys turned a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 lead. What do you think you guys did better as the game went on? We are just never ready to play. Its something I personally bring up in our chat every single week. If we dont spot the best team in the league 4 goals we win that game. The games are 45 minutes... not 60... so getting better as the game goes on is not a great strategy. You have to set the tone early and we didnt do that.
4. That backhanded goal was pretty impressive. Did you think that set the tone for you guys getting back into the game last night? That faceoff ended up in our feet and I just figured id get it to the net asap so I didnt even switch my hands over I just shot it. I didnt see it go in I just heard the reaction. That was a big goal for sure but Boyd getting us started and just proving we can score on them was the biggest. We had to break the ice. Zach had big goals too. They all feel big against them. Every goal is so important.
5. How would you describe your mindset after the game, moral victory or disappointing loss? Felt like we won honestly... as sad as that is. We havent had anything to be happy about so it felt really good to come together as a team and make a complete turn around from a few weeks ago. Nobody else has even come close to beating them so i think we proved a lot last night. Everyone wrote us off and we showed them why you should never do that. At the same time though...its still a loss and we have a lot more to prove over the next couple weeks. We need to win big games and were gonna start doing that next monday.
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