Knights Remain Unbeaten, Walkers re-unite, Bob scores in shootout, Bubba gets first win in net

Standings after March 31st Games:

1.       Knights 22 (111-43)

2.       Yeti 16 (86-43)

3.       Eagles 13 (76-48)

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4.       Colonials 10 (73-67)

5.       Bear Claw 10 (81-86)

6.       Hounds 8 (66-137)

7.       Walkers 2 (54-118)

Knights 12  Yeti 3

For the last 3 or 4 weeks, the Knights have been surviving teams best shots.  Last night, the Knights gave their best shot in dominant and surprising fashion (considering the opponent).  Clint felt good about his night considering he played a big part in the colonials 5-4 shootout win over the eagles last night and felt even better after seeing his regular team dominate the yeti the way they did, but he said things could just as easily go the other way if the two teams meet again in the finals.  Last nights win keeps them undefeated on the regular season and gave them a 3 game sweep over the yeti this season (9-6, 7-5 and 12-3).  The yeti won one of the regular season games against them last season and only lost to them by a goal in a game where Derik Day was not present.  There wasn’t much doubt in this game.  Brandon Reiter scored 3 first period goals, set Andy up for one and Andy returned the favor soon afterwards to put the Knights up 4-0 at the end of the first period.  Andy and Noah kept the knights comfortably ahead in the 2nd period as they increased their lead to 9-3 by the end of the 2nd period. Each set one another up for some goals in the 2nd and 3rd period.  Jason Stamler got included in on the goals as well.  Jake just had to stand back and do what he does best, by frustrating opponents with his stellar defense.  Zach Smith finally got the yeti on the board in the 2nd period but the deficit was 7-1 at that point.   RJ and Ben Rossi each had 2nd period goals to close the gap to 9-3 but the knights scored all the 3rd period goals to win in comfortable fashion.  In terms of the standings, the game was meaningless, but it may have felt like a statement win for the knights last night.   They will look to cap off an undefeated regular season when they go up against the colonials next week.  They won 5-3 in their only meeting with them earlier this season.  The yeti will get a playoff preview against the eagles next week.  The two will meet again in a couple weeks in a best of 3 series.  The yeti won 3-2 in their meeting earlier this season.

Hounds 11  Walkers 10  Overtime

This may have been the most entertaining game of the season so far.   The Hounds found themselves down 10-8 in the closing minute or so, but were able to score to draw to within 10-9 but had to pull Bubba from net in a desperation attempt to score a tying goal.   Desperation prevailed when Tyler Stitt batted in a rebound with 1.6 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.  Overtime was short lived when Cody Haag scored less than a minute into the extra session to give the hounds a season sweep over the walkers.  It did not look like overtime would be necessary after the hounds got off to a 4-1 lead at the end of the first period.  Corey Bassett did a nice job for them again and contributed an early goal to put the hounds ahead.  Jaron Buffone and Tyler Waltman each scored first period goals as well.  The walkers had a little reunion last night. With the absences of Steve Hetrick, Denny and Jeremy Johnson, Laken Dodd and Jason Stamler put their old walkers jerseys on and contributed some scoring, but the majority of their scoring was done by Mark Chesley and Troy Gaydosh.  Laken’s goal put the walkers ahead 5-4 in the 2nd period and they had a chance to extend their lead, but Bubba had a stretch of about 5 or 6 good saves late in the 2nd period that kept the game from getting out of reach for them.  The walkers figured him out in the 3rd period by scoring 5 times, as noted above, a lot from Troy and Mark, and they eventually found themselves up by 2 goals in the closing minute or so.  Unfortunately, the walkers were denied their first win of the season with less than 2 seconds remaining in regulation.  It was hard to track all the goals from all the back and forth 3rd period action, but we saw our share of momentum changes and lead changes in those final 15 minutes.   Cody Haag led the way offensively for the hounds with 4 goals.  Andrew Britton scored twice including a big 3rd period goal to keep them within reach.  Jaron Buffone, Tyler Waltman and Corey Bassett each scored a couple goals as well.  Tyler Stitt waited 59 minutes and 58 seconds to score his only goal of the game, but at the time, none came bigger than that one.    The Hounds will get a week off to celebrate their overtime win.  They closed out their regular season with a 3 game winning streak and flashed some of their potential when Noah and Jay Stamler filled in for them against the bear claw a few weeks ago.  If only games were 59 minutes instead of 60, the walkers would have a couple wins on the season.  They will look to get a win against the bear claw next week.   It will be a rematch of the walkers other heartbreaking loss this season.  The two could meet again in the first 4th place tournament game.  While they have not won yet, we aren’t counting the walkers out just yet.   Troy, Denny and Mark have been playing their best hockey down the stretch.   The hounds currently sit in the 6th spot in the standings and will likely face the colonials in the first 4th place tournament game.  There is a chance they could face the bear claw instead depending on what happens next week. 

Colonials 5  Eagles 4 (Shootout)

Henry Sutter returned last night, but rumor has his return as very short lived.  If that’s the case, he will be missed, not only as a top goalie, but as a person.  We wish him the best with his new endeavors if the rumor is true.  The colonials snagged Clint up as a goalie for the 3rd time this season when going up against the eagles, and took full advantage of it this time around.  Clint prevented all 3 eagles from scoring in the shootout while Henry prevented the first 2 colonials from scoring.  Only Bob prevented the shootout from lasting an eternity when he got a shot past Henry to set the colonials up for the 5-4 win.  Earlier this season, the eagles scored with less than 5 seconds remaining in regulation against the colonials or else we could have possibly seen another 5-4 shootout between these teams.    Jerred Amick got the scoring started in this game but Phil Mace scored two first period goals for the colonials to keep the game close this time around.  The eagles won the previous matchup 8-4 but no one led by more than a goal in this game.   Zac Gray scored on a set up from Josh Clontz and Josh Clontz later scored a goal of his own for the Eagles while Bob scored twice in the 2nd period for the colonials.  Eric Llewellyn had a nice backhand goal in the 3rd period which came off a set up from Josh Clontz to tie the game at 4 in the 3rd period.  Josh Clontz’s 2nd period goal came off a rebound from a Larry shot attempt.    Both goalies played well and played a large part in making this another back and forth game between these two teams.  Austin Boyd was present but did not put his skates on in this game.  Fred was not able to play last night due to an illness.   It would be nice to see these two teams play again in the finals, but they will both have a tough road to get there, especially the colonials, who will have to win two 4th place tournament games just to get into a best of 3 series against the knights.  The eagles and yeti will get a good chance to get to know one another with their next 3, possibly 4 games coming up against one another.   Next week’s game wont mean anything other than possibly a morale boost going into the playoffs.

Bob Anderson(Colonials)

1.       5-4 shoot out win over the Eagles last night.  What can you say about the overall team effort in the win?

I was pleased.  We had some not-so-great games recently where we got away from our game and got embarrassed.  We were much more disciplined last night and played solid throughout.

2.       The team isn’t expected to make a big playoff push against the leagues best teams, but what does a win last night do for confidence going into next week and whatever playoff games there will be?

It certainly helps with confidence.  It was the best win of the season for us and it shows that we can hang with the best teams in the league when we play smart.  We aren't a team that can win high scoring games.  We have to play it tight and hope to capitalize on mistakes.  Last night's win shows that patience can pay off.

3.      Knights beat the yeti 12-3 last night.  What's been your impression of them as you go up against them next week and possibly in a best of 3 series in a few weeks from now?

The Knights are a juggernaut.  They have a ton of individual talent, but all the pieces fit together to form a perfect puzzle.  But more impressive is their depth.  Even if they lost one of their best players, they'd still be a title contender.  That's hard to match up against for any team.  With that said, the Yeti always play their best when the games mean the most.  If they meet again, which looks likely unless the Eagles can play spoiler, I could see either team winning the championship.

4.      Bear Claw, Hounds and Walkers will be in that 4th place tournament.  What's been your observation of those teams so far this season?

They are all scrappy, and even though they probably haven't won as many games as they'd like, they are almost always competitive in them.  The Bear Claw, in particular, could certainly play their way out of the 4th place tournament and into the playoffs.  I've been surprised in some ways that the Walkers haven't won more games.  They could surprise in that tournament too.

5.      XHL has been going on a long time now, but participation seems to slowly be declining.  Does it worry you at all that people’s busy lifestyles could soon impact future leagues like XHL and SRHL?

I think the biggest worry right now is the lack of goaltenders in the league.  We're hurting there.  I'm contemplating buying some equipment myself to try to learn the position.  It's a difficult position but I think it would be fun to play for a season.  As for participation, I think we've held pretty strong considering the advanced ages of many of our players.  It tells you that we still have a lot of fun playing because we're willing to carve out a little part of our busy weeks to make time to get together for some friendly competition.

Cody Haag (Hounds)

1.       11-10 win over the walkers. What can you say about the overall team effort in the win?  Overall team effort was good. The second period was rough, but we had a better third period

2.       You guys had a tough 2nd period. What do you think went wrong in that period?  What went wrong was we were ball chasing and leaving people open in front of the net

3.       How did it feel to get a game winner in overtime?  It felt good it was fun to dive and actually put the shot on net.

4.       They were up 10-8 with little time left. Did you think the game was a lost cause at that point?  It felt good it was fun to dive and actually put the shot on net. I always say to the younger guys just show effort and plays will happen! We may not be the best team, I may not be the best player, but if you try good things will happen! At the end of the day this is all for fun doesn't matter who wins or scores the goal. I am iust happy to play!

5.       Expectations were pretty low for the season considering the team got assembled a couple days before the season started. What good things can you take out of the season so far?  Expectations were low but we are on a 3 game winning streak! I would not of expected that at the start of the season! Overall everyone should be very happy with how we have played!