Post by Belfast on Jan 5, 2022 23:49:30 GMT -7
Belfast V Brandon:
The Moose and Patriots square off for their annual match-up in a frigid Moose Knuckle Arena.
The Patriots seem to have a jump in their skates early as they fire pucks often and early at Moose netminder Jake Oettinger. At 7:36, Rasmus Ristolainen reminds Gustav Forsling why cream puff Swedes need to keep their heads up when Finnish wrecking balls are on the ice. He catches him clean at center ice and Forsling is left with a lisp and a limp. That seems to spur on the Patritos defense and at 13:12 Artem “Kneel before Zub” Zub finally slots a puck past a sprawling Oettinger for the games opening goal. Credit Jakub Vrana for dangling on a change to feed Zub coming off the bench.
Niko Mikkola slides across the crease to stop a golden chance for the Moose to tie, but that’s the extent of the Moose offense, generating only 7 shots for the period.
The Moose manage to weather an early storm and escape to the dressing room down only 1 goal thanks to Oettinger stopping 3 other quality chances.
With more traffic in front of him than the 405 at rush hour, Oettinger decides to take matters into his own hands and chops down Rudolphs Balcers at 0:48 of the second period. The ensuing power play sees Jason Robertson misfire on 3 absolutely wide open nets, prompting Jakub Vrana, the set up man on all three 2nd passes to ask “Hey stone hands, you want me to score it for you as well?” Since the ensuing fight is between two Patriots players, no penalties are assessed.
The Patriots swarm Oettinger and finally at the 12:00 mark, Vrana puts one past him on a nice outlet from Mikkola and a give and go from Eriksson-Ek.
At the 16:00 mark, Tolvanen makes it 3-0 on a slick pass from Artem Zub and Tom Wilson, and the flood gates open. 16:45 see’s Sturm break in on a nice feed from Mikkola, these Fins produce some superlative Defensemen, to up the lead to 4-0.
The Moose seem to be more interested in the new concourse confectionaries than the actual game on the ice, mustering only 5 shots in the 2nd period.
The 3rd period doesn’t change the flow of the game, as the Patriots again shell a beleaguered Oettinger, with little to no support from the rest of his team. Danault slots in an easy one timer on a cross ice feed from Mikkola, again to see the Patriots up 5-0 at the 3:36 mark.
Tom Wilson takes 2 minutes at 6:48 for flipping the puck, and Gustav Forsling, over the boards. The Moose record one quality chance on the PP but, Goalie Ned says “No diddly doodly way” and preserves his shut out bid.
At 15:36 Niko Mikkola is rewarded for his strong game and he drives the final nail in the coffin to make it 6-0 on a give and go rush between the two Finnish Towers, Ristolainen gifting the empty netter to a deserving Mikkola.
1st Star: Niko Mikkola. 1 Goal, 3 Assist, 3 shots, 2 quality.
2nd Star: Artem Zub. 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 3 shots, 1 quality.
3rd Star: Alex Nedeljkovic. 0 GA, 22 shots, 2 quality.
Of note, there were 4 broken sticks in this game, 2 for each team. Fun stuff, well worth the addition in this humble beat reporters estimation.
Patriots were 6 goals on 48 shots, 12 quality chances. Moose were 0 goals on 22 shots 2 quality.
Game 2 in Belfast:
The return game is a true hockey fans dream. Unless you cheer for the Moose that is.
At 0:48 Rudolf Balcers heads to the box for a marginal interference call. The Moose have one good chance, but fail to score, as Hellebuyck manages to keep the Patriots in early. At 1:36 an overly exuberant Stamkos takes 4 minutes for roughing and manages to drag a clearly bewildered Nichushkin off for 2 minutes of his own.
At 3:12, just as the Patriots start the 2 tick PP, Tolvanen pounces on a loose puck and puts the home team ahead by one. Ristolainen, clearing 3 Moose defenders from in front gets credit for the assist. At 4:48 Ristolainen again feeds a streaking Danault, who makes no mistake and puts the home team up by 2.
Finally at 6:48, Matt “Im not French” Martin, takes a feed from Fabbro and Soucy and solves Hellebuyck to bring the Moose back to within one and breath some life into his bench.
Eriksson-Ek takes an unwise water skiing penalty at 11:12 but Hellebuyck manages to hold the fort yet again and preserve the tenuous lead.
At 16:24, Jason Spezza puck hawks an errant pass by Fabbro that goes off Ristolainens shin pads, and pounds a forechecking shot past Oettinger to extend the lead to 3-1.
16:48 see’s Oettinger just get a toe on another forechecking blast by Danault, keeping his team in it.
Annoyed at being left off the score sheet for the assist on Spezza’s goal, Ristolainen takes 2:00 for delay of game, as he wont give the puck back till the officials correct their mistake. He get’s his assist, and smugly sits in the box for 2:00, as the Patriots kill off the man advantage.
Oettinger keeps his team in the game, stopping 4 of 7 quality chances, while surprisingly Hellebuyck also stops 2 of 3 to preserve the lead. Both goalies putting in some good work.
The 2nd period starts with Spezza going to the box for delay of game at 1:12, arguing that Ristolainen’s assist in misplaced. His appeal is denied…and he still get’s 2 minutes to chat with the lovely ladies in “Spezza’s Sin Bin” behind the home teams penalty box. No harm done on the ensuing PP, much harm done to the thick redhead in the Sin Bin though....as advertised by her tousled hair ala Mike Commodore and satisfied grin.
Shortly after the penalty expires however, Tim Stutzle takes a nice break out pass from Soucy, beats Logan Stanley outside and flips a puck upstairs past Hellebuyck, to fight back to within one again.
At 10:48 Jeff Skinner takes 2 minutes for pitting the ice doing a double salchow, and embarrassing his team with his prima donna skating drama. The lethal Patriots PP take to the ice and at 11:36, Jakub Vrana finishes off the tic-tac-goal from Wilson and Eriksson-Ek to make it 4-2 for the home team.
Dante Fabbro, trying to inspire his team, unwisely get’s tangled up with Ristolainen at 12:24. Luckily he escapes with only 3 missing teeth and coincidental minor penalties.
14:48 see’s newly acquired Dylan Coghlin bank a slap pass from Tom Wilson, into open ice where an onrushing Eriksson-Ek collects the puck and undresses Oettinger before snapping a shot top shelf for a 5-2 lead.
15:36….Deja-Vu??? Eriksson-Ek on the same play from Coghlan and Wilson, points top shelf and then deposits the biscuit with the gravy for a 6-2 lead.
Gustav Forsling, apparently not having learned his lesson in the first game, get’s demolished again by Ristolainen at 19:36 leading to his second -3 injury in as many games.
A demoralized, yet still pleasantly polite Moose squad shamble off the the intermission down by 4. THeir GM also prvides a much needed Banana choc chip muffin!!!
A mere 0:48 into the 3rd period, Kuznetsov clearly closes his hand on the puck while shoveling a pass forward, sending the Patriots on to the PP yet again. Thankfully, despite a couple good looks, the Patriots can’t solve Oettinger on the PP.
Things don’t get any better for the road weary Moose, as Charlie Coyle flips the puck over the glass trying to clear and takes his own 2 minute break with a Kit-Kat bar.
JUST…and we mean JUST…0.1 seconds after the penalty expires, Alex Formenton gets behind the Moose defense and takes a feed from Zub for an easy tap in to make it 7-2. Oh the humanity !!!
Steven Stamkos, clearly annoyed with his teams lackluster efforts, starts negotiating a trade to the Patriots, which nets him a 2:00 delay of game penalty. What happens next you ask? The same thing that happens every time Pinky…the Patriots score on the PP. Jason Robertson at 11:12 from Tolvanen and Norris.
Surely this is it yes? Queue the kid crying “STOOOOP…he’s already dead”!!
Alas, no, because off the ensuing face off, after being thrown out, Josh Norris takes a bank pass from Ristolainen off the face off win from Robertson and seals the last of the open wounds with a rather weary attempt by Oettinger to make the final 9-2 score. Ugly….just pure ugly.
1st Star: Eriksson-Ek. 2 Goal, 2 Assist, 6 shots, 3 quality.
2nd Star: Rasmus Ristolainen. 0 Goal, 5 Assists, 3 shots, 0 quality, another bone crushing hit on Forsling, -3.
3rd Star: Connor Hellebuyck. 2 GA, 25 shots, 7 quality.
Of note, I felt terrible as Moose coach Lorne Harkness was “pipped” 4 times in this game, with another quality chance blocked. Patriots coach O’Sheigh was embarrassed by the treasure trove of hard shots rolled.
Patriots were 9 goals on 55 shots, 20…TWENTY quality chances. Moose were 2 goals on 25 shots 7 quality.
Patriots are now 10-2 - 55GF and 16GA.
The Moose and Patriots square off for their annual match-up in a frigid Moose Knuckle Arena.
The Patriots seem to have a jump in their skates early as they fire pucks often and early at Moose netminder Jake Oettinger. At 7:36, Rasmus Ristolainen reminds Gustav Forsling why cream puff Swedes need to keep their heads up when Finnish wrecking balls are on the ice. He catches him clean at center ice and Forsling is left with a lisp and a limp. That seems to spur on the Patritos defense and at 13:12 Artem “Kneel before Zub” Zub finally slots a puck past a sprawling Oettinger for the games opening goal. Credit Jakub Vrana for dangling on a change to feed Zub coming off the bench.
Niko Mikkola slides across the crease to stop a golden chance for the Moose to tie, but that’s the extent of the Moose offense, generating only 7 shots for the period.
The Moose manage to weather an early storm and escape to the dressing room down only 1 goal thanks to Oettinger stopping 3 other quality chances.
With more traffic in front of him than the 405 at rush hour, Oettinger decides to take matters into his own hands and chops down Rudolphs Balcers at 0:48 of the second period. The ensuing power play sees Jason Robertson misfire on 3 absolutely wide open nets, prompting Jakub Vrana, the set up man on all three 2nd passes to ask “Hey stone hands, you want me to score it for you as well?” Since the ensuing fight is between two Patriots players, no penalties are assessed.
The Patriots swarm Oettinger and finally at the 12:00 mark, Vrana puts one past him on a nice outlet from Mikkola and a give and go from Eriksson-Ek.
At the 16:00 mark, Tolvanen makes it 3-0 on a slick pass from Artem Zub and Tom Wilson, and the flood gates open. 16:45 see’s Sturm break in on a nice feed from Mikkola, these Fins produce some superlative Defensemen, to up the lead to 4-0.
The Moose seem to be more interested in the new concourse confectionaries than the actual game on the ice, mustering only 5 shots in the 2nd period.
The 3rd period doesn’t change the flow of the game, as the Patriots again shell a beleaguered Oettinger, with little to no support from the rest of his team. Danault slots in an easy one timer on a cross ice feed from Mikkola, again to see the Patriots up 5-0 at the 3:36 mark.
Tom Wilson takes 2 minutes at 6:48 for flipping the puck, and Gustav Forsling, over the boards. The Moose record one quality chance on the PP but, Goalie Ned says “No diddly doodly way” and preserves his shut out bid.
At 15:36 Niko Mikkola is rewarded for his strong game and he drives the final nail in the coffin to make it 6-0 on a give and go rush between the two Finnish Towers, Ristolainen gifting the empty netter to a deserving Mikkola.
1st Star: Niko Mikkola. 1 Goal, 3 Assist, 3 shots, 2 quality.
2nd Star: Artem Zub. 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 3 shots, 1 quality.
3rd Star: Alex Nedeljkovic. 0 GA, 22 shots, 2 quality.
Of note, there were 4 broken sticks in this game, 2 for each team. Fun stuff, well worth the addition in this humble beat reporters estimation.
Patriots were 6 goals on 48 shots, 12 quality chances. Moose were 0 goals on 22 shots 2 quality.
Game 2 in Belfast:
The return game is a true hockey fans dream. Unless you cheer for the Moose that is.
At 0:48 Rudolf Balcers heads to the box for a marginal interference call. The Moose have one good chance, but fail to score, as Hellebuyck manages to keep the Patriots in early. At 1:36 an overly exuberant Stamkos takes 4 minutes for roughing and manages to drag a clearly bewildered Nichushkin off for 2 minutes of his own.
At 3:12, just as the Patriots start the 2 tick PP, Tolvanen pounces on a loose puck and puts the home team ahead by one. Ristolainen, clearing 3 Moose defenders from in front gets credit for the assist. At 4:48 Ristolainen again feeds a streaking Danault, who makes no mistake and puts the home team up by 2.
Finally at 6:48, Matt “Im not French” Martin, takes a feed from Fabbro and Soucy and solves Hellebuyck to bring the Moose back to within one and breath some life into his bench.
Eriksson-Ek takes an unwise water skiing penalty at 11:12 but Hellebuyck manages to hold the fort yet again and preserve the tenuous lead.
At 16:24, Jason Spezza puck hawks an errant pass by Fabbro that goes off Ristolainens shin pads, and pounds a forechecking shot past Oettinger to extend the lead to 3-1.
16:48 see’s Oettinger just get a toe on another forechecking blast by Danault, keeping his team in it.
Annoyed at being left off the score sheet for the assist on Spezza’s goal, Ristolainen takes 2:00 for delay of game, as he wont give the puck back till the officials correct their mistake. He get’s his assist, and smugly sits in the box for 2:00, as the Patriots kill off the man advantage.
Oettinger keeps his team in the game, stopping 4 of 7 quality chances, while surprisingly Hellebuyck also stops 2 of 3 to preserve the lead. Both goalies putting in some good work.
The 2nd period starts with Spezza going to the box for delay of game at 1:12, arguing that Ristolainen’s assist in misplaced. His appeal is denied…and he still get’s 2 minutes to chat with the lovely ladies in “Spezza’s Sin Bin” behind the home teams penalty box. No harm done on the ensuing PP, much harm done to the thick redhead in the Sin Bin though....as advertised by her tousled hair ala Mike Commodore and satisfied grin.
Shortly after the penalty expires however, Tim Stutzle takes a nice break out pass from Soucy, beats Logan Stanley outside and flips a puck upstairs past Hellebuyck, to fight back to within one again.
At 10:48 Jeff Skinner takes 2 minutes for pitting the ice doing a double salchow, and embarrassing his team with his prima donna skating drama. The lethal Patriots PP take to the ice and at 11:36, Jakub Vrana finishes off the tic-tac-goal from Wilson and Eriksson-Ek to make it 4-2 for the home team.
Dante Fabbro, trying to inspire his team, unwisely get’s tangled up with Ristolainen at 12:24. Luckily he escapes with only 3 missing teeth and coincidental minor penalties.
14:48 see’s newly acquired Dylan Coghlin bank a slap pass from Tom Wilson, into open ice where an onrushing Eriksson-Ek collects the puck and undresses Oettinger before snapping a shot top shelf for a 5-2 lead.
15:36….Deja-Vu??? Eriksson-Ek on the same play from Coghlan and Wilson, points top shelf and then deposits the biscuit with the gravy for a 6-2 lead.
Gustav Forsling, apparently not having learned his lesson in the first game, get’s demolished again by Ristolainen at 19:36 leading to his second -3 injury in as many games.
A demoralized, yet still pleasantly polite Moose squad shamble off the the intermission down by 4. THeir GM also prvides a much needed Banana choc chip muffin!!!
A mere 0:48 into the 3rd period, Kuznetsov clearly closes his hand on the puck while shoveling a pass forward, sending the Patriots on to the PP yet again. Thankfully, despite a couple good looks, the Patriots can’t solve Oettinger on the PP.
Things don’t get any better for the road weary Moose, as Charlie Coyle flips the puck over the glass trying to clear and takes his own 2 minute break with a Kit-Kat bar.
JUST…and we mean JUST…0.1 seconds after the penalty expires, Alex Formenton gets behind the Moose defense and takes a feed from Zub for an easy tap in to make it 7-2. Oh the humanity !!!
Steven Stamkos, clearly annoyed with his teams lackluster efforts, starts negotiating a trade to the Patriots, which nets him a 2:00 delay of game penalty. What happens next you ask? The same thing that happens every time Pinky…the Patriots score on the PP. Jason Robertson at 11:12 from Tolvanen and Norris.
Surely this is it yes? Queue the kid crying “STOOOOP…he’s already dead”!!
Alas, no, because off the ensuing face off, after being thrown out, Josh Norris takes a bank pass from Ristolainen off the face off win from Robertson and seals the last of the open wounds with a rather weary attempt by Oettinger to make the final 9-2 score. Ugly….just pure ugly.
1st Star: Eriksson-Ek. 2 Goal, 2 Assist, 6 shots, 3 quality.
2nd Star: Rasmus Ristolainen. 0 Goal, 5 Assists, 3 shots, 0 quality, another bone crushing hit on Forsling, -3.
3rd Star: Connor Hellebuyck. 2 GA, 25 shots, 7 quality.
Of note, I felt terrible as Moose coach Lorne Harkness was “pipped” 4 times in this game, with another quality chance blocked. Patriots coach O’Sheigh was embarrassed by the treasure trove of hard shots rolled.
Patriots were 9 goals on 55 shots, 20…TWENTY quality chances. Moose were 2 goals on 25 shots 7 quality.
Patriots are now 10-2 - 55GF and 16GA.