UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

ODDS:	Gamblers by 5
OVER/UNDER:	10

The Gamblers have an 11 game win streak going, with one of those wins coming in a shootout. Jered Condon has the league's best GAA at a stingy 1.90, a mark almost unheard of in men's league where anything around 3.00 is considered incredible. Dead River is much improved since last season, which had some bumps as they transitioned from the Storm Kings into their current team. As I hear on the street they are having fun again, and that is always a good thing cuz that is what this league is all about! Greg Feiden's netminding has helped the team defensively, and their two big guns Pattison & Golden lead the goal scoring department by a wide margin helped by Cashman's 17 assists. The Gamblers have a ridiculously deep roster for scoring with the top two league scorers and 7 players with a point per game pace or better, and that will carry them to their 12th in a row tonight.

Gamblers keep rolling with 12th straight win

Apparently the pre-game prediction of the Gamblers by 5 for their 12th straight win got a few Dead River Oilers' knickers in a knot. The Over/Under was way over, and the margin of victory was as well giving credence to the Oilers' gripes and proving their strong effort during this game. It didn't stop the Gamblers from cruising to their 12 straight, however.

JT filled in for Greg Feiden in the Oilers' net and faced a barrage of shots tallying 38 in total by games end. Jered Condon had a more subdued game, but made the big save when it counted with 21 shots coming his way. The Gamblers' first two goals came by way of a quick shot in front by captain and league leading scorer Will Meyer at 9:57, and then on a screen shot at 7:50 for Brian Gattie or Jason Young, both of whom were wearing #9. So, if either of you read this shoot me an e-mail so I can get the stats straight. I missed Dead River's first goal, but when we interviewed Evan Duggan who got his first of two unassisted goals at 6:45 he only smiled and said "Luck" to describe the play. Honestly not much happened in the first except for a lot of shots by the Gamblers, and the pace was very quick. There was a slashing call at 3:56 to Dan Ammel, but the Gamblers killed off the Oilers' power play. Shots were 14-7 in favor of the Gamblers.

The second period saw similar shot totals with the Gamblers holding the clear edge 15-4. JT had to stand tall and still save some for Tuck in the Nords' net afterwards, but this way he was well warmed up! A breakaway pass with speed was fed to Ammel on the blueline and JT made the save, but the hook by Warrington sent Ammel crashing into the net at 12:06. On the PP Meyer took down the speedy Duggan to negate the man advantage at 11:51. Scully then took down a Gambler on the boards at 10:40 for yet another penalty in his career that he never deserved - just like the rest of them! He was joined in the box by Rick Hughes to put the Gamblers up by 2 men after Hughes was called for bodychecking.. The Gamblers scored on the PP at 8:36 when Ammel put one just past JT's glove while down in the butterfly. Dead River was outshot 10-1 at the halfway point of the period. Ammel scored on a cross-crease pass at 4:18 from linemates Meyer and Marrazzo, and soon after that he lost the puck on a 2-on-1 to negate a good scoring chance. The second DR shot came with 3:09 left, and then had 3 quick shots in succession over the next 1:14. By the end of the frame shots were 20-10 in favor of the Gamblers. Both teams were sharp on the PK in this one as only one PPG was scored during the game.

In the third, Scully was hooked on a scoring chance barrelling ahead with the puck, but there was no call on the play despite his superb effort. DR had the same number of shots (4) by 10:00 of the period than they had in the entire second. Meyer scored on a quick pass in front from his linemates at 8:33 to finish the Gamblers scoring. JT stoned Evan Seely on a breakaway just after Meyer's goal. Golden threw down Fraser in the corner after getting held and both went to the box for roughing at 6:09. Pattison and Ammel got tangled up in front for matching roughing minors at 3:31, apparently for a shove on Ammel's teammate Allison Malcolm who supposedly committed a non-called stick foul on Pattison in front. JT had another great save, this time with the R pad, on Topo LaCroix's breakaway with 49 seconds to go. Turner had 33 saves on 38 shots, and Condon had a stingy 19 saves on 21 shots when all was said and done.

FYI: I'm not sure about stats between double #9's Jason Young and newcomer Brian Gattie...

Final Score: Gamblers 5, Dead River 2

Final Tally: The MMA line had 11 points out of the 15 tallied by the Gamblers. Their entire line gets a POW nod on a night that saw several goaltenders get POW nods, including Jered Condon and John Turner. Evan Duggan gets an honorable mention scoring TWO unassisted goals on pucks he stole from the Gamblers that he converted quickly into goals by smart plays and great hustle.

Final Analysis: The MMA line proved that they carry this team offensively, but don't forget about the rest of the Gamblers squad which is deep and strong defensively giving up only 5 and 6 shots in the first and second periods respectively. Dead River is much improved since last year, and so is their attitude! New addition Chris Warrington is calm and smooth patrolling the DR blueline and makes smart breakout passes and timely rushes.

McD

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
1st PERIOD
GMB	09:57	Goal	Meyer, Will(23)	Assist(s): Marrazzo, Matt(17) Seely, Evan(7)
GMB	07:50	Goal	Young, Jason(1)	Assist(s): Marrazzo, Matt(18) Harrington, Mike(7)
LAB	06:45	Goal	Duggan, Evan(7)	Assist(s): none
GMB	03:56	Penalty	Ammel, Robert(4)	2 minutes for slashing
2nd PERIOD
LAB	12:06	Penalty	Warrington, Chris(2)	2 minutes for tripping
GMB	11:51	Penalty	Meyer, Will(2)	2 minutes for hooking
LAB	10:40	Penalty	Scull, Tom(4)	2 minutes for hooking
LAB	09:44	Penalty	Hughes, Rick(5)	2 minutes for body checking
GMB	08:36	Goal	Ammel, Robert(10)	Assist(s): Meyer, Will(14) Gattie, Marc(11)
GMB	04:18	Goal	Ammel, Robert(11)	Assist(s): Meyer, Will(15) Marrazzo, Matt(19)
3rd PERIOD
GMB	08:33	Goal	Meyer, Will(24)	Assist(s): Marrazzo, Matt(20) Ammel, Robert(15)
LAB	06:09	Penalty	Golden, Richard(6)	2 minutes for roughing
GMB	06:09	Penalty	Fraser, Scott(4)	2 minutes for holding
LAB	05:24	Goal	Duggan, Evan(8)	Assist(s): none
GMB	04:59	Penalty	Young, Jason(5)	2 minutes for roughing
LAB	03:31	Penalty	Pattison, Rob(4)	2 minutes for roughing
GMB	03:31	Penalty	Ammel, Robert(5)	2 minutes for roughing

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Game Comments:
kpark Quechee, VT Registered: Dec 2003 Posts: 723	5 goals huh? Jan 11th, 2011 01:35 PM OUCH! Any response from the Dead River Rats?