UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Dead River headed in right direction

ODDS:	Dead River by 2
OVER/UNDER:	11

Look out, there is a hot team other than the Gamblers in the UVHL, and it is the Dead River Oilers. They have played well defensively, have had solid and at times great goaltending, and are scoring enough goals to win hockey games. The Whalers need their team to show up, have enough numbers to hustle and skate teams into the ice, need their best players to lead the way, and have their lesser players not screw up so much - like cause turnovers, miss defensive coverage and not throw pucks away. They can skate with anyone, and if they do that they will have a chance against Dead River. If not, then DR stays on a roll. DR by 2.

Dead River on a late season roll

The best teams are playing great hockey in March and April, and that seems to be the case for the Dead River Oilers. I came into the scorebox partway through the second period, and DR was ahead 3-1. First period shots were low, a mere 6 shots towards Lallier, and 9 towards Feiden. Kelly Park was subbing in on DR and looked wicked shaaaap in a classic Storm Kings jersey. His self assessment was that he was "fat and out of shape", so Park stayed for all 3 games taking part in the late scrimmage for Tuck with all but 2 Tuckies out of town on their Spring Break. Park went to the box for holding a 12:18 of the second, and of course had something to say about it. Jason Gramling went for a slash after retailating against Ricky Golden for hooking him in his groin, and as is typical in hockey, only the retaliation was seen and called by the official. The game was pretty F'n boring at this point, so I texted my girlfriend for a while until I was alerted to another penalty - this time it was the tenacious Tom Scull for holding at 7:43. Golden was patient with the puck after Jason Loomis penetrated the zone on the PK leaving Golden a nice drop pass. Golden went in, held on to the puck while being pressured, and found the top corner for a beautiful shorty with 30 seconds left in Scully's penalty. Zach Aher was knocked down in the Whaler's crease and Golden pounced on the loose puck with Lallier down and out on the other side of the net with Aher in between at 4:29. Should there have been a call on Golden for interference? perhaps. But I'll tell you one thing - the refs were perfectly consistent with their calls and non-calls during this game for the stuff that they saw. However, players tempers were starting to rise regardless of the ref's consistency. Scully held Peter Welsh in the slot and went to the box again for hooking at 2:56. Total shots in the game were 15-14 for DR at the end of the second.

The first 5 minutes of the third were boring except for the play of Golden, who was on fire since Gramling retaliated, and he potted his third goal of the game to complete the Natural Hat Trick at 9:35 on his second unassisted goal in a row to make it 6-1 for the Oilers. The Whalers finished stronger than they started, and AJ Hamel put on a bit of a show inthe third period with good hustle and a few nice plays. Rick Hughes played some nice D to stop Hamel from getting a good chance, and DR was dominating getting control of the loose pucks. Hamel kept pressing and wired a BIG shot past Feiden's blocker from Kirt Johnson at 4:57. Park took a 4 minute shift as a sub in the third period showing no concern for eating up paying player's ice time. Late in the third Golden laid an elbow but the refs missed it, and Hamel had some more sweet moves, but that was all the scoring. Third period shots were 7 per side.

Final Score: Dead River 6, Whalers 2

Final Tally: Golden had the Natural Hatty; Loomis had 1G, 3A; and Hadley had 2G. AJ Hamel had 1G, 1A for the Whalers.

Final Analysis: The Whalers need a defensive team game or system to reduce shots and generate turnovers. The inconsistent roster is killing them, and Lallier is getting frustrated. Dead River took advantage of a team in turmoil and did not play great hockey, they just played well enough to beat the Whalers even though they are playing better the last month or so. Golden dominated for part of the game, and is calm when he gets hooked, mugged, or fouled, but has a controlled mean streak that shows itself on occasion and he knows how to pick his spots to return the favor.

See you on the ice!

McD

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
1st PERIOD
LAB	14:07	Goal	Hadley, Gregory(5)	Assist(s): Loomis, Jason(4)
WHL	10:50	Goal	Avery, Michael(3)	Assist(s): Hamel, A.J.(2) Lynch, Peter(1)
LAB	08:41	Goal	Loomis, Jason(5)	Assist(s): Hughes, Rick(8)
LAB	00:16	Goal	Hadley, Gregory(6)	Assist(s): Loomis, Jason(5) Park, Kelly(12)
2nd PERIOD
LAB	12:18	Penalty	White, Marty(3)	2 minutes for holding
WHL	10:14	Penalty	Gramling, Jason(4)	2 minutes for slashing
LAB	07:43	Penalty	Scull, Tom(6)	2 minutes for holding
LAB	06:10	Goal	Golden, Richard(13)	Assist(s): Loomis, Jason(6)
LAB	04:29	Goal	Golden, Richard(14)	Assist(s): none
LAB	02:56	Penalty	Scull, Tom(7)	2 minutes for hooking
3rd PERIOD
WHL	14:34	Penalty	Hamel, A.J.(1)	2 minutes for hooking
WHL	10:33	Penalty	Lynch, Peter(1)	2 minutes for cross checking
LAB	09:39	Goal	Golden, Richard(15)	Assist(s): none
WHL	04:57	Goal	Hamel, A.J.(1)	Assist(s): Johnson, Kirt(6)

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Game Comments:
SK8VT Woodstock, VT Registered: Posts: 45	Mar 8th, 2011 01:08 PM feeling an upset tonight
hkydoc WRJ, VT Registered: Jan 2004 Posts: 517	Oooooh! Mar 8th, 2011 01:55 PM An upset? Are the Whalers due? McD
Z-Skate White River Jct, VT Registered: Posts: 108	Whale Win if .. Mar 8th, 2011 04:21 PM 1) Nicky Hall doesn't eat a large pizza .. 2) Gambling decides to pass on a 2 on 1 instead of shooting from below the goal line .. 3) Gary "the pearl" isn't grounded after his "talk" with corporate 4) I limit the slappers to zero .. I guess it's hopeless.