UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Dead River @ Nordiques

ODDS:	Nordiques By 4 Goals
OVER/UNDER:	10 Goals

So far this season the Nords & Dead River have played three times with the Nordiques winning every match. The combined score of the games is 22-8 and has been all Nordiques.

The Nords are coming off a rough 8-4 loss to Cardigan last week while Dead River played the Whalers tough but folded late in the game 5-2.

With only 4 weeks left in the regular season, both teams need a bit of work to fine-tune for the playoffs. The Nordiques have to work on their consistency as they haven't been able to put together very few full games this season. They've had strong starts and strong finishes mixed in with some embarrassing last minute losses. Dead River has had a historically rough season. Plagued by roster issues, their 1-17-0 record is pretty indicative of how things have gone. Theri only win came by forfeit and they sit at a -88 goal differential.

The Nordiques have racked up 7 scorers in double digits this season but have only scored 76 goals as a team, that's second to last in total goals scored. Dead River sits in last place with only 26 goals scored and have zero players in double digits for points.

The Nordiques have a little more fire-power than Dead River but have let up almost half the number of goals, 71 to 136, as Dead River has. That difference should have the Nordiques winning 7-3. There is a wild card though, that wildcard is whether or not anyone from Tuck or the Whalers sticks around to play for Dead River.

Nordiques Erase 2 Goal Deficit, Beat Dead River 4-2

What should have been a cake-walk for the Nordiques turned out to be a downright battle as the Nordiques barely edged Dead River 3-2....and added an empty netter for good measure. Dead River has battled identity and roster issues all season long but have been beneficiaries of the "open" roster policy during the regular season as they used the services of the Whaler's Gary "The Pearl Necklace" Laperle and Jay "Zamboni" Zanleoni. The Whalers didn't have any points but added depth, grit and puck control.

Dead River jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a couple of fortuitous bounces. The first came from off of a Trevor "Pitbull" Billings point shot that ricocheted off of 3 people in front of the net and landed right on the stick of Greg "The Luckiest Man In the World" Hadley's stick to the left of Turner for the easy put-home. "That wasn't luck, just pure hockey intuition. I'm a hockey genius, I have hockey ESP...I know where the puck will be" said Hadley after the game.

Mark "Wiggity" Weglarz put DR up 2-0 after crashing the net on a Dan "Chubby Hubby" Charette point shot that hit Turner in the shoulder and was dropping into the crease. What looked like pure luck may have been sheer talent as Weggie batted the puck out of mid-air and into the open net. My bet is dumb luck...but he made it look good. Just busting Mark's balls, it was a pretty goal and one that could have crippled the Nords.

After 10 minutes Dead River had the lead and their goaltender Matty "The Eagle" Crowson was playing out of his mind. "He looked unbeatable, making save after save" recalled a Nordique forward. Crowson ended the night with 40 saves on 43 shots.

"Fierce" Pierce Mayhew scored his 14th of the season after putting home a Jordy "McBreakaway" McGee rebound to close out the first period. The first period ended without a penalty, had a good flow and both goaltenders were tested.

The Nords tied the game with 4:48 gone in the second period off of a great passing play as Eric "K-Town" Krivitzky moved the puck to Ryan "The Governor" McGovern at the point. McGovern then made a great pass through the high-slot to Roger "The Dirty Dentist" Phillips who threw a change-up past Crowson. The game stayed tied for nearly nine minutes and the Nordiques had to kill off a McGovern interference call. Just as that penalty expired, Kelly "The Mouth" Park picked up a DR turnover along the far boards, cut to the middle and fed McGee for a one-timer that beat Crowson blocker side. A beautiful shot that was the eventual game winner.

Crowson stood tall in the third period and the ice started tilting towards his net. Dead River killed off a Geoff Noble penalty to start the third period and did their best to keep the Nords to the perimeter but Crowson was their best player by far, stopping 18 of his 40 shots in the third. Brian "The Beard" Racicot took a bad roughing penalty late in the period that the Nordiques killed and Roger Phillips got his 12th of the season on an empty netter in the last minute for some insurance.

Dead River played a great game, the Nordiques didn't play their best. Crowson was a stud, Phillips had a pair, McGee got the game winner and Weglarz sucks.

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
1st PERIOD
LAB	06:44	Goal	Hadley, Gregory(2)	Assist(s): Billings, Trevor(5)
LAB	05:00	Goal	Weglarz, Mark(2)	Assist(s): Charette, Dan(3)
NDQ	02:41	Goal	Mayhew, Pierce(13)	Assist(s): McGee, Jordan(11)
2nd PERIOD
NDQ	10:12	Goal	Phillips, Roger(10)	Assist(s): Krivitzky, Eric(9) McGovern, Ryan(7)
NDQ	03:36	Penalty	McGovern, Ryan(1)	2 minutes for Interference
NDQ	01:29	Goal	McGee, Jordan(21)	Assist(s): Park, Kelly(20)
LAB	00:16	Penalty	noble, geoff(7)	2 minutes for Hooking
3rd PERIOD
NDQ	03:58	Penalty	Racicot, Brian(5)	2 minutes for Roughing
NDQ	00:48	Goal	Phillips, Roger(11)	Assist(s): none

LOG IN:
Username:		You must be logged into your Forum account to leave game comments. Please log in to the right to add your Brilliant Diatribes & Thunderous Verbal Attacks about this game.
Password:
	forget username / password? create account

Game Comments: