Kings & Jets Take Winter Classics
Monday night was the inaugural Coaches in Goal Winter Classics. For the first time coaches were pitted against each other in a battle between the pipes.
Kings (5-1) vs. Cyclones (0-6)
In game 1, James Langridge put his Kings' 1st place standing to the test as they challenged Lindsey Campbell and the Cyclones.
The 1st period was a tight one. Both teams traded chances back and forth, with each potting a goal. Veteran d-man, Scott Canard scored for the Cyclones, while fellow veteran and SBHL leading scorer, Cody Saunders, tallied one for the Kings.
Things opened up in the 2nd. The Kings began to pour on the pressure and outshot the Cylcones in the frame. Dispite being short-handed three times in the period, the Kings managed to kill all three penalties and Brandon Martel even put one in short-handed. Austin Owen and Saunders would each tally goals in the period to make it 4-1 after two. The highlight of the period and subsequently the game, went to Lindsey Campell. During a barrage of shots, Campbell made severals saves, which led to him down with the ball loose. The ball was then chipped up and over Campbell and in a last ditch effort, while falling forward and the ball going in behind him, twisted around with his glove hand and swatted the ball out of mid-air before it crossed the line.
The Kings only got better in the 3rd. Outshooting the Cyclones in both quanity and quality, Campbell stood on his head and the team was forced into a defensive system. The defence did a good job of keeping the ball out of the front of the net but with so many chances the Kings weren't going to be denied. Connor Logan put in a shot from the slot and Saunders finished with four on the night. James Langridge gets the win as the Kings beat the Cyclones 7-2.
Players of the Game: ?
Jets (5-1) vs. Sharks (2-4)
In game 2, in the wake of losing two of his top three scorers, Jerry Baker stepped between the pipes against "The Commish", Sharks' coach Jamie Wilson.
The Jets lost Maurice Ducharme and Seth Henderson over the Christmas break, who moved to Edmonton. In their place, they signed verteran and former Jets player, Colby Langlois. Langlois picked up right were Ducharme and Henderson left off.
The game started slow as each team battled to dictate the pace. The Jets tried to make it a fast paced, possession game by carrying the ball into the Sharks zone and getting chances off the rush, while the Sharks looked to slow things down and keep the ball in Jets end by way of the dump and chase. It would be the Jets that would finally win the pace battle. After a shot from Wilson's right, the ball bounced around the crease and was cleared right to the stick of Andrew Courchene, who one-timed it top shelf over Wilson's outstretched glove. Langlois would add two shortly after, one after another. At the end of one, the Jets led 3-0.
The 2nd the Jets continued their assault on the Sharks. They controlled the ball possession, while also outshooting and outchancing the Sharks. But Wilson's squad wasn't going to just fade away into the night. They pushed back with scoring chances of their own. Baker's quest for the shutout came to an end late in the frame as Brayden Silva fired one far side on the Jets' coach. Unforunately for the Sharks, that would be their only goal of the game. The Jets took over again as Langlois put in another, as did Courchene. 5-1 Jets after two.
The 3rd was all Jets as they peppered Wilson with shots from every angle, including several breakaways & odd man rushes. The Commish did his best to keep them at bay but if couldn't be done as the Jets would add three more in the period and take the game 8-1.
Players of the Game: Cameron Nattaway (2 assists) & Morgan Hobbs
