UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Week 6: Bottom of the Barrel:

ODDS:	Dead River by 2 goals
OVER/UNDER:	8 goals

The bottom two teams in the UVie face off tonight in some hardcore upper valley action. The Whalers are the league's lowest scoring team this season with 14 goals scored in 5 games, but Dead River isn't much better with 15 goals.

Both teams are also the respective goals allowed leaders with the Whalers clinching again with 34 goals allowed in 5 games, and Dead River at 33.

The Whalers played outstanding hockey last week with a 5-2 loss to Tuck, as they were down 3-2 with 1:55 to play in the 2nd, but couldn't break through on Tuck's netminder. Dead River had a rough start against the Brewers last week, going down 3-0 and fighting back with a pair of 3rd period goals, but couldn't make the comeback.

Defense has been an issue with both clubs this year, and the goaltending has followed suit.

Dead River should take this one, but you never know....5-3 DR.

Dead River Stages Comeback, Wins 8-7 Over Whalers.

The basement dwelling Whalers and Dead River squad faced off to prove who was the best of the worst. Dead River clearly proved they were inferior early in this game, and the Whalers did what they do best, collapse in the third and falter in the shootout to stay winless on the season.

The Whalers jumped all over Dead River in the first couple of minutes, netting 3 goals on Greg "First Period" Feiden who lived up to his nickname early. You can't completely blame Feiden on this one as his team's defensive strategy has a bit of amnesia, mixed with crossed signals & a slight case of "turnover-itis."

The Whale potted 3 goals in the first 5 minutes with Jay "The Chin" Zanleoni getting assists on all 3 goals. Nate "The Great" Aldrich struck 2:26 into the period followed by a Mike "The Kid" Avery just 89 seconds later. Liam "The Rat" Oliver sent Jason "Chief Petty Officer-Dangles" Grambling in on a breakaway where he dropped the shoulder to get Feiden to commit before roofing the puck for the 3-0 lead. "I just go out there and score goals for the ladies....I care about the fans" said Grambling after his goal.

Ricky "Golden Girls" Golden would have made Bea Arthur happy with his natural hat trick that tied the game at 3 apiece. The first two goals came in the first period as he beat the Whaler's Ken "La Bamba" Lallier with wristshots. "It may have been a screen, but also could my cataracts, but I honestly didn't see either shot." recalled Lallier in a brooding angry voice.

The Whaler's took too penalties only 16 seconds apart in the last 90 seconds of play, ultimately giving Dead River an extended 5 on 3 powerplay allowing them to tie the game in the second.

END OF THE FIRST: Whalers 3, Dead River 2

With Grambling & Kirt "The Dirt" Johnson in the box to start the second, the Dead River Rats jumped all over the Whale. Just as Grambling's penalty expired, Golden found a rebound in the slot, used his body to protect the puck and swung around, sliding the biscuit into Lallier's basket. Dead River's Marty "Father Time" White got hung out to dry on a 2 on 1, but ultimately broke rule 101 in the "How to Play Defense" manual, as he let 2 backdoor passes get through him on the Whaler's next goal. The goal came when Zanleoni and Scotty "Spin Doctor" Shaw broke in on White & Feiden. Zanleoni hit Shaw going to the net, only to bobble the bad pass, but White then let Shaw hit Zanleoni all alone on the backdoor. "How To Play Defense" is a best seller in the Amazon.com bookstore. READ IT.

The second period saw little action over the next 10 minutes, despite another Dead River powerplay that resulted in 2 shots on goal. Grambling made it 5-3 on an unassisted goal, where he mouthed the works "For the Ladies" to the non-existent video cameras as he rode his stick at center ice after the goal.

Golden was at it again, finding Evan "Do-Gooder" Duggan on the back door on the next shift, only to see Avery jam home a loose puck with 13 seconds to play in the 2nd.

END OF THE SECOND: Whalers 6, Dead River 4

Dead River turned up the heat in the 3rd period, outscoring the Whalers 3-1. I would like to say that it was all DR, but the truth of the matter is that the Whalers have a history of late game collapses. Regardless of the Whaler's shortcomings, Dead River's Robbie "Hamburger" Pattison was outstanding, scoring two goals and assisting on the other, including scoring the game tying goal with only 1:53 to play. Liam "The Rat" Oliver scored the only goal for the Whalers in the 3rd.

END OF REGULATION: Whalers 7, Dead River 7

The shootout saw 5 attempts and 4 goals. Lallier didn't fair too well as all 3 shooters scored, with Ricky Golden, Robbie Pattison & Evan Duggan securing the win. The Whalers sent out Mikey Avery first who was shut down by Feiden, but Scotty Shaw kept hopes alive with a nice move and goal.

END OF SHOOTOUT: Whalers 7< Dead River 8

Wow, 14 goals and 4 shootout goals in this one. It wasn't pretty, and I feel bad for both Feiden & Lallier as it seems as though defense is an ugly afterthought for these two clubs. That mentality has both teams in the bottom half of the standings this year. The Whale sits dead last without a win, while Dead River is in 4th out of 6, but with two wins over the Whalers.

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
1st PERIOD
WHL	12:34	Goal	Aldrich, Nate(1)	Assist(s): Zanleoni, Jay(3) Vernon, Colin(2)
WHL	11:05	Goal	Avery, Michael(1)	Assist(s): Zanleoni, Jay(4) Oliver, Liam(2)
WHL	10:23	Goal	Gramling, Jason(5)	Assist(s): Oliver, Liam(3) Zanleoni, Jay(5)
LAB	10:08	Goal	Golden, Richard(8)	Assist(s): Scull, Tom(4)
LAB	07:52	Penalty	Scull, Tom(3)	2 minutes for Cross Checking
LAB	02:07	Goal	Golden, Richard(9)	Assist(s): none
WHL	01:29	Penalty	Gramling, Jason(1)	2 minutes for Hooking
WHL	01:13	Penalty	Johnson, Kirt(2)	2 minutes for Interference
2nd PERIOD
LAB	14:26	Goal	Golden, Richard(10)	Assist(s): Duggan, Evan(2) Pattison, Rob(1)
WHL	12:46	Goal	Zanleoni, Jay(2)	Assist(s): Shaw, Scott(2)
WHL	11:58	Penalty	rouillard, jason(2)	2 minutes for Holding
WHL	02:32	Goal	Gramling, Jason(6)	Assist(s): none
LAB	01:41	Goal	Duggan, Evan(2)	Assist(s): Golden, Richard(4)
WHL	00:13	Goal	Avery, Michael(2)	Assist(s): Shaw, Scott(3) Zanleoni, Jay(6)
3rd PERIOD
WHL	12:38	Penalty	Shaw, Scott(1)	2 minutes for Tripping
LAB	11:26	Goal	Pattison, Rob(2)	Assist(s): Scull, Tom(5) Warrington, Chris(3)
LAB	09:38	Penalty	Golden, Richard(4)	2 minutes for Interference
LAB	09:31	Goal	Duggan, Evan(3)	Assist(s): Pattison, Rob(2)
WHL	05:32	Goal	Oliver, Liam(2)	Assist(s): Avery, Michael(1) Gramling, Jason(4)
LAB	01:53	Goal	Pattison, Rob(3)	Assist(s): Duggan, Evan(3) Scull, Tom(6)
SHOOTOUT
LAB	1	Golden, Richard		GOAL Scored on Ken Lallier
WHL	2	Avery, Michael		SAVE BY Greg Feiden
LAB	3	Pattison, Rob		GOAL Scored on Ken Lallier
WHL	4	Shaw, Scott		GOAL Scored on Greg Feiden
LAB	5	Duggan, Evan		GOAL Scored on Ken Lallier

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