UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

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Red comes from behind in second consecutive scorefest.

Solid and oftentimes spectacular goaltending by Blue's netminder Dwight O'Hara could not keep the UVHL's most dominant offense under wraps for more than 2 periods as Red came from behind in the third to win 9-7.
 


Steve Hughes, making just his second UVHL appearance, got it going for Red early in the first on a nice feed from Sean Coakley. Ryan Sinclair, filling in for a rare absence by Kevin Louzier, started the scoring shortly thereafter for Blue at 9:27. After several chances by both squads were turned away by Ken Lallier and O'Hara over the next six and a half minutes, two goals were scored in the following 1:30 ending the period at 2-2. Sinclair continued to dominate puck possession throughout the contest against a Red team accustomed to controlling the play itself, and Sinclair netted his second with assists from Todd Nalette and Jason Young with 3:09 left to play. Marty White, qualifying for the playoffs by appearing in his third UVHL game, ended the first with an unassisted effort at 1:59 for Red.



Again in the second two early and two late goals, with quality chances for seven minutes in-between that were rejected time after time at both ends by O'Hara and Lallier, left the score tied at 4-4 in the second frame. Two minutes in Red's Mark Turco scored from S. Hughes, which was answered quickly by Sinclair thirty seconds later from Nalette. Red received three penalties, and Blue one, in the second period which reflected the even play by both teams. Nalette and Sinclair connected again, this time with Nalette scoring at 2:24 left on the clock. Red finished the period with a late shorthanded goal at 0:09 with White in the box, scored by Gary Hunter from Turco.



It was anyone's game to start the third, and Blue made it known that the game had to be taken from them by scoring two goals to go up 6-4. Jim Dowd, last week's player of the week, scored at 14:23 assisted by the hardworking Doug Heavisides and Geoff Pappas. Less than two minutes later it was Sinclair from John Murphy, which put the pressure squarely on Red. However, the UVHL's leading team's first loss was not to be on this night. Turco led the charge in the third with a Hat Trick, including the game-tying and game winning goals, which saw Red score five unanswered past an acrobatic O' Hara. Al Sorrentino made it 6-5 to start the comeback less than thirty seconds in with S. Hughes and Chris Clark drawing assists. Turco tied it at 6 at 10:22 of the third, this time from R. Hughes, and exactly one minute later Turco put his team on top for good with assists going to each of the talented Hughes brothers. Red kept a one goal lead for four minutes with strong goaltending of their own until Dean Cashman cashed in (sorry, I couldn't resist) from Kirk Kardashian and R. Hughes' third consecutive assist with 5:25 left to play. Turco completed a four goal effort finishing on passes from White and Will Senning while Sinclair was in the box at 4:19 for high sticking. Frustrated at letting one slip away, Blue took another penalty, and Murf actually went to the box on his own without Gove calling the infraction when he tripped-up Cashman's empty net effort at 0:56. Gove had no choice but to make it official, and Murf, feeling no shame, looked so comfortable in the box anyway, telling Cashman he wasn't about to let him pad his stats. Hunter wanted to keep it close and passed it onto the stick of a hollering Sinclair, who then walked in over the blue line freezing a Red defender, and passed it to an open Jason Young for the tap-in with seconds to go. Hunter earned an unsportsmanlike for his pass to the opposition at 0:08, but the outcome was not in doubt at that point. There was strong play by both teams in this contest, and each squad deserves praise for great and classy efforts.



Final Score: 9-7 Red in yet another scorefest.

Final Analysis: Can anyone stop Red with defense, or match them on offense? Will the first seed remain on top to claim the inaugural UVHL title? Louzier's absence could have made the difference for Blue, but we will never know, will we?

Final Tally: Mark Turco - 4G, 1A incl. game-tying and game winner; Ryan Sinclair (Blue) - 4G, 1A; Steve Hughes - 1G, 3A; Rick Hughes - 3A; Gary Hunter & Todd Nalette - 1G, 2A each; Goal & Assist for both Jason Young & Marty White; Singles to Jim Dowd, Al Sorrentino, and Dean Cashman; Assists to Geoff Pappas, Chris Clark, Will Senning, Doug Heavisides, Kirk Kardashian, Sean Coakley and John Murphy.

 

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