UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

David vs. Goliath. Can the Whaler's take down the giant?

ODDS:	Tuck by 7 goals
OVER/UNDER:	13 goals

Tuck is a perfect 4-0-0 this season with solid wins over every team in the UVHL except for the Whalers. The Whalers are a dismal 0-3-1, with their only point coming off of a shootout loss to the lowly Brewers(1-3-0). The Whalers are a better team than they have shown, but they haven't been able to put it all together.

Tuck is dominant, but the Brewers exposed some weaknesses last weak. Maybe it was Tuck playing down to their level or coming in too confident, but Tuck still walked away with a 5-4 win.

The Whalers were trounced by the Gamblers, 12-0, last week in what may be the most lopsided victory in UVHL history.

Tuck should walk right through the Whalers, expose their defense and turn Lallier inside out.

Tuck wins 10-3.

Whalers Play Tough, but Tuck Prevails Again, 5-2

The top ranked Tuck Business School Flying Turduckens brought their perfect 4-0-0 record to Union Arena tonight and got into another hockey game with the league's worst 0-3-1 Whalers. Literally, a David vs. Goliath in the UVHL. It seems as though Tuck plays to the level of their opponents, as they've battled the bottom 3 teams this year to a 4-4 shootout win over Dead River, a 5-4 win over the Brewers and tonight a dogfight through 2 periods before finishing with a 5-2 win.

The Whaler's pipe protector, Kenny "Shooter Tooter" Lallier was ON tonight, turning away 47 shots, including 21 in the first period. Lallier has clearly become more comfortable in his new pads and showed it with 3 or 4 huge saves early in this game. Dan "The Man" Yacey was cool as a cucumber despite letting in 2 in the first period.

Five of the seven total goals in the game were scored in the first 12 minutes of play with Tuck heading out of the first frame up 3-2, and essentially, already having output enough offense for the win. The first period was all about the rebounds, and in some cases the GIANT FREAKING REBOUNDS. Chris "Big" Johnson opened the scoring 3:08 into the game after a quick shot from Steve "James Hay Look-a-Like" Bates rebounded to Johnson in the high slot. Johnson took a quick look at Lallier who was down and out after the initial save and roofed the puck for the 1-0 lead.

Tuck went up 2-0 at 8:36 after a nice cycle between Bates and Jimmy "Steve Bates Look-a-Like" Hay had the Whalers chasing around like lost puppies. Hay finally pushed the puck to Halsey "Turn Your Head And" Coughlin who wanted nothing to do with the cycle and fired a perfectly placed shot that beat Lallier up high from a bad angle.

The Whalers jumped back in this game with 6:07 to play when Jason "BLING" Grambling forced a turnover in the neutral zone and rushed in 2 on 1 with Tommy "El Craponator" Crapser. Grambling let a low blast go from the tops of the near faceoff circle, forcing Yacey to kick a rebound into the high slot as Crapser fought off a backchecker and hammered home the rebound. Jordan "Barnacle" Barnett was the second Tuckie defenseman to score on a huge rebound left in the high slot, this time off of rookie Nate Walsh's shot with 3:50 to play. The Whaler's Scotty "Too Hotty" Shaw jammed home a Nicky Hall shot to cut the lead back down to 3-2 only 32 seconds after Tuck's last goal.

END OF THE FIRST: Tuck 3, Whalers 2

The Whalers battled hard in the second period, but couldn't tie the game as Yacey was solid. Both Yacey & Lallier made some huge saves in the middle frame keeping the game tight. The Whalers killed off a power play late in the period but as the penalty ended Ryan "The Govenator" McGovern made a 100 foot breakaway pass to Josh Cherney, who was barely able to stay on sides as he reached for the puck and broke in all alone on Lallier. Cherney dropped the shoulder, froze Lallier and beat him with a quick snapshot low glove with 1:55 in the period.

END OF THE SECOND: Tuck 4, Whalers 2

The third period saw the intensity pick up, followed by some aggression & dirty play. The first two periods saw 2 penalties compared to 6 in the third, evenly distributed 3 apiece. Zach "Attack" Aher picked up 2 tripping calls, but was off the hook since the Whalers killed off both deficits. Coughlin set up the only goal of the third on a nice individual play where he forced the defenseman wide, once his opponent was committed, he dropped the puck back to Bates who cut across the slot and beat Lallier with a twisted wrister. Yacey kept the door closed, making 2 huge saves on one breakaway when he flashed a pad on the initial save and followed up with a glove save on the rebound.

END OF REGULATION: Tuck 5, Whalers 2

Gotta give a ton of credit to the Whalers for playing tough and hanging in there. Yacey was awesome....as usual, and Lallier played his best hockey of the season. Tuck is a powerhouse, but they tend to play down to the level of their opponents. Next week Tuck has their hands full with the Gamblers. The Whalers look for their first win of the year against Dead River.

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
1st PERIOD
TCK	11:52	Goal	Johnson, Chris(3)	Assist(s): Bates, Steve(6)
TCK	08:36	Goal	Coughlin, Halsey(1)	Assist(s): Hay, James(3) Bates, Steve(7)
WHL	06:07	Goal	Crapser, Tom(2)	Assist(s): Gramling, Jason(3)
TCK	03:50	Goal	Barnett, Jordan(2)	Assist(s): Walsh, Nate(1) Carrihill, Colin(2)
WHL	03:18	Goal	Shaw, Scott(2)	Assist(s): Zanleoni, Jay(2) Hall, Nick(2)
TCK	02:39	Penalty	Walsh, Nate(1)	2 minutes for Tripping
2nd PERIOD
WHL	04:00	Penalty	Gaede, Chuck(2)	2 minutes for Body Checking
TCK	01:55	Goal	Cherney, Josh(3)	Assist(s): McGovern, Ryan(1)
3rd PERIOD
TCK	14:48	Penalty	Hay, James(1)	2 minutes for Tripping
WHL	13:39	Penalty	Aher, Zach(1)	2 minutes for Tripping
WHL	09:11	Penalty	rouillard, jason(1)	2 minutes for Roughing
TCK	09:11	Penalty	Hay, James(2)	2 minutes for Roughing
TCK	08:53	Goal	Bates, Steve(4)	Assist(s): Coughlin, Halsey(4)
WHL	07:45	Penalty	Aher, Zach(2)	2 minutes for Tripping
TCK	01:05	Penalty	Barnett, Jordan(2)	2 minutes for Holding

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