UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Goalies....Anyone?

ODDS:	NDQ By 3 Goals
OVER/UNDER:	9 Goals

The biggest X-Factor in this game will be...um...will there actually be any goalies in this game? Both starting netminders will be out of town taking Goaltending seminars in Toronto Ontario entitled, "How to goaltend: 101."

That being said, the Nordiques should roll through Dead River unless they pull in some ringer between the pipes. The Nordiques took down the power-house Gamblers 3-2 in week one, followed by a tough 6-4 loss to Tuck and then a solid 5-4 shootout win over the undefeated Cardigan Mountain Men.

Dead River hasn't notched the win column yet, but have improved week over week in this young season. The addition of three young players to their squad last night gave them a boost against the Whalers, but they still lost 6-3 to a 7-man roster.

The Nordique's goalie, Johnny "Temper Tantrum" Turner, has been a key component to their early seasons success as he's already made 107 saves in 3 games so far this season. This game will truly show if the Nordiques can compete without their star pipe-protector.

In the end....Nordiques walk away with it 6-3.

Nordiques Rout Dead River 7-1

The Nordiques(2-1-0) took on a winless Dead River(0-3-0) team tonight and kept them in the basement. Dead River arrived with 8 lines and 14 defensemen and offered standing room only on their bench.

Despite the rough 7-1 loss, Dead River is a team on the rise. They've recruited some solid young talent and after thinning out the herd and getting some games together as a unit, they should be a very competitive team.

In what the league has deemed "Goalie Week Hell", the UVHL was without 4 of it's starters for this week's games. Both starting goalies from this match were out, Johnny "Temper Tantrum" Turner and Matty "The Eagle" Crowson. Filling in were Phil "The Muppet" Grover and Paul "Lurch" Osgood. Osgood outperformed Grover making 24 out of 25 saves. Grover, who saw quite a bit more action, stopped 30 of 37 but didn't have much of a chance on at least 4 of the goals.

The first period contained some ugly hockey and two goals that were even uglier. The first happened just 11 seconds into the game when Roger "The Dentist Drill" Phillips fed Greg "The Butcher" Marsh cross ice heading into Dead River's zone. Marsh fumbled the pass to the far boards, turned and fired a quick shot right along the ice from the far corner off Grover's skate and into the cage. UGLY.

After 11 minutes of horrific back and forth hockey, "Spritely" Ray Sprague threw a dribbler on net that beat Osgood clean through his gaping 5-hole, a goal that was pretty embarrassing for the big goalie, but he'd follow it up with over 38 minutes of shutout hockey.

END OF THE FIRST: Tied 1 apiece. FUGLY

The Nordiques rolled in the second, scoring 5 of their seven goals. Leading the charge was Jordy "McBreakaway" McGee and Kelly "Defensive Liabilty" Park. McGee had a natural hat trick late in the period and added a pair of assists on the night. Park, a defenseman, put in his first two goals of the season while also adding a pair of assists.

Park started the scoring at 13:16 as he crashed the net, receiving a beautiful pass from McGee in the slot as he circled the net, firing the pass 5-HOLIO to take the 2-1 lead.

Grover got beat again 5-hole at 10:24 after Phillips stormed down the far boards and feathered a gorgeous pass to Eric Krivitzky in the slot. Another goal that Grover didn't have much chance on, but the Nords were now up 3-1 and cruising.

McGee scored his first of the night and 7th of the young season on a nice setup from Shawn "McBlueCheese" McDermott to "Fierce" Pierce Mayhew to McGee who was in all alone for the 4-1 lead.

The Nords 5th goal was a bit controversial as a Nordique defenseman fired a shitty pass straight up the middle that didn't seem to be near anyone. The referee waived the icing off, but McGee was already flying up the ice towards the puck which had rebounded hard off the end boards. McGee one-timed the puck iniside the far post on an unsuspecting Grover who looked as though he was waiting for the ref to blow the whistle for icing.

Park returned the favor to McGee in almost the same exact fashion as he turned Dead River's net and found McGee at the far post for a nice goal.

END OF THE SECOND: Nordiques 6, Dead River 1

Dead River pulled their act together in the third and rallied around a defensive system, supporting their goaltender and limiting the Nordiques to only 1 goal at the 6:55 mark.

That goal came off the stick of Park as McGee re-returned the favor, feeding Park from the far corner as he crept in from the point. Park dangled around a pair of Dead River players in the slot before tucking the puck under Grover in traffic for his second of the night.

END OF REGULATION: Nordiques 7, Dead River 1

NOTE: Eric Krivitzky received a 9.9 for a dive at the 4:55 point of the second period...and Kelly Park is a point whore. True stories.

The Nordiques were a bit too much for Dead River to handle. They put up 37 shots to Dead River's 25 and managed to keep Dead River to the perimeter for most of them. Dead River will improve over time, they've got some talent on their bench and with Crowson between the pipes they should thrive as long as they play a team game and focus on defense first.

 

Team:	Time:	Type:	Player:	Details:
1st PERIOD
NDQ	14:49	Goal	Marsh, Greg(1)	Assist(s): Phillips, Roger(4) Park, Kelly(4)
NDQ	06:01	Penalty	McGee, Jordan(2)	2 minutes for Slashing
LAB	03:46	Goal	Sprague, Ray(1)	Assist(s): none
2nd PERIOD
NDQ	13:16	Goal	Park, Kelly(1)	Assist(s): McGee, Jordan(2) Nightingale, Poli(1)
NDQ	10:24	Goal	Krivitzky, Eric(2)	Assist(s): Phillips, Roger(5)
NDQ	09:57	Goal	McGee, Jordan(6)	Assist(s): Mayhew, Pierce(2) McDermott, Shawn(2)
NDQ	09:02	Goal	McGee, Jordan(7)	Assist(s): none
NDQ	08:09	Penalty	Racicot, Brian(2)	2 minutes for Slashing
LAB	04:55	Penalty	Bayliss, Trevor(2)	2 minutes for Tripping
NDQ	04:05	Goal	(PP)McGee, Jordan(8)	Assist(s): Park, Kelly(5) Nightingale, Poli(2)
LAB	01:49	Penalty	mitchell, josh(1)	2 minutes for Tripping
3rd PERIOD
NDQ	06:55	Goal	Park, Kelly(2)	Assist(s): McGee, Jordan(3)

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Game Comments:
hkydoc WRJ, VT Registered: Jan 2004 Posts: 517	Looking forward to it! Nov 6th, 2012 08:01 PM I want the challenge tonight and am psyched for this game. We're gonna have 3 D, so I hope I don't puke up a lung! McD P.S. No matter what, I hope we get a good showing at the bar post-game, eh. There was a sighting of two Dead River players there last week, in fact!
Ozzy Enfield, NH Registered: Posts: 8	Nov 7th, 2012 02:09 AM 6-3, way to call it Kelly...just kidding, thanks again for letting me play.