UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Jacks & Blues - Round 2

This should be a hell of a game with as the 4-2-0 Labatt Blues take on the 3-3-0 Lumberjacks.  At times the Blues have been absolutely dominant, running over every team they play, but for some reason they just aren't able to solve the Lumberjacks who have hand delivered both of their losses.

The Blues host 3 of the top 4 scorers this season; Kyle Richards(15pts), Tyler White(11pts) & Colin Clark (11pts).  THey have 5 total in the top 12 skaters.  The Lumberjacks only have one player in the top 12, Patrick McDonough(10pts).

HIstorically this has been a great matchup with the Blues leading 16-12 in the all-time series dating back to 2014.

Despite the Blues losing both games to the Jacks this season, Vegas thinks this will be a win for the Blues. 

ODDS:
Blues by 1 Goals
OVER/UNDER:
10 Goals

Blues outlast Gamblers.

Seven weeks into the UVHL season and the parity is unmatched.  Four teams came into week 8 sporting a 4-2 record, tied for first.  The Lumberjacks and Labatt Blues were two of those teams to enter this cage match.  The Lumberjacks have taken both games this season behind a 6-3 win in week one and 6-5 a month later.

Unfortunately the late games are tough, especially for the Lumberjacks who are usually half in the bag by 9:45, passed out at a bar or sometimes in jail.  Only 7 of the Jacks rostered players showed up, requiring the services of the Whaler's goaltender Tucker "Big Sexy" Garrity-Hanchett and Kelly "Osteoporosis" Park and the Gambler's Willy "Wobble" Meyer.

The Blues stalwart netminder was also missing and needed to bring in Evan "Showtime" Cline off of the waiver wire.  Both goaltenders were fantastic, turning away a combined 80 shots.  The Blues were missing some key players including the league's leading scorer Kyle Richards, but they still had a majority of the core that represents the most potent offense in the UVie this season.  The scoring was spread out across 5 different goal scorers.

The Lumberjacks had a team meeting before the game where they put together a committee to properly identify pronouns and gender so that they would be politically correct.  This meeting was emotional and clearly had an effect as they came out flying, peppering Cline with a handful of shots before the Blues woke up.  It took nine minutes before the Jacks broke the ice on a cross-ice neutral zone pass from Park to Jordy "McBeerLeague" McGee.  McGee broke in the zone and did a full roof job on Cline.

The Blues had to kill off a TJ "Mucks" Moran tripping penalty late in the first.  TJ wants everyone to know he'll be working at Mucks every night this week, except Wednesday, from 8pm-close.  Mention the Labatt Blues game and get a free high-five.

END OF THE FIRST: Lumberjacks 1, Blues 0.  SAVES: Tucker Garrity-Hanchett(LMB) - 13, Cline(LAB) 16.

The second period was crazy, back and forth with five goals scored.  The Lumberjacks got on the board first, 3:59 into the second frame, on a play that sarted with a TGH save in the Jacks zone, quickly turned up ice with 2 quick passes to Meyer down the far wall and in on Cline for a low shot.  Cline made the save but Patrick McDonough was there for the rebound.

The Blues got on the board a minute later when their defenseman Kelly Park broke his hip, fell over and gave Tim McAuliffe a breakaway, where he dipsy-doed TGH and roofed a backhander.

Ouch, embarrassing, but a hell of a finish by McAuliffe.  Park left the game immediately, possibly due to shame.  The Blues started to shift momentum after the goal and started to press.  They had to kill off a Colin Clark roughing call at 9:49, but tied the game with 3 minutes to play on a Tyler White goal from the Bash Brothers(Max & Sam Major).  The play started in the Blues own zone with a Sam to Max to White breakout.  White headed up the far boards, turned a Jacks defender at the faceoff dot and beat TGH with a nifty backhander.  Game tied!

The Blues took the lead with 1:04 to play in the middle frame on a point shot by Anderson that was tipped by the crafty veteran Brian Smith.  The Jacks responded with 22 seconds to play on a McDonough spin move on the far boards and fired a low hard shot on net that Cline saved, but couldn't control the rebound.  Jordy McGee was cruising through the the crease and poked the rebound in.  

END OF THE SECOND: Game tied @ 3 apiece.  SAVES: TGH 25, Cline 26

The Jacks lost another defenseman, Alex Boccolucci, for the third and were left with only 8 skaters.  The short bench definitely tilted the ice even further towards the Jacks end.  The Blues put 22 shots on goal in the third compared to only 8 for the Jacks.   TJ Moran broke the tie half-way through the period taking an Anderson pass in the neutral zone, spun around an exhausted Meyer and beat TGH shortside.  Clark added an insurance goal just 30 seconds later on Anderson's third assist of the match.  Anderson had a great read, intercepting a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone and hit Clark entering the zone on the far side.  Clark let a quick snapper go form the top of the near circle, beating TGH Five-Holio.

The remainder of the game was just survival mode for the Lumberjacks, packing it in and protecting the house. 

END OF REGULATION: Blues 5, Lumberjacks 3.  SAVES: TGH - 45, Cline 35.