UPPER VALLEY HOCKEY LEAGUE

Old Rivals, New Stakes: Who's Chopping Down Who?

The Lumberjacks (5-4-1) roll into the Tuck Ice Fortress to face off against their longtime rivals, the Tuck squad (3-6-0). The all-time series leans in favor of Tuck at 19-14, but recent history suggests the ‘Jacks have been swinging their axes with precision. In their last battle, the Lumberjacks demolished Tuck 6-1 (Jan 8), sending the Ivy Leaguers into a mid-season crisis.

Head-to-Head Trends

• Most Recent Meeting: Lumberjacks dominated 6-1 (Jan 8)


• Last Five Matchups: Tuck leads 3-2


• Largest Blowout in Recent History: Tuck won 9-2 (Feb 14, 2024)


• Most Chaotic Scoreline: 11-4 Tuck (Oct 25, 2022)

Players to Watch

• ???? Nathan DeLuca (Lumberjacks) – The league’s leading scorer with 16 goals and 26 points, DeLuca has been an unstoppable force.


• ???? Luke McCormick (Lumberjacks) – Sporting an .875 SV%, he’s been a rock between the pipes when the ‘Jacks need him most.


• ???? Nicholas Sullivan (Tuck) – With 13 assists in 8 games, Sullivan is the key playmaker setting up Tuck’s offense.


• ???? Maclean Lalor (Tuck) – The team’s top sniper with 10 goals, he’ll be looking to light the lamp early and often.


• ???? Marshall Jenkins (Tuck) – The goaltender has been under siege this season with a .849 SV%, but he’s known for stealing games when he’s on.

Keys to Victory

Lumberjacks:

• ? Keep up the pressure—they exposed Tuck’s weak spots last game.


• ? Stay out of the box—Tuck’s power play can be dangerous if given too many chances.


• ? Ride the hot hand—DeLuca and Zachary Dayno (18 points) need to stay hot.

Tuck:

• ? Neutralize the Lumberjacks' physical play early.


• ? Take advantage of power plays—Sullivan and Matthew Ouellette (9 points) need to capitalize.


• ? Protect the net—Jenkins will have to stand tall to keep this one close.

Prediction

Lumberjacks 5 – Tuck 3

The Lumberjacks are on a roll, and Tuck’s defensive struggles won’t be easy to fix overnight. Expect DeLuca and Lalor to trade goals, but McCormick’s steady goaltending should give the ‘Jacks the edge.

Puck drops at 9:20 PM. Expect a high-energy battle as these rivals go head-to-head once again.

Tuck Outshoots Lumberjacks 52-19...and Lose.

Fun game that saw some chippy plays. The Lumberjacks came out flying in the first period, blew a three-goal lead, and secured a late goal for the win.

The Jacks were shorthanded, so they needed to use some players from the previous game. Ben Rouillard (1g, 2a) & Scotty “Too Hot” Christian (0g, 0a) from the Whalers and “Sugar” Ray Nolan stepped up and played a second game.

1st Period

The Lumberjacks’ goalie Luke McCormick made a huge breakaway save on David Husband early in the first period.

Lumberjacks 1, Tuck 0 - 12:40 - The Jacks opened up the scoring off of a face-off win by Jay “The Zamboni” Zanleoni to the left point. “Thrillin” Dillan Pierce threw a little snapshot at net that Tuck’s Jenkins Marshall saw and tried making some weird save, where it looked as if he was trying to catch the puck between his glove and blocker, only to tip it down, between his legs, and into the net. Definitely a goal that Marshall wants back.

McCormick was solid, turning away a partial breakaway by Nick “The Stick” Sullivan.

Lumberjacks 2, Tuck 0 - 3:58 - Pierce set up the second goal with a long cross-ice pass from deep in his own zone to Rouillard in the neutral zone at the far boards. Rouillard caught the puck in stride and beat Marshall low blocker side from just inside the far face-off dot. Great shot from Rouillard, who’s more of a playmaker than shooter, often being compared to a blind squirrel when shooting the puck. Demonstrated by the next goal just 26 seconds later.

Lumberjacks 3, Tuck 0 - 3:32 - Rouillard got a pass in the high slot, and the jury is still out on what he did with the puck. Some say that Rouillard was shooting, missed five feet to the right, hitting Neil “The Real Deal” MacKenzie in the shin pad and going in. Others believe that Rouillard was passing with such precision and calculation that the only way to score was to pass it hard enough off MacKenzie’s shin pad and in.

END OF THE FIRST:

Lumberjacks 3, Tuck 0
SHOTS: Lumberjacks 12, Tuck 13

2nd Period

Tuck’s goaltender made a couple of big saves on Andrew Kimbell & Zanleoni, flashing a pad twice to keep his team within striking distance.

Tuck 1, Lumberjacks 3 - 9:36 - Tuck’s Kyle Lockwood picked up a turnover in the neutral zone and cut into the Lumberjacks’ zone, curling in the corner and finding Matt Goff at the near point. Goff fired the puck at the net, but missed by three feet, hitting the Lumberjacks’ defenseman Christian in the shin pad and rebounding directly into the net. “It’s better to be lucky than good…all the time!” recalled Goff about his first goal of the season. Tuck captain Mikey Yablong retrieved the puck and is currently having that puck mounted for his good buddy.

Marshall made a big stop on Zanleoni walking in from the far boards and letting a laser beam half-clapper go from 25 feet out. Marshall kicked out his left pad, making the save.

Tuck 2, Lumberjacks 3 - 5:51 - With a delayed penalty call on Zanleoni and an extra attacker on for Tuck, Yablong took a drop pass at the blue line from Maclean Lalor. Yablong faked a shot, sending Zanleoni down to block the puck before cutting back to the middle and using the SEVEN players in front of the net as a screen. The quick wrister went off the Lumberjacks’ Ray Nolan to cut the lead to one.

McCormick needed to make a big save on Husband, who found himself all alone in the slot with the puck.

Marshall found himself one-on-one with MacKenzie but stood tall, though Matty Ouellette was called for two minutes for high sticking MacKenzie. The ensuing power play was absolute dogsh*t, with Tuck pinning the Lumberjacks in their own zone for the first half and keeping them to zero shots on net for the second. NOTE: Ouellette came out of the box and left the door wide open… rude.

Tuck peppered the Lumberjacks’ net with 19 shots that period to only four for the Lumberjacks. Embarrassing display by the men in yellow.

END OF THE SECOND:

Lumberjacks 3, Tuck 2
SHOTS: Lumberjacks 4, Tuck 17

3rd Period

Another dismal period for the Lumberjacks, only generating three shots on net to Tuck’s 22. WTF.

McCormick made a huge save early in the third on Yusuke Shimomura. Shimomura was all alone in the slot when the puck came through the crease—an easy open-netter, but McCormick threw his left pad out, denying the Tuckie. McCormick did the same thing to Eric “Fine Dining” Fein a few minutes later when a rebound landed on his stick in the slot. It’s like McCormick was toying with them. McCormick Giveth, and McCormick Taketh Away.

Tuck 3, Lumberjacks 3 - 9:36 - Fein tied things up after collecting a Goff rebound from a point shot and pushing it past McCormick, who wasn’t long enough or fast enough on that rebound. “Some men are longer than others.” (Quote from Hamish in Braveheart.)

Lumberjacks 4, Tuck 3 - 1:30 - A couple of turnovers in the Tuck zone saw MacKenzie in Gretzky’s Office (behind the net), feeding Rouillard in front. Rouillard’s shot was saved by Marshall, but DeLuca was there to jam it home.

END OF GAME:

Lumberjacks 4, Tuck 3
SHOTS: Lumberjacks 3, Tuck 22

TOTAL SHOTS: Lumberjacks 18, Tuck 52

Great game, both teams did a great job defensively shutting down the big guns.