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AAA City Midget League
Latest Game Summary
Date: Jan 25, 2012
Opponent: MONARCHS
W/L/T: WIN
Score: 5-3
Stats: G:5 A:7 PIM:22
Next Game: Jan 29, 2012 vs HAWKS
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Selects Pepper Lightning

"Any discussion on hockey goaltenders must begin with the assumption that they are about three sandwiches shy of a picnic. I can prove this.  From the moment Primitive Man first lurched erect, he and those who came after him survived on the principle that when something hard and potentially painful comes at you at great velocity, you get the hell out of its path. Goalkeepers throw themselves into its path. I rest my case".  That wonderful quote from veteran Vancouver columnist Jim Taylor came to mind as the Selects peppered the Interlake Lightning's  Jarret Hogue with 64 shots in their 6-1 win at the Stony Mountain Rec Centre this past Monday night.  Having read Taylor's stuff for years, his statement, although hidden with a fun jab, is really that of admiration for the guys who toil between the pipes.   In contrast, the  Selects netminder Trenton Schultz had to be somewhat envious of Hogue as he at times had nothing to do, especially in the third period where he only saw 2 shots.  Goaltenders are a special breed, it is a position that not many understand or want to play.  Although hockey is a team game, for a goalie it is more like an individual sport.  Former Montreal Canadien and Hall of Famer Ken Dryden said it best " Because the demands on a goalie are mostly mental, it means that for a goalie, the biggest enemy is himself. Not the puck, not an opponent, not a quirk of size or style. Him. The stress and anxiety he feels when he plays, the fear of failing, the fear of being embarrassed, the fear of being physically hurt, all the symptoms of his position, in constant ebb and flow, but never disappearing. The successful goalie understands these neuroses, accepts them, and puts them under control. The unsuccessful goalie is distracted by them, his mind in knots, his body quickly following."  All young goaltenders go through this voyage of discovery as do their parents who are always easy to pick out in any hockey crowd. They are usually the ones with the nervous smile on their face. 

 

Eastman SelectsIn this game the nervous smiles did not appear as A) Schultz shut out the Lightning the last time these teams played and B) Hogue is used to getting a ton of shots on him.  That was exactly what the Selects did beginning almost at the drop of the puck. Zac Brennan got things rolling at 19:21 when he finished off a nice play depositing a Landon Plett pass into a wide open net on the 1st shot of the game.  Nico Gravel put his team up 2-0 when his slap shot proved to hot to handle bouncing out of Hogue's glove and dropping into the net. That goal came at 17:38.  The Selects made it 3-0 with just under 3 minutes to play when Braden Cruise skooted in from the blue line throwing a knuckle ball type shot that fooled Hogue on his blocker side.  In that period the Selects out shot the Lightning 21 - 4.  In the 2nd period the Lightning were the first to respond when  Matthew Smith took advantage of a giveaway inside the Eastman blueline, feeding it quickly over to AP Jason Nikkel who finished off the mini 2 on 0 at 16:02. Brandyn Smook put his team up 4-1 at 8:49 when he went upstairs on Hogue finishing off a Select 2 on 1 with Russ Unrau.  Bobby Evans registered the Selects 5th goal at 3:12 when he found a rebound from a Gravel point shot,  shoveling it inside the post past Hogue. In that period Hogue saw 27 shots and made many good saves to keep his team somewhat close. The Lightning had a little more fire in that period throwing 11 shots at Schultz who also made some nice saves and a face flounder when he slipped while going for a loose puck. He got out of it with no harm done giving the corner supporters the thumbs up and erasing another nervous smile. 

 

In the final period, the Selects were only able to beat Hogue one more time when Plett and Brennan teamed up for well deserved short handed goal.  Plett forced a Lightning defenceman to cough up the puck which Brennan picked up and then fed Plett who deked out Hogue while being draped over by a Lightning defender. Hogue had another 16 shots fired at him getting some help from a couple of goal post while Schultz needed the goal post  just to rest against as he only saw 2 shots that period.  The final tally was 64-17 in the Selects favor.  Referee Keith Buffy only assessed two minors to each team what must have been a record for midget hockey. Both teams failed to score on their lone man advantage.  The Selects next game is Wednesday night in Winnipeg against the Monarchs. Both teams are tied for third in the standings at 32 points although the Selects have played 2 more games.  Game time is 7:20.

 

 

Selects News

 

 

Cody Plett was not in the lineup for this game due to a 1 game suspension he received for a charging major against the Winnipeg Sharks on January 20th. Dylan Plett is still out with an upper body injury. He is listed as day to day.

 
 
Zallinski Shark Devours Selects

Eastman SelectsFriday night at the Gateway Rec Complex, Eastman City Select supporters were treated to two spectacles. One on the ice and one off.  Both of these were rather ugly but at least the one on the ice can be fixed. The one off the ice may require surgery because as you know you can't fix stupid.   On the ice, the Sharks captain, Carter Zallinski lit up the Selects for 5 goals as he led his team to a penalty filled 7-2 rout for their first win in 5 tries against the Selects this year.  Off the ice,  a number of young Shark supporters led the way in the F Bomb department and other amassed foul language they directed towards the stands so that all of the attending grandparents and young children could clearly hear and see that smoking crack during pregnancy has its predictable results.  This lot of Jersey Shore meets the Kardashians wannabes makes Beavis & Butthead look like Rhode Scholars.  Hopefully when the Selects make a return visit to Gateway and the Sharks in a couple of weeks most of these "lobotomy projects" will be at home studying for their Grade 3 midterm exams.  

 

Now back to the on ice action.  From the opening faceoff it appeared that the Sharks had swagger and the extra stride in their step as they outhit and out hustled many a Select player. Truth be told if it wasn't for some stellar goaltending by the Select's Mark Woloshyn this game would have been decided much earlier than it was.  The Selects defensive zone coverage was breaking down everywhere except in net.  To top things off, the Selects found themselves in the penalty box on 3 back to back occasions at the midpoint of the period giving the Sharks what seemed like an infinite 5 on 3.  The Sharks, or rather Zallinski, made them pay finally at 7:01 when he tipped in a point shot.  At 3:19, Ian Lumsden took advantage of a Selects bad giveaway inside their own blue line to give the Sharks a 2-0 lead. Less than a minute later on another Shark power play, Zallinski finished off a nice passing play with a hard one timer from the top of the right circle to give the Sharks a 3-0 lead heading into the 2nd.  In that period, the Sharks outshot the Selects 14-8.

 

In the 2nd period, another bad defensive zone giveaway allowed Zallinski to complete his hat trick at 12:27.  The Selects responded with a power play goal of their own when Heiden Hiebert found the back of the net on a hard point shot to cut the lead to 4-1.  30 seconds later a small melee ensued after a Shark ran Cody Plett.  The officiating crew was at a disadvantage as they only had a 2 man crew.  While they were trying to separate Plett and his dance partner, other players were taking liberties with each other unbeknownst to the officials.  Both coaches managed to settle their players down before a line brawl erupted.  When the dust did settle Plett, along with a Shark was ejected. Out of it all, the Selects received a one minute power play which as they did with their other 9 odd man advantages, not able to use it to their advantage. The game was pretty much decided at 5:16 when a 3rd Select giveaway allowed  Ryan Pruden to put his team up 5-1.  The Sharks outshot the Selects 10-8 in that frame.      

 

In the third period, the Sharks went up 6-1 just 36 seconds in when a bad line change allowed Zallinski (who else?) to go in all alone on Woloshyn beating him high to the glove side.  Another, yes another giveaway to Zallinski at 7:37 made it 7-1 when he went glove side again. TJ Romanishen finished off the scoring when he scored a nice goal from his knees from atop the left circle.  In that period the Selects dominated the shot clock as the Sharks took a number of penalties in that fram. The Selects threw 18 shots towards the Shark net while only three came towards Woloshyn.  The final shot tally was 34-27 in the Selects favour.  The Selects were 2-9 on the power play and 8-10 on the penalty kill.  The Selects next game is Monday night in Stoney Mountain against the Interlake Lightning. Game time is 8:30

 

Select News

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Dylan Plett was out of the line-up with an upper body injury.  Kirk Lycar of the Bantam AA Northern Knights was called up for the 3rd time this season, all which have been against the Sharks. Mason Gibson missed his 2nd game in a row due to a mid body injury. He is expected to be in the lineup for the Lightning game.