Wednesday August 23(Semi finals)
(6)Venom vs Punishers(2) Game 2
Surprising Venom knock out heavy favourites
It just goes to show that anything can happen at this stage of the season. Venom knew what they were capable of and showed everyone that maybe they are that team to beat heading into the final. With the balanced effort of six different goal scorers, Venom dominated one particular department, and that was their special teams. J.Courteau doubled a first period lead in a shorthanded situation while E.Girouard, A.Jalilvand and J.Parisella each struck with power play goals in the third period to put an end to the series. The Punishers had to wait until the mid-way point of the third period before beating C.Stavriadis, who was stellar once more to earn the win.
(4)Smackdaddys vs Tropics(2) Game 2
Four unanswered goals sink Tropics
Despite the good start required by the Tropics, it just wasn’t good enough in the end. The Smackdaddys felt something special brewing when J-B Remi scored late in the second period to cut the lead in half. Then, with only one period to play, the better team showed why they belong in the final. F.Crevier-Raymond ,K.Arsenault and M.Beauvais came out of the gates with a noticeable presence, putting lots of pressure on the Tropics defence which eventually turned a deficit into a two goal lead. This particular result shows that depth is required to go far. The Smackdaddys did their part showing up with a full roster while the Tropics were stranded playing with only two changes.
The SalumiVino player of the night goes to Costa Stavriadis of Venom. Not allowing a goal for most of the match against a high powered offence like the Punishers is quite an accomplishment.
With both games ending in sweeps, the Smackdaddys and Venom will be primed for what is ahead of them. The Smackdaddys will be resilient and are very hard to beat being the younger of the two sides. However, experience is a tool that comes a long way and Venom has plenty of it.
Wednesday August 16 (Semi finals)
(3)Punishers vs Venom(5) Game 1
E.Girouard strikes 3 times, Venom mean business in series opener
After finishing what was a dominating regular season, the Punishers will be on high alert dropping a 5-3 decision against Venom. The win just showed that Venom has the right configurations and schemes to cause problems to anybody. With so much explosive talent up front, E.Girouard keeps reminding us how well he does his job. The right handed sniper put three behind N.Mackeen, who was busy all game facing 30 shots. Although the Punishers know that they can bounce back, there was one area of concern in this contest. All three of their goals came with the man advantage, and unless they get enough power play opportunities in game two, then they’ll need to figure out a way to create more chances at even strength.
(4)Tropics vs Smackdaddys(6) Game 1
Smackdaddys getting in Tropics head
It’s now the third straight meeting that the Smackdaddys hand the Tropics a loss. If this trend doesn’t stop by next week, than the Tropics will be packing their bags earlier than usual in this post season run. But it’s not as though the Smackdaddys are dominating their rival. All their previous meetings were decided by a goal just like in tonight’s case if discounting the empty net marker. Joseph Crivello and the rest of the Tropics will have a whole week to figure out what to do to end this spell. But will it be enough considering how well the Smackaddys have been playing? Tonight’s win came-from a balanced team effort that included four tallies in the third period. F.Laurin did score twice with his second feeding an empty cage.
The SalumiVino player of the night goes to Eric Girouard of Venom. His goal scoring touch led to a pivotal game one win over the division winners.
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