Wednesday May 10

Oilers dig deep to end losing streak

(6)Oilers vs Senators(5) O.T

The Oilers must have thought they had the Senators right where they wanted. After all, they built a nice 5-2 lead just past the mid way point, and everything appeared to be going as according to plan. The thought of finally breaking their curse was going through everyone’s mind. Then, two quick goals in only a couple of minutes by C.Arnaldo proved to be a momentum killer. The Senators felt they had something going for them as the tides shifted in the second portion of the game. The problem for the Oilers was that they couldn’t identify the threat that C.Arnaldo posed all game long. The veteran had already collected his hat trick and wasn’t done yet tying the game late with his fourth of the contest. All of a sudden, the Oilers were stuck dealing with the thought of letting this great opportunity slip out of their hands. You never know what can happen in overtime. Often, it takes a break somewhere in order for something to give. Fortunately enough, M.Dibello seized the moment by striking first to end a streak that didn’t seem to want to go away. That was his second tally sharing the same output with J.Gravel, who had posted back to back goals early in the game. The Oilers don’t reflect what their record shows. They have something that many teams cant match which is their speed which often leads to ball possession. Also, they don’t have issues scoring. If they can tweak their defensive game, teams will have a very hard time beating them. Time will only tell as they hope the tides will turn in their favour.

The Allo Mon Coco Ste-Dorothee player of the game goes to Massimo Dibello of the Oilers. There is no question that M.DiBello provided his clubs biggest goal of the season so far. His overtime winner finally got them out of a slump as they can finally celebrate a well earned victory.

Golden Knights start fast, hang on late in win against Hurricanes

(8)Golden Knights vs Hurricanes(7)

The Golden Knights survived this one by a whisker, taking care of the Hurricanes 8-7 on Wednesday night. They found themselves up 8-4 before surviving three late goals that saw two of them go in with the extra attacker. V.Mancini notched his third to pull the Hurricanes within one leaving still a couple of minutes for an equaliser. When playing on your heels, you hope to win the one on one battles while relying on your goaltender to make the necessary stops. M.Mascitto remained calm and collective knowing that he could still make the difference since the Hurricanes kept applying pressure. But time wasn’t a luxury the Hurricanes had as the Golden Knights protected the house well enough in order to bleed out the clock. It was one of those nail biters that should have never gotten there when being up by a four goal margin. Since hockey has many twists and turns during most games, the Golden Knights will be happy with the end result despite appearing flat for a long duration. L.Bucci got credited the winner on a penalty shot, T.Nardelli bagged a hat trick, and T.Settino had an average night accumulating four points.

The Allo Mon Coco Ste-Dorothee player of the game goes to Joe Pizzuco of the Golden Knights. By carrying his veteran stick, J.Pizzuco is a silent but effective asset to his team. The quarter back keeps it simple making the right decisions which helps create a lot of outlet passes to the forwards.

Ducks looking flat in loss to Stars

(10)Stars vs Ducks(5)

It was one of those games where everything looked off for the Ducks. The offense struggled to string some passes together, and the defense didn’t have the support it takes-from everyone in order to keep the ball-from going in. It wasn’t like that in the beginning so much as compared to the later stages of the game. The Ducks hung in there keeping the game extremely close despite the Stars having the better control of the match. For the Stars, it was just about pushing the pace which would eventually pay off due to their ball control and higher end scoring chances. You started to see that as of the thirty minute mark where they slowly pulled away. B.Sorice riffled a pair followed with three different goal scores to finally distance themselves for good. Overall, the Stars did a great job on executing on their plays. By simply applying themselves harder, they were able to create more lanes and options for generating a lot more chances compared to the Ducks. J.Teresi would often offer an option as a defensemen coming deep into the play to help create odd man rushes. Many contributed offensively for the Stars which is something you want-from a well rounded team. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the Ducks, who will put this one behind them and adjust for the upcoming game.

The Allo Mon Coco Ste-Dorothee player of the game goes to Joey Teresi of the Stars. By breaking up plenty of plays in his own end, coupled with the way he was able to jump into the rush, the Ducks looked a step behind unable to keep up with his speed and ability to carry the play.