Friday December 10

Armos narrowly avoid upset vs hard working Brewers

The Armos had a doubleheader on tap tonight and knew that they needed victories in both in order to secure 1st place in the division and couldn’t take the Brewers lightly regardless of their place in the standings. The results may not always be there, but the Brewers will always put up a good fight with any opponent and tonight was no different. The first period ended deadlocked at 1 apiece with both teams playing solid defensive hockey. The 2 teams decided to open it up a little in the 2nd period exchanging 3 goals to keep it tied through 2. The Armos broke the deadlock midway through the 3rd period when none other than S.Marricco, who has a knack for scoring big goals rifled a shot passed H.Psaroudis. They added the insurance marker in an empty net securing a 7-5 win. The Brewers fell short tonight but not for a lack of effort and the Armos will have to tighten things up defensively and rely on a balanced attack for their next match up vs National.

(7) Armos vs Brewers (5)

Short bench sinks Chiefs in important matchup vs Sonic

The Chiefs knew this wasn’t gonna be an easy task and that they were in for a long night since they only had 1 change up. They had to keep things simple defensively and rely on their counterattack to produce their goals. F.Pace’s troops were ready for this encounter as Sonic stormed out of the gate grabbing a 4-1 lead after just 1 period both outshooting them and creating more scoring chances. The Chiefs showed some bite for the rest of the game, scoring 5 goals and despite a solid 4 goal game from S.Koulieris, the hole was too big to climb out of and ultimately lost the game. Sonic used a balanced scoring attack with 6 different goal scorers lighting the lamp and this will surely help their confidence heading into the playoffs. Despite tonight’s setback, the Chiefs know they have enough veteran leadership and talent when they field a full team to get the job done in the playoffs and will also have to rely on their defensive approach and their goaltender.

(9) Sonic vs Chiefs (6)

D.Massa stands tall as National manhandles the Armos en route to rout

With 1st place on the line between these 2, the stakes were high for their final regular season encounter. Having already played about an hour earlier, the Armos knew they were in for a tough test vs a team that will pounce on your mistakes and make you pay at will. National came with a stacked line-up and showed their opponent no mercy jumping out to a 5-0 lead after 2 periods. This was more than enough offence for goaltender D.Massa who was a beast in between the pipes, stopping every opportunity and denying every scoring chance headed his direction. Despite being outshot, the National were moving the ball fast and capitalizing on their chances, and impressively enough, 6 different goal scorers tickled the twine for the National scoring a few highlight reel goals leaving little to no chance for goaltender R.Ricuarte. Maybe fatigue set in for the Armos, but they will need to tweak a few things in their game if they wish to compete vs an established team like the National in the playoffs.

(7) National vs Armos (1)

SalumiVino player of the night: D.Massa, the goaltender was very solid, making the all-important first save and pushing aside every scoring attempt and frustrating the Armos players all night and will be a force in the playoffs.

Playoffs:

(1) National vs Chiefs (4): The 2 teams had some intense battles throughout the season and the games were very closely disputed. The National play with speed and have a well-balanced lineup, with their up-tempo transition game and can get contributions from up and down the line-up. The Chiefs have more than enough players with playoff experience and pedigree and will need to collectively play as a unit and limit their mistakes.

(2) Armos vs Sonic (3): Sonic are entering the playoffs on a high, having won 3 of their last 4 games scoring an average of 5 goals per game. They’ll need all hands-on deck for their match-up in the hopes of upsetting the Armos who possess several game breakers within their line-up, and who also rely heavily on their defencemen to dictate the pace of play.