Sunday May 14

Bruins use strong start to edge out Wild

(7)Wild vs Bruins(9)

The Bruins jumped out to a 5-1 lead after only seventeen minutes into the game, and never looked back despite the Wild responding with a much better effort. The lead played out to be sufficient enough as at one point the two sides continued to trade goals leaving the Bruins in the drivers seat. Maybe, if they were able to slow down G.Charron just a little bit, the Bruins would have been smooth sailing the entire time. G.Charron scored four consecutive goals for the Wild to keep his side within a reasonable margin. It can be argued that the Bruins had a key element as well for why they maintained their lead throughout the entire game. In the short span of only 45 seconds, A.Zakaraian strung two goals to complete his hat trick, and provide a cushion for the Bruins that went on to edge out the Wild. As much as the Wild picked up their game after a sluggish start, the early deficit proved to be costly. M.Destounis, G.Charron and C.Arnoldo fuelled the offense in the loss as all three players shared four points each. The Bruins saw their offense come by committee expect for maybe A.Zakararian, who had a little more spice to his game collecting a hat trick.

The Allo Mon Coco Ste-Dorothee player of the game goes to Alex Zakarian of the Bruins. With the Wild starting to put on some serious pressure, A.Zakarian halted the momentum by posting back to back tallies in a very short span.

F.Mastrocola, A.Amicone lead the charge up front for the Kings

(6)Kraken vs Kings(8)

The Kings are known to be a strong team. They play hockey the right way, and are very difficult to stop. However, the Kraken could have maybe taken advantage of a side that saw half their regulars sitting out. That’s not to suggest that the replacements cant do the job as it was clearly the case in their 8-6 win over the Kraken. Chemistry always brings you a long way, and the Kraken couldn’t use their current roster in order to take down the division giants. Maybe some close attention to F.Mastrocola and A.Amicone could have helped the Krakens chances on defeating the Kings. The two players were again a significant reason why the Kings earned their eight win in only nine games. F.Mastrocola went on a rampage scoring three goals and three assists while A.Amicone was productive as well scoring twice as part of a four point night. Looking back at this result, the Kraken could have done much better if the focus was on trying to slow down the dynamic duo. Instead, they took the approach of opening up, and play a run and gun game which didn’t quite go their way.

The Allo Mon Coco Ste-Dorothee player of the game goes to Frank Mastrocola of the Kings. What more can you say about a player that produces regularly game in and game out. In his clubs 8-6 win over the Kraken, the skilled forward was lights out again collecting six points that included a hat trick.

Red Wings school Blackhawks in thumping

(2)Blackhawks vs Red Wings(12)

It was hard to see this one coming when looking down the rosters of the both teams. Its not to suggest that the Red Wings couldn’t have defeated the Blackhawks, but to do it in this fashion, not may would have expected it. The Blackhawks have a ton of experienced players that have nice elements on how to defend and play well without the ball. Clearly, they looked lost at times, and appeared to be dragging their legs as a much quicker and more engaged team took it to them. The Red Wings won most of the loose ball battles which only adds up to a ton of scoring chances throughout an entire game. They had stretches where they were scoring every minute or two apart. There is no question that Blackhawks felt discouraged and disinterested on trying compete with a side that simply didn’t stop. The offense was rolling on all cylinders for the Red Wings with your usual suspects leading the charge up front. J.Musi had a monster night notching four goals sharing a five point performance along with M.St-Martin and Z.St-Martin. On there three infractions, the Blackhawks gave up penalty shot goals. The only positive part to their night occurred in less than a two minute span when E.Gabrielli and B.Freitas-Pereira scored for the Blackhawks. Other than that, it was just a night to forget.

The Allo Mon Coco Ste-Dorothee player of the game goes to Joe Musi. The forward has a nose for the net, and when he gets that time and space, the defense and opposing net minders will often pay the price. Tonight, the sharp shooter tallied four times to merit the honour.

Predators use incredible late surge only to fall short on R.Lendum’s tally

(6)Predators vs Panthers(7)

If you wanted a tale of two hockey games, the match up between the Predators and Panthers provided it on Sunday night. For over half the game, the Panthers looked like they could do no wrong while the Predators appeared to be hanging on to dear life. The only reason why this contest didn’t spiral out of control was because P.Larouche was there to keeping it only 3-0 in favour of the Panthers. The net minder was stopping some nice scoring chances which clearly had an effect on his team in the second portion of the game. Eventually, the Predators started to compete much harder while generating some scoring chances after a dry offense finally came to life. Often enough, your forwards need the support of your defence, and the Predators had the right pieces in order for the transition to happen. M.DoCouto and D.Galloro were the masterminds controlling the back end which created much of the mess for the Panthers defense and goaltender to handle. At one point, the Predators had tied the game with only a minute remaining thanks to J.Tsatsakis hat trick.  It looked like the Predators had completely taken over the match by overcoming a bunch of deficits which left only the opportunity for them to take its first lead of the game. But hockey can be funny and often unpredictable at times. It took only ten seconds -from J.Tsatsakis’s  equaliser for R.Lendrum to put the Panthers back in front. Despite there being still 50 seconds to play out along with a relentless push, the Panthers were able to trap the lanes, block shots, and get the necessary saves by M.Freda in order to squeeze out the nail biter.

The Allo Mon Coco Ste-Dorothee player of the game goes to Rob Lendrum of the Panthers. The forward made his presence felt early on by getting the games first goal, and more importantly the games last one that ultimately decided what was a crazy finish.

Islanders put it together after slow start

(4)Flyers vs Islanders(7)

Maybe the Islanders started off a little bit slow to their liking, but they did have a good response by netting four unanswered goals. B.Monette had a major hand in it by striking twice  as did T.Kotsisris, who kept a clean sheet in net for a long stretch before M.Porato and M.Barone scored to narrow the gap by one. The Flyers had something brewing with more than enough time left over. In hopes of getting the next goal in order to level the playing field, the Islanders got their first instead courtesy of A.Passarelli’s second. The slight two goal lead was never compromised at that point with T.Kotsisris making sure to shut the door close. After setting up two teammates, M.Kardum capped off the game adding a late insurance marker. Its now three straight games in a row that the Islanders have won, and it couldn’t come at a better time with the post season just around the corner. As for the Flyers, the inconsistencies of playing one good game versus another just wont cut it if they plan on going far. That is where B.Panarello needs to take the bull by the horn and figure something out quick.

The Allo Mon Coco Ste-Dorothee player of the game goes to T.Kotsiris of the Islanders. Never phased or rattled, the net minder remained calm and collective making sure his team played in front by the mid way point of the encounter.