Wednesday November 9

Strong start propels Fatal Demons over Snipers

(2)Snipers vs Fatal Demons(5)

The Fatal Demons jumped right out of the gate on Wednesday night and never looked back. Netting a 5-2 win over the Snipers, the Fatal Demons showed a dominating style of play in the first period. They scored three goals in that frame alone on efforts by different players. The Snipers couldn’t be pleased for how poorly they started off their night. As bad as it was, they still had more than enough time to put out a way better effort. Surely, they weren’t going to repeat a  similar performance in the ensuing frame. The problem was that they couldn’t get on board and gave up another tally instead finding themselves in a much deeper hole. Up until that point, R.Ranieri was perhaps in their heads stopping every single shot he faced. Since the order may have been to tall for the Snipers to rebound, one thing that they wanted was nothing less than to get on board. That moment did eventually occur with the Fatal Demons taking a penalty. The Snipers took complete advantage of their power play, and finally got to R.Ranieri thanks to Ali Khanafer finally solving the net minder. Both sides would go on to trade a goal each which would solidify a well earned win for the Fatal Demons. M.Destounis and J.Bolanakis each scored twice while M.Mavroudis tallied the other as part of a three point night.

The SalumiVino player of the night goes to Rino Ranieri of the Fatal Demons. Look for your goaltender to deliver the goods. R.Ranieri did just that keeping the Snipers off the score sheet for as long as possible.

Thursday November 10

Horsemen out battled in blow out loss to Fatal Demons

(7)Fatal Demons vs Horsemen(1)

As it was the case throughout most of the night, the Horsemen lost the trench battles in front of both nets and simply didn’t have enough offense thrust in a blow out loss. When it was said and done, it was about the inability for the Horsemen to win in the tight spaces versus a side that uses their strength to their advantage. Things looked fine for at least a full period with the game scoreless. Once M.Chenier broke the barrier on a nifty back hand, A.Zarzour followed up on a quick release that caught M.Vinciguerra off guard giving the Fatal Demons the start they looked for. The game was still within reasonable margin despite giving up two goals, but the mind set for the Horsemen must have changed when A.Argrioudis scored late in the second period for a three goal cushion. It was only a week ago that the Horsemen overcame a 3-0 deficit, but how many times can you press your luck. Definitely not tonight with the Fatal Demons determined to close out the deal. Four different players went on to score with nobody getting at least two goals out of the seven that went in. R.Ranieri was also vital for the win as the net minder denied every single player expect for T.Zermalias that beat him with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

Sonic struggling to close out games without resistance

(5)Sonic vs RCGT Knights(3)

The only explanation for F.Pace and the Sonic for nearly blowing their leads has to do with being complacent. Again, they rode a strong start bagging four consecutive goals by the mid way point of the game, and again they made things extremely difficult by the time it was said and done. If not for M.Pace bouncing on a loose ball to bury a huge shorthanded goal, the chances were good for the RCGT Knights to even the score. J.Seney and J.Prevost had each scored with the man advantage for the RCGT Knights to pull their club within one. Since the power was working just fine, the RCGT Knights had another great opportunity with the man advantage only to see it go against them .That’s when M.Pace struck late to give the Sonic a sigh of relief with little time left over. You always want to avoid your blood pressure rising as the game goes on. In the case for Sonic, they barely contained a younger and hungrier side that nearly overcame a huge deficit. Luckily enough, they got that great start with enough insurance goals that were needed to hold up in the end. M.Arcaro had a good outing striking twice for the win while J.Prevost was the RCGT Knights most dynamic player participating in all three goals.

Flying Squirrels unable to keep up with Brew Crew

(8)Brew Crew vs Flying Squirrels(2)

The Brew Crew built their reputation on their heavy fore-checking, quality defending style that smothers opponents along with their ability to win many one on one battles. On the backs of that plan, the Brew Crew showed it on full display versus the Flying Squirrels. Although it wasn’t as apparent in the first half of the game, the pace was dictated in the second portion where the Brew Crew were to much to handle for the Flying Squirrels. Goals started to come at a rapid rate toward the end of the second period followed with a strong beginning by the third. C.Magri sucked up much of the attention riffling three goals while M.Maggiore was equally effective collecting four points. The Flying Squirrels have no choice but to rely on a full 45 minute effort if they plan on getting some nice results. For a decent portion, they hung in there with the Brew Crew, but as the game went on, the defensive gaffes became more common which led to a few goals that separated the two sides. Sometimes, its just about being aware while keeping it simple for a longer duration.

Snipers fall short after applying lots of late pressure

(3)Snipers vs Van Doos Hc(4)

A three goal lead with only four minutes left in the game is never enough when playing a resilient hockey team. The Snipers, although limited their offense to only one early goal, still had the fight in them to battle back. It all started with N.Atoui narrowing the gap by only two. Then, two minutes later, H.Faour struck again for the Snipers, and all of a sudden the Van Doos Hc felt panic despite only two minutes left in the game. You sensed that the Snipers weren’t letting up as they kept applying a ton of pressure in search of that much needed equaliser. The Snipers had a few grade A chances, but J.Liopoulos and the defense held firm. Even though the Snipers fell short and lost this game, there is no question that it’s a much better performance compared to yesterdays loss to the Fatal Demons. Its never easy playing the top two front runners of the division on a back to back night. That being said, the Snipers know that they can compete with them and can easily come out on top if they play to their potential. For now, they’ll just go through the motions of playing through a regular season as they look to improve and become a serious contender.

The SalumiVino player of the night goes to Charles Magri of the Brew Crew. No question C.Magri was a spark for the Brew Crew’s offense when the game was still very close. The forward ignited three goals to help his club pull away.