Wednesday March 4

(9)Knights vs Underdogs(1)

C.Moutafis 4 goals power Knights over Underdogs

C.Moutafis put together a dominant performance throughout the entire match, netting four straight goals right after C.Durante bagged a pair to get things in motion for the Knights. It almost seemed as if Moutafis was three steps ahead of everyone else on the court , making the Underdogs defense look confused at times. The Underdogs knew they had a tough challenge ahead of them as they were stuck playing with a shorter bench. There only bright moment came when D.Constantineau beat S.Sauk early in the second period.

(5)Bramabulls vs Buckshots(4)

J.Mandracchia scores 4 goals to carry Bramabulls past Buckshots

J.Mandracchia has been one of the Bramabulls most reliable scorers so far this season. His latest big night came against the Buckshots, who gave the Bramabulls a real run for their money. You can almost argue that if it wasn’t for Mandracchia in this contest ,the Bramabulls would have likely come out short. Instead, the sniper did what he does best and that is to put the ball behind most goaltenders. All five Bramabulls goals came through Mandracchia in one form or another. The highly skilled forward went on a complete tear riffling fours markers and an assist to edge out the Buckshots. Considering the circumstances, the Buckshots left the match with their heads high knowing they put up a real challenge with a shorter bench.

(8)Carnage vs Bad Habits(6)

Bad Habits third period effort falls short as Carnage hang on

The Bad Habits put forth quite the third period charge to pull within one on two occasions, but an early three goal deficit was too much to overcome as the Bad Habits fell short on Wednesday night. To their credit, they never let up and nearly got there if it wasn’t for M.Maggiore taking care of business fro Carnage. Maggiore came through twice in only two minutes on a pair of daggers that ultimately put the match to rest. G.Valente and his captain F.Pace also scored twice in the win while N.Delisi did the same but in a losing cause.

(4)AREZ vs Fat Roy(5) O.T

J.Pantelis gets it done in a hurry for Fat Roy’s OT winner

Fat Roy allowed two goals by the 6:40 minute mark of the first period, but found a way to rally and top AREZ in overtime. It was clearly not the start C.Zafiropoulos and Fat Roy wanted. However, they did manage to settle down and respond in a massive way on three goals in only four minutes. Both teams came out flying trading three goals each in the first period alone. The pace did eventually calm down as they went back to playing a sound defensive game not allowing as many high quality chances.  Eventually, something was bound to give and that moment only came in extra time. It took only 14 seconds into the sudden death frame for J.Pantelis to pull through and stamp the game for Fat Roy. That was the first time in the contest that AREZ gave up a lead.

(2)Mighty Drunks vs Horsemen(3)

V.Pandza’s late third period goal holds up as winner

You always want to get off to a better start no matter the situation. Just prior to the first period ending, the Horsemen struck first after being awarded a power play opportunity. However, that didn’t stop J.Courteau from responding immediately in the second frame. Sitting on a tie game wasn’t  what the Horsemen wanted as they kept pushing the pace in order to snap the tie. P.Sidhom managed to regain the lead later in the second period and the Horsemen had the luxury once more to play in front. Then, just to play it safe, V.Pandza widened the gap on a goal that would eventually stand up for the winner. The Mighty Drunks put up a good overall fight without some key players to their line-up. Maybe things would have played out differently if the had the lead. C.Stavriadis got the slight edge over B.Verducci as both net minders were stellar between the pipes.

The SalumiVino player of the night goes to Jonathan Mandracchia of the Bramabulls. It can almost be argued that if it wasn’t for Mandracchia on Wednesday night, that the Bramabulls would have dropped their game versus the Buckshots. The lethal weapon was uncontainable scoring four times while providing a helper in a close 5-4 victory.

Thursday March 5

(6)Fatal Demons vs Screaming Eagles(7) S.O

Fatal Demons drag out the suspense but fall in shootout

The Fatal Demons faced off against the Screaming Eagles hoping to end their two game slide and put up some points to the standings. They couldn’t have asked a for a better start and perhaps an even better ending when A.Zarzour struck to force overtime. Unfortunately, they just weren’t consistent enough throughout the game and ultimately paid the price in the end. The Screaming Eagles were only 22 seconds away from claiming three much needed points, instead they settled with a pair thanks to E.Skafidas’s lone shootout tally and A.Mancini denying both shot attempts from the Fatal Demons. Apart from A.Zarzour scoring twice during the game, both sides relied on balanced scoring and an overall team game. Even though they sit at the bottom of the standings, this came as a huge result for the Screaming Eagles, who keep battling for a playoff spot.

(3)Fitforce Phoenix vs Toyota Candiac(4)

J.Vinet puts the dagger late after furious comeback from Fitforce Phoenix

It was a roller coaster of a match where the Toyota Candiac blew a 3-0 lead only to recuperate it late in the game. Eleven minutes had gone by, and the Toyota Candiac looked like they would have blown this game out of reach. J.Vinet grabbed two early goals right before M.Gagnon increased the lead to 3-0. However, when looking at the two benches while considering the body count along with the pride of the Fitforce Phoenix, it wasn’t a total shock that a comeback was in the making. Similar to what the Toyota Candiac did early on, the Fitforce Phoenix answered back with three quick markers of their own. Both sides had combined for six goals just before the mid way point of the game. At that pace, it seemed like there was more to come but things did slow down with both sides playing a little more cautious. The next tally didn’t come till the latter stages of the third period where J.Vinet struck for a third time.

The SalumiVino player of the night goes to Julien Vinet of the Toyota Candiac. In his first game dressed, the crafty forward made a big difference bagging three out of his clubs four goals that included a back breaking winner.