Round 1 of the Western USPHL Premier playoffs is complete. Fortunately for you readers, six pages of notes on Round 1 game action is condensed to a few lines per series! So here’s a look at how things went in the Mountain Division and look ahead to this week’s showdowns.
(5) IDAHO FALLS SPUD KINGS AT (4) NORTHERN COLORADO EAGLES
SPUD KINGS WIN 3-GAME SERIES: 2-0
Idaho Falls came into this series the 5th seed in the division, but that’s only because the first half of their first ever USPHL season was spent on the road with a group of players that had never played together before. The team had no history, no home rink, and stepped out onto away ice for the first times with only scrimmage jerseys – it was going to be a rough year. But the second half of the season they were arguably one of the best teams not only in the Mountain Division, but in the USPHL. The Northern Colorado Eagles were a steady team all year long, but understood that hosting the revamped Spud Kings was going to be a tough battle.
It was late in the 1st period of Game 1 that Idaho Falls would get on the score board. Eagles netminder Evan Stringer made two excellent saves, but the ensuing scramble landed a defenseman in his crease and he was unable to push back to prevent the goal by George Goodwin, giving Idaho Falls the 1-0 lead. Idaho Falls would carry that lead deep into the 2nd period before striking again, with Kaito Okubo cutting down right side of ice and sniping a shot over near side shoulder of Stringer. This period was not without controversy though, as it appeared Northern Colorado might have actually scored 9 minutes into the 2nd, but due to the fact that the shot was so fast, it was not seen by the officiating crew and could not be confirmed. It would remain 2-0.
Only 90 seconds into the 3rd period, Liam Filip provided some breathing room for the Spud Kings by burying a puck high glove side from the slot. But only a few minutes later, Eagles forward Matthew Perry would get his team on the scoreboard, quickly burying a rebound left by Spud Kings netminder Colin Rowbotham. Unfortunately for the Eagles, that would be as close as they would get in this game, as Northern Colorado would be forced to pull the goalie late in the game and Spud Kings defender Johnny Thrasher would get the empty net goal to seal the victory. Evan Stringer played an excellent game, making 43 saves on 46 shots, keeping his Eagles in the fight and we’ll be excited to see where this promising netminder signs next season. On the other side of the ice, Spud Kings Colin Rowbotham made 51 saves on 52 shots, was steady in net, made no flashy saves, was smooth in his pushes and movements, and almost always in position – incredible game by both netminders.
The second game of the series started off oddly enough, with a weird goal from behind the net that appeared as though it went off the back of Eagles netminder, Ulrick Roussel’s stick, however play-by-play announcer, Brendan Price identified that it was deflected in past Roussel – either way, the Spud Kings had jumped into the early lead. Late in the 1st period, the Spud Kings would get themselves into penalty trouble, forcing them to kill off a 5-on-3 – which they did – and immediately went on the attack, with Goodwin sliding the puck past Roussel for his second goal of the game.
Carrying a 2-goal lead into the 2nd period, an ill-timed major penalty for elbowing put the Eagles down a player, and the Spud Kings made them pay, with Jack O’Rourke burying a rebound after an amazing save by Roussel. Northern Colorado would finally find the back of the net with defender Evan Wammas putting a rebound past the shortside and pulling the Eagles within two. The Eagles just couldn’t get the bounces to go their way, as only 87 seconds into the final frame, Liam Filip picked up a rebound after yet another great save by Roussel and the Spud Kings were up 4-1. The Greeley IceHaus was being unforgiving to what would be the (likely) final ever home game for the Northern Colorado Eagles in Greeley.
Just a few minutes later, the Spud Kings would get assessed a 5-minute major penalty for boarding, leading to a gutsy playoff move by Eagles Head Coach, Steve Haddon. Half way through the 5-minute major and nearly 15 minutes still remaining in the game, Coach Haddon pulled the goalie for the extra player, creating a 6-on-4 … and the gamble worked, as Alexandre Bédard buried the rebound off a Fryfogle shot, cutting the Eagles deficit in half. Somehow the Spud Kings took yet another undisciplined 5-minute major penalty, followed shortly thereafter by another penalty, putting the Spud Kings down 5-on-3. So Coach Haddon once again pulls the goalie for a 6-on-3 advantage — and again — the gutsy move worked, and a scramble play in front of the net allowed Perry to bury the puck and make it a one goal game.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, they were also then assessed another undisciplined penalty, thus eliminating the remainder of the powerplay, and shortly thereafter, Goodwin would get his 3rd goal of the game, putting his Spud Kings back up by two. The Eagles never gave up, as with 85 seconds remaining in the game, another scramble in front of the net allowed Zach Nicholls to bury the loose puck, and pull the Eagles back within one. The Eagles battled valiantly, but Rowbotham kept the puck out and with just a second on the clock, O’Rourke sealed the game with an empty net goal. The Eagles season and time at Greeley IceHaus would end. Roussel stopped 40 of 45 in his final junior hockey game and Rowbotham stopped an incredible 61 of 65. In total Rowbotham posted a .957 SV% on 117 shots in two games. Incredible.
Pigeonhole Hockey Podcast 3 Stars of Series:
1: (G) Colin Rowbotham, 03-Delano, Minnesota (ID)
2. (F) George Goodwin, 03-Johns Creek, Georgia, USA (ID)
3: (RW) Brayden Fryfogle, 03-Wyoming, Ontario (NCE)
(6) PROVO PREDATORS AT (3) PUEBLO BULLS
BULLS WIN 3-GAME SERIES: 2-1
Without a doubt, the first game in this series was owned by the Provo Predators. Everything went their way and Pueblo just couldn’t seem to do anything right. The Pueblo Bulls put up a lacklustre effort and made you wonder what happened to the team that took down the Vernal Oilers in all three matchups the previous weekend. On the bright side, Provo Predators’ goaltender Savva Serdiuk and forward Misha Mshar shined this game. Mshar had two of the prettiest goals he’s scored all year. Mshar opened the scoring, taking a nice lead pass on a breakaway and burying a beaut of a backhand over Alexander Timmons’ pad for the first goal. Emmanuel Nkombou sniped one from high in the slot just 90 seconds into the 2nd period to make it 2-0 for Provo.
We’ll skip the 3rd goal –coming from a goalie — it was every goalie’s worst nightmare. Been there, done that.
Moving on. Mshar’s next beautiful goal gave Provo a 4-0 lead, as he cruised down the right side and with some silky mitts going top shelf over Timmons shoulder. Then just past the the halfway point of the 2nd period, an absolutely horrific defensive zone giveaway by Pueblo allowed Provo’s Wilder Jacober to make it 5-0. The team need a wake-up call and Timmons was pulled, with Lukas Björk stepping in in relief. No other goals would be scored, with Provo winning 5-0, and Ukrainian netminder Savva Serdiuk posting a 34-save shutout.
Game 2 in the series would prove far more interesting. Gion Coray got Provo on the board late in the 1st period on a scrappy play, and then late in the 2nd period, Khyle Flynn would cruise down the left side of the ice and blast the puck past Björk. In five periods, Pueblo was unable to get a puck past Serdiuk. But just a few minutes into the 3rd period, Garrett Freel would finally get Pueblo its first goal in the series, cutting the Provo lead in half. With seven minutes remaining in the game, the Bulls captain, Scott Bugarin, would tuck the puck in the net to tie the game, no other goals forced overtime. Then double overtime. Then triple overtime. Björk and Serdiuk put on an absolute clinic. But it would be a Pueblo native that would send the local fans home happy, as Luke Guarienti would find the back of the net, just over 2 minutes into triple overtime. Happy chaos ensued as Pueblo had forced the decisive Game 3. Björk made 62 saves to rescue his team’s season, and Provo was … oh so close … with Serdiuk making 52 saves.
The third and final game in the series would prove to be just as much fun! And thankfully, wouldn’t take six periods to sort out. Somehow both Serdiuk and Björk were ready to jump back in the net 10 hours later, and with only a few minutes left in 1st period, Pueblo would get on the board first, executing a nice cycle on a powerplay, with Max Edvardsson ultimatley putting it past Serdiuk. Provo would strike back half way through the 2nd period though, as Jacober would bury the puck amongst the chaos in front of the net on a controversial play. Björk didn’t have a chance to make the save, and goalie interference was debated, but the officiating crew made the right call as it was in fact a Pueblo player that launched a Provo player into Björk. The tie wouldn’t last long though, as Pueblo would take the lead back less than a minute later on a pretty goal by the previous night’s OT hero, Luke Guarienti. It was a costly goal, as Savva Serdiuk injured himself on the save attempt and had to be helped off the ice.
Bryson Stern would enter the game in replacement of Serdiuk and would hold down the fort for the rest of the period. It took only 20 seconds into third period for Provo’s Zach Vockler to tie the game. And it took only another 12 seconds for a weird redirect shot by Pueblo’s Dueber to get past Stern and put the Bulls back on top. Provo would continue to battle hard, but Björk would keep the puck out for the rest of the game…even as his defense continued to send Predators into him and on top of him. Provo was forced to pull the goalie late in the game and Pueblo’s Grig Kaagan would capitalize, scoring an empty net goal with 36 seconds remaining. This would end Provo’s chance of moving on, and Pueblo advances to face Ogden on a 43-save performance of Lukas Björk.
Pigeonhole Hockey Podcast 3 Stars of Series:
1: (G) Lukas Björk, 03-Sweden (PB)
2. (G) Savva Serdiuk, 04-Kyiv, Ukraine (PP)
3: (F) Luke Guarienti, 02-Colorado (PB)
Mountain Division
Round 1: Best-of-3 Series
Week ending March 6, 2023
(3) Pueblo Bulls defeat (6) Provo Predators (Series: 2-1)
(5) Idaho Falls Spud Kings defeat (4) Northern Colorado Eagles (Series 2-0)
Round 2: Best-of-3 Series
Week ending March 13, 2023
(1) Utah Outliers host (5) Idaho Falls Spud Kings
(2) Ogden Mustangs host (3) Pueblo Bulls
Winners advance to the Nationals (Utica, N.Y., March 23-28, 2023)
Prediction
(1) Utah Outliers defeat (5) Idaho Falls Spud Kings in 3 games
(2) Ogden Mustangs defeat (3) Pueblo Bulls in 3 games
Round 3: Best-of-3 Series
Week ending March 19, 2023
Higher remaining seed hosts lower remaining seed.
Winner is Division Champion
Summary
Idaho Falls is an impressive team and has become a powerhouse late into the season, having one of the best 2nd half records in the Mountain division. Unfortunately for them, the only team that has a better record are their hosts. The Outliers are the back-to-back Mountain Division champs and #1 seed for a reason, their a well-coached, talented team with amazing depth. This is Utah’s series to win or lose. Idaho Falls may be the newest organization in the Mountain Division, but if Utah underestimates the skill of their opponent, they’ll be watching as either Ogden or Pueblo host the Mountain Division championship series the following weekend. To touch on the Ogden vs Pueblo series, this will be another fun series to attend or tune into on HockeyTV. Much like Utah, this is Ogden’s series to win or lose. Pueblo struggled late in the season and only managed 7 goals in nearly 12 periods of action on home ice against Provo – and one of those 7 goals was an empty net. If Pueblo has any chance to advance to Nationals and/or even become the Mountain Division champions, they have to figure out how to get the puck past Owen Yancey. But after watching this past weekend’s action in Pueblo, Ogden will also have to figure out how to get the puck past Björk who’s flexing a .963 SV% on 109 shots.
GET OUT AND SUPPORT YOUR TEAMS!
Mustangs vs. Bulls series begins Friday, 10 March at 7:15pm MST at The Ice Sheet in Ogden!
Outlets vs. Spud Kings series begins Saturday, 11 March at 7:05pm MST at Acord Ice Center in West Valley City!
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Author: CD, Host, Pigeonhole Hockey Podcast
Image courtesy of: @bayleighsphoto on Instagram
