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 Northwest Division and look ahead to this week’s showdown.
(3) ROCK SPRINGS PROSPECTORS AT (2) SEATTLE TOTEMS
SEATTLE TOTEMS WIN 3-GAME SERIES: 2-1
It didn’t take 10 seconds to show that this series was going to be a nasty, gritty battle as Waltteri Kettunen took what appeared to be a knee-on-knee almost right off the faceoff. Scary incident and thankfully Kettunen wasn’t seriously injured. In fact, about 8 minutes later it would be Kettunen that would open the scoring for the series, putting in a squeaker from the slot. Rock Springs would respond, taking advantage of a bad giveaway and then a separate defensive breakdown to pull ahead 2-1 on goals by Matthew Pantone and John Tsatzalis before the end of the 1st period.
Rock Springs didn’t slow down entering the 2nd period, as Seattle got itself into penalty woes. Seattle was unsuccessful in killing-off a 5-on-3, allowing Rock Springs to pull ahead by two with a goal by Ondrej Matas. Seattle responded with a weird deflection goal by Jonas Rettell to get the Totems back within one by the end of the 2nd period. Shortly into the 3rd period, Rock Springs regained its two-goal lead on a beauty toe drag goal by Jorie Boyd, who popped the water bottle for good measure. Seattle would not give up, as just over 2 minutes later Derek Eaton entered the zone in a 2-on-1 and buried a goal far-side over the pad of Brody Hsiao. Seattle continued to put on the pressure, and with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game, forced an error by Hsiao behind the net, leading to a giveaway and a Nahom Gashaw Teshome goal to tie the game.
Overtime was in sight, but just a minute later Rock Springs regained the lead as Jorie Boyd would score his second of the night — and the Seattle bench would lose its collective mind — with the head coach launching sticks on the ice in protest to what they believed was a missed call. Due to his actions, Seattle’s head coach would be suspended by the league for the upcoming game. The game ended with an additional goal by Prospectors forward, Aiden Ma, on a play that looked as though Seattle thought the game was already over. The Prospectors played far better than I expected, and Seattle was left stunned and thus facing elimination on Saturday night.
Game 2 of this series was much calmer. It wasn’t until nearly 7 minutes into the 2nd period when the game’s first goal would be scored by Skyler Bowers of Seattle, tapping the puck in off a rebound caused by a 2-on-1. Seattle’s Austin Tessier would make it 2-0 as he swooped around the sliding defender, dropping it in the 5-hole of Hsiao. Early into the 3rd, Seattle’s Taylor Sloan would cut-in and lift the puck high backhand over Hsiao’s pad. Minutes later Seattle would score again as Jordan Murray scored after a saucer pass by Raine Hodge from his knees across the slot. Rock Springs would answer very shortly after with it’s first goal of the game, off a wicked shot from Boyd. Rock Springs battled hard, and with just over a minute remaining in the game, Dawson Blue would squeak a puck past Seattle netminer Felix Flodman to pull the Prospectors within two – but too little too late. Seattle forced the decisive Game 3.
Game 3 didn’t have a play-by-play for the first period, but fortunately nothing of consequence happened, so no harm no foul. In the 2nd period, Rock Springs would strike first with Matas burying a goal on a perfect pass, and giving the Prospectors the 1-0 lead. But less than a minute later Seattle would tie the game up on a power play goal by Kuttinen — and Seattle would keep up the pressure. Just over 5 minutes into the 3rd period, a beautiful passing play allowed Teshome to put the puck past Hsiao, in what would become the game winning goal. As the minutes wound down, Rock Springs would pull the goalie and Seattle’s Tessier and Murray would both collect another playoff goal to help advance the Totems into the second round to face-off against Vernal. Rock Springs out-performed expectations, but Seattle never gave-in and skated away with a series win and a chance to still make it to Nationals.
Pigeonhole Hockey Podcast 3 Stars of Series:
1: (G) Brody Hsiao, 02-Vancouver, British Columbia (RSP)
2. (D/F) Waltteri Kettunen, 02-Finland (SEA)
3: (G) Felix Flodman, 03-Sweden (SEA)
(4) ROGUE VALLEY ROYALS AT (1) VERNAL OILERS
VERNAL OILERS WIN 3-GAME SERIES: 2-0
There truthfully isn’t much to say about this series except – WOW – Kaeden Edstrom. Facing 91 shots in two games, Edstrom held Game 1 to a 1-0 game half way through, before tired legs kicked in on the Royals side and Vernal began its onslaught. On several goals, including the final one, Edstrom was hung out to dry. Vernal goal scorers included Golic, Ayoungman, Zaid (2), Bisson, Molnar, Bartakovics, Bulik and Stålnacke – and that Bartakovics goal was one of the dirtiest goals you’ll see all year. Vernal played an excellent game and proved why they are one of the best teams in the USPHL. Unpopular opinion: the fifth goal should not have counted, the buzzer sounded before the puck crossed the line. Vernal’s Antonio Tarantino earned a shutout.
Game two was more of the same with less shots and less goals. The impressive part with Edstrom’s game is that Vernal isn’t the team that just shoots and tries to get the puck on net – they’re a team that’s always looking to set-up a scoring chance each and every time they’re in the offensive zone, developing high-probability scoring chances. The goal scores in this game for Vernal included Weiner, Molnar (2), Stålnacke and Powers (2). Vernal’s Ben Di Fiore earned a shutout.
Pigeonhole Hockey Podcast 3 Stars of Series:
1: (G) Kaeden Edstrom, 04-Fairplay, Colorado (RVR)
2. (C) Filip Molnar, 03-Bratislava, Slovakia (VO)
3: (C) Alex Rene Bartakovics, 04-Slovakia (VO)
Round 1: Best-of-3 Series
Week ending March 6, 2023
(1) Vernal Oilers defeat (4) Rogue Valley Royals (Series 2-0)
(2) Seattle Totems defeat (3) Rock Springs Prospectors (Series 2-1)
Round 2: Best-of-3 Series
Week ending March 13, 2023
(1) Vernal Oilers host (2) Seattle Totems
Winner advances to the Nationals (Utica, N.Y., March 23-28, 2023)
Prediction:
(1) Vernal Oilers defeat (2) Seattle Totems in 2 games
Summary
Vernal is going to have a much tougher battle on their hands with the #2 seeded Seattle Totems coming into town, but this is Vernal’s series to win or lose. If the Oilers underestimate their opponent they could have an early end to their season. But considering Tarantino and Di Fiore are healthy, the Vernal blueline is a fortress (even minus their Captain who moved onto pro-hockey), and their scoring depth is incredible, it’s hard to imagine that Vernal doesn’t come out of this series and advance to Nationals. Zblaznit sa!
Series begins Friday, 10 March at 8:30pm at Western Park Arena in Vernal – get out and support your team!
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Author: CD, Host, Pigeonhole Hockey Podcast
