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 for your reading pleasure! So here’s a look at how things went in the Pacific Division and look ahead to this week’s showdown.
(3) ONTARIO JR REIGN AT (2) LAS VEGAS T-BIRDS
LAS VEGAS T-BIRDS WIN 3-GAME SERIES: 2-0
The first 10 minutes of this series wasn’t televised as there were mechanical issues in Las Vegas, and in those 10 minutes the T-Birds netted 2 goals from Frederic Pinel and Ludovic Martel…hope the goals weren’t beauts. Early on Loic Morin was tracking very well, taking away the bottom of the net and seeing beachballs, and the Las Vegas defense was supporting well, keeping shots to the outside and attempts to low percentage areas. Periodically though, the team in front of Morin would be overeager and take away Morin’s line of sight – otherwise Las Vegas was clicking on all cylinders.
This series had it all, but nothing screams playoff hockey more than seeing the T-Birds’ Beau Kennedy leaving the ice in the 1st period after being cut, leaving the rink in his gear, getting stitched up at the hospital, and returning to the bench in time for 3rd period. Another amazing highlight of this game was the sick reach-back paddle save by Ontario’s Nicholas Heinzle, just over six minutes into the third as he attempted to keep his team in the game. Otherwise, some undisciplined penalties got the best of both teams in Game 1, and Ontario ultimately fell to Las Vegas.
Josh Henson and Samuel Peterson got the starts in net for both the Jr. Reign and T-Birds respectively, but the outcome wouldn’t change from Game 1, as penalties would prove costly and Las Vegas would come away with the win including a hattrick from Trystan-Félix Tremblay…on all powerplay goals. Ontario put-up a fight and played two great games, but penalties proved to be their demise as you can’t give an excellent team like Las Vegas that many opportunities. Las Vegas moves on to face Fresno.
Pigeonhole Hockey Podcast 3 Stars of Series:
1: (F) Narek Aleksanyan, 02-East Angus, Quebec (LV)
2: (C) Trystan-Félix Tremblay, 04-Bécancour, Quebec (LV)
3: (D) Nick Bonaldi, 03-Las Vegas, Nevada (LV)
(4) SAN DIEGO SABERS AT (1) FRESNO MONSTERS
FRESNO MONSTERS WIN 3-GAME SERIES: 2-0
If San Diego’s netminder Ethan Blackburn can see it he can stop it…so you have to be creative…like opening the series by shooting it off his back. Monsters forward Noak Persson followed this up late in the 1st period with a beautiful and perfectly timed no-look pass while circling behind the net, setting up Emil Loov for the goal, and fooling nearly everyone off and on the ice including Blackburn – what Noak Persson does is just not fair. Fresno’s Loov added a third goal just a few minutes into the 2nd period and it looked like the Monsters were going to run away with the game. But San Diego had other plans.
Just a minute later Dominick Didzerekis broke into the offensive zone and put one over the blocker of Monsters netminder Ethan Jourden — probably a beaut — but the camera only caught the very end of the goal. A few minutes later Gouin added another to cut the Monsters lead to one. Heading into the third, the Sabers were outplaying the Monsters and undisciplined penalties were definitely causing heartburn. Didzerekis buried his second goal of the game as a recent penalty had expired seconds earlier, and the game was all tied up.
At this point, San Diego had all the momentum and few minutes later Michal Novak put San Diego ahead. Fresno looked flat and finished, but a tripping penalty on San Diego with 2:01 remaining would prove costly. Fresno’s powerplay came to life and excellent passing eventually got Blackburn out of position, and the puck was buried from the slot with 9.5 seconds remaining in the game. It only took 10 seconds into overtime for Fresno to finish the comeback and end the game. A heartbreaking loss for the Sabers.
Game two of this series came up all Fresno. The game got chippy and it was full of all the playoff hockey drama you could ask for. A powerplay goal from Yuri Stalev and a Michigan-style goal from Cam Gillen had Fresno ahead by the end of the 1st. Loov picked up another Monsters goal on a scramble, and then two beautiful passing plays gave the Monsters a commanding 5-0 lead late in the 2nd period. But with a minute remaining in the middle frame, an error behind the Fresno net resulted in a giveaway and Lucas Lundy took the pass in the slot and buried it for San Diego’s first goal of the game. A scrum at the end of the 2nd saw 38 minutes of penalty minutes handed out, and with approximately 5 minutes remaining in game, the referees failed to step in and prevent an altercation, resulting in a player ejection on one side and what appeared to be a player injury on the other side. The ensuing penalty saw Stalev bury another powerplay goal with less than 3 minutes remaining in the game putting the Monsters back up by 5 goals, and San Diego’s season was over. Fresno moves on to host Las Vegas.
Pigeonhole Hockey Podcast 3 Stars of Series:
1: (RW) Emil Lööv, 03-Sweden (FM)
2: (LW/RW) Noak Persson, 03-Sollefteå, Sweden (FM)
3: (D/F) Jacob Gagnon, 02-Fresno, California (FM)
Round 1: Best-of-3 Series
Week ending March 6, 2023
(1) Fresno Monsters defeat (4) San Diego Sabers (Series 2-0)
(2) Las Vegas T-Birds defeat (3) Ontario Jr. Reign (Series 2-0)
Round 2: Best-of-3 Series
(1) Fresno Monsters host (2) Las Vegas T-Birds
Winner advances to the Nationals (Utica, N.Y., March 23-28, 2023)
Prediction
(1) Fresno Monsters defeat (2) Las Vegas T-Birds in 3 games
Summary
It’s once again Fresno and Las Vegas meeting up for the Pacific Division championship, with the winner moving on to represent the Pacific Division at Nationals in Utica, NY. In Round 1 both Fresno and Las Vegas proved they have explosive offenses, but have also shown that when they let their foot off the gas — or players take care of their personal grudges on the ice — their opponent can step in and take control of the game. This is not a series where either team can afford to sleep for a period. Fresno has home-ice advantage and should win in what will be a very exciting, tough-fought series. Personal grudges that lead to stupid penalties cannot be tolerated this series. I don’t think there are any two teams in the West that need to understand the words of Herb Brooks better than the players on these two teams…“When you pull on that jersey, the name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the name on the back.”
Series begins Thursday, March 9th at 7:45pm PST at the Gateway Ice Center in Fresno — get out and support your team!
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Author: CD, Host, Pigeonhole Hockey Podcast
Photo Credit: @ggerster on Instagram
