Halifax Floor Hockey LeagueSlayers vs Fire
The first game of the night saw the high scoring Slayers coming into town to play the fizzling Fire for a week three match up. The Slayers, led by Matt Strum and Jeff Withers who had a combined 38pts were looking to extend their dominance while the Fire will still searching for that spark to get their season rolling.
Ball drops to start the game and quickly the dynamic duo of Strum and Withers go to work when Strum scored the game opener off a feed from Withers. The Fire answered back quickly when team captain Alex Gale tied it up on a pass from rookie sensation Liam Oxner. The tie was short lived when Withers scored on a pass from Strum giving the Slayers back the lead. Shortly afterwards, Withers notched his second of the night when Jordan Castiloux fed a sweet pass for a one timer. The Fire answered back with a snap shot goal by new guy Mike Giles from Alex Gale. Slayers up 3-2 after the first.
The second saw the Fire’s Mark Duggan start things off on a Pass from Stephen Combdon but Jordan Castilloux tallied for the Slayers to give them back the lead on a solo effort. The Fire started to “heat up” when Anil Snook tied it up on a pass from Liam Oxner followed by a solo effort from Stephen Combdon as he was rewarded for some hard word on the forecheck. Fire had their first lead of the night. Matt Strum answered back when Sean Fitzgerald slid a nice saucer pass which he buried. But Liam Oxner took the lead back when Combdon sent a beautiful pass his way and he made no mistake giving the Fire a one goal lead headed into the third.
The Fire took early control of the third scoring three in a row. Goals for Snook from Oxner, Oxner from Duggan and an unassisted goal from Alex Gale gave the Fire a commanding lead. But the Slayers are an explosive team and the answered back with two quick goals of their own, Withers from Strum and Castilloux from Strum and they were back in the game. Down by two, they pulled their goalie and shortly afterwards Fire captain Alex Gale added an empty netter to seal the deal and the Fire get their first win of the season over the mighty Slayers. Worthy to note Kevin Kennedy made some key saves late in the third to allow his team to hold onto that lead. Great effort all around.
Fire take this one 10-7
Hackers vs Lynx
The second contest of the night saw the Hackers facing off against the Lynx. The Hackers were looking for their first win of the season while the Lynx were looking to build on their most recent win. The Lynx were down two regulars and goalie Marty Kane was sitting out with an upper body injury. Adam Larder was between the pipes for the Lynx in his place.
The Hackers opened the scoring when Jonathan Hunson scored his first goal of the season in his first game of the season on his first shot of the season, on a pass from Dan Carver. The Lynx answered back with two when Justin McKinnon scored on a feed from Rickie Miller and long time veteran Rob Tyrrell recorded an unassisted goal. Dan Carver tied things up on a solo effort from the point. The Lynx clawed back when Stu Whidden scored on a pass from Ball Star Norris Trophy candidate Mike Collier. The Hackers tied it up again with a shot from Geoff Briggs beating Larder off a feed from Jow Murphy. All tied up after the 1st.
The second saw the Hackers take the lead when Geoff Briggs score unassisted. The Lynx came back with Whidden scoring his second of the game off a pass from Justin McKinnon. The Lynx ere then dealt a blow as their team captain got called away for a family urgency leaving the Lynx short benched to one spare facing a full rostered Hacker team. The Hackers took advantage when team captain Joe Murphy scored on a solo effort, but the Lynx came right back with a Justin McKinnon goal from Stu Whidden. The Hackers had some bad news during the break when it was discovered that one of their key players in Alex Murphy would miss the rest of the season due to injury. The league assigned Tommy Zivonavic to the Hackers in his place. Well Tommy wasted no time making his presence known as he scored his first goal in his first game on a feed from Wayne Hardy. This gave the Hackers the lead, but not for long. Justin McKinnon tied it up when Stu Whidden feathered a sweet pass allowing McKinnon to beat Burgoyne on the short side. That ended the period and we ere all tied at 6 heading into the 3rd.
Wayne Hardy opened the scoring in the last period on a feed from Jonathan Hunson. This was answered by a Lynx goal from Jason MacIsaac from…you guessed it…Stu Whidden. Tied again! The Hackers captain Joe Murphy gave his guys another lead on a pass from Hunson. Tommy Z grabbed his second of the night teaming up with Hardy again. This gave the Hackers a two goal lead mid way through the third. Rob Tyrrell cut the lead to one on a feed from Stu Whidden, but the Hackers answered back with Hunson scoring his second of the night from D man Dan Carver and the Hackers close this one out 10-8.
Sabres vs Chill
Last game of the evening saw the Sabres coming into to the Igloo to face off against the Chill. Both teams were missing their team captains and it would be interesting to see who would try to step up to fill that void.
The Chill opened things up when Wes Cook scored an on pass from Cameron Power. The Sabres answered back with Myles “I Got Style” Raymond picking the glove hand corner off a feed from Paul Chang. The Chill came back with two more in a row, both by Cameron Power. The first was a power play goal on a pass from Alex DeSousa and the second from Warren Churchill. Chill take a 3-1 lead into the dressing room after one.
The second saw Wes Cook start to hog the ball as he scored two in a row without any helpers…hmmm… Cameron Power added his third of the night on a nice pass from Churchill and the second saw the Chill take a commanding 6-1 lead.
Chill top adman Alex DeSousa started things off in the third when his partner Warren Churchill sent him in all alone where he beat Boudreau. Rookie Alex Yeadon scored the next goal to try and keep the Sabres in it when Gord Fitzpatrick recorded his first point of the season with the assist. Wes Cook then buried a pass from Warren Churchill and followed up by a patterned hog goal scoring all on his lonesome…again… hmmmm
The Sabres tried to fight back and with a bit of a lapse in play by the Chill, the added three goals in a row. Aaron Brown from Gord Fitzpatrick, Yeadon from Raymond and the Gord Fitzpatrick scored his first of the season on a nice pass from Raymond. It wasn’t enough though as the Chill continued their winning ways and are now the lone undefeated team in this early season. They take this one 9-5
Adam Larder stopped 36 of 41 shots and earns himself this weeks player of the week honours. Way to go Adam.
Well that’s how it looked from here folks. The league brass are pretty happy with the play from everyone as of late. Keep it up guys. We also wanted to pint out the actions of new guy Warren Churchill last night. Not only did he record 4 asssist, but he also stopped the play on his own accord when he performed the dreaded windmill and just gave possession to the other team. It might not seem like a lot, but it really exemplifies what we are trying to have here at the HFHL. Great sportsmanship void of the “win at any cost” attitude. Keep it up guys.
Well, I’m outta here fir this week.
This is Billy Concarney saying so long and remember…if it doesn’t go in…it’s not a goal!!!
Be well folks!