Soo Eagles Weekly Update
January 4, 2013 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Soo Eagles News Release
Eagles end six-game homestand against Jr. K-Wings
The Soo Eagles, who are currently riding a six game winning streak, will look to stay hot, as they take on Kalmazoo Jr. K-Wings at Pullar stadium this Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
The K-Wings are in third place in the North Division with a 20-11-3 record. They are currently six points behind the first place Soo Eagles, and are coming off a split in Johnstown last weekend.
This is the second and final regular season visit to Pullar Stadium for the Jr. K-Wings. The Eagles and K-Wings split a weekend series in September. These teams are 2-2 against each other so far this season, as the teams split a series in K-Zoo in early December. Former Soo Eagle, Robbie Payne is expected to be in the lineup this weekend. He was out with an injury in Kalmazoo's last trip to Sault Ste. Marie.
Sault High Appreciation Night is this Friday. The winner for the X-Box 360 Kinect will be drawn during the first intermission. You can also participate in many other intermission activities, by signing up in the lobby, upon arriving at Pullar Stadium. Games include Progressive Cash Ball, Chuck A Puck, where you have five chances to win different prizes, including an Eagles jersey, 50/50 tickets, buy a game program, purchase all new Eagles merchandise, or sign up for the all new Soo Eagles Booster Club.
You can watch the game on www.fasthockey.com
Special Ticket Prices
Eagles clip Port Huron, riding six-game winning streak The Soo Eagles just keep on winning. They saw their win streak increase to six games last weekend, as they topped the Port Huron Fighting Falcons, in a pair of close games at Pullar Stadium. The Eagles won 4-2 on Friday, and 4-3 on Saturday night, and currently sit four points clear of the Jamestown Ironmen, for first place in the North American Hockey Leagues North Division.
The Soo Eagles would like to thank Newberry Bottling Company, who brought fans Lipton Night on Saturday, as they provided Lipton Tea for the fans, as well as tee shirts, thrown by Eddie the Eagle.
The Eagles will be at home again this weekend, when they take on the third place Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings at Pullar Stadium Friday night at 7:30 and Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
Here is a recap of last weekend's action:
Soo Eagles 4, Port Huron Fighting Falcons 3 - Saturday, December 29, 2012 By Scott Nason - EUP News.com
The Soo Eagles built a 4-0 lead against the Port Huron Fighting Falcons on Saturday night, and looked to be cruising, but had to hang on in the end, earning a 4-3 win in front of over 600 fans at Pullar Stadium.
The Eagles have now won six straight and are four point clear of the second place Jamestown Ironmen, who were idle this week, in the North American Hockey League's North Division. The Eagles will complete six-game homestand next Friday and Saturday against the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings.
The Eagles led 1-0 after the first period, on a goal by Michael Covach. The Soo stormed out in the second period with three highlight reel goals. Chris Waterstreet had a pair of goals a mere 16 seconds apart, lifting the Pullar fans to a frenzy with the set up on both goals, and the finish. Mike Sabitini scored earlier in the period and it looked as if the Eagles were on cruise control.
Port Huron's Brett DAndrea scored a goal late in the second period to give the Fighting Falcons some hope heading into the third period. Port Huron would come out on fire as Rick DeRosa and Daniel Rehnstrom netted goals to make the score 4-3, but the Falcons could get no closer.
The Eagles fired 38 shots on Falcons goaltender Max Milosek, while Port Huron had 28 shots on goal, far less than the 44 they put up on Friday.
Soo Eagles 4, Port Huron Fighting Falcons 2 - Friday, December 28, 2012 By Scott Nason - EUP News.com
The Soo Eagles are alone in first place, for the first time this season, in the North American Hockey League's North Division, as Brandon Adams scored a natural hat trick, in his first game as an Eagle, lifting the Eagles to a 4-2 victory over the Port Huron Fighting Falcons, in front of 655 fans at Pullar Stadium on Friday night.
For the third game in a row, the Eagles had to come back from an early deficit, as Kody Polin scored the first goal of the game for the Falcons. Another new Eagle, Pat Thompson, scored his second goal of the season at the 5:32 mark of the first, to tie the game at 1-1.
Port Huron's Easton Powers scored a goal, with 12 second remaining in the first, to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead heading into the break.
It was the Brandon Adams and Tyler Marble show after that. Adams, who played Division 1 hockey at Holy Cross, scored his first goal of the season, at the 13:14 mark of the second period, to tie the game at 2-2. The Eagles then went on a power play, where Adams shot from the point, somehow made its way past Port Huron's net minder, Max Milosek. The Port Huron coaching staff, along with many in the crowd, thought it might have made its way into the net, via a hole on the side of it. After some discussion the goal counted, lifting the Eagles in front, 3-2.
Tyler Marble was stellar in net, once again, for the Eagles, making 42 saves, including a couple of big ones in the final minute. Adams earned his natural hat trick, when he stole the puck at the Falcons blue line, dumping the puck into the empty net.
NAHL North Division midseason report From NAHL.com
Soo Eagles (1st place tie, 23-8-3, 49 pts.) - After a slow start the first-year Eagles have surged as of late. Success with the Eagles so far this season has started with one of the strongest goaltending tandems in the league with veterans Tyler Marble and Zach Nagelvoort. The two are #1 and #2 respectively in the NAHL in save percentage. With that in mind, the Soo have won with defense this season as they have allowed the 3rd fewest goals and have the 2nd best penalty kill in the league. Offensively, the Eagles are no slouch either. Eric Rivard and Jared Van Wormer are tied for the team scoring lead with 36 points each, which ranks tied for 5th in the NAHL and Rivard leads the league in game-winning goals. 16 of Soo's remaining 28 games are at home so the schedule sets up favorably for the second half of the season.
Jamestown Ironmen (2nd place, 21-8-3, 45 pts.) - Head coach Dan Daikawa has a veteran team and it has showed the first half of the season as the Ironmen have been in 1st place in the North Division for the majority of the first half of the season. Luc Gerdes has led the charge offensively, as the 19-year-old leads the team in points with 27 and ranks tied for 2nd in the NAHL with six game-winning goals. The trade with Port Huron for Nico Sierra has worked out well as he has scored 10 points in his 10 games with the team and dman Dylan Zink is in the top five in defensive scoring in the NAHL. Veteran goalie Reid Mimmack will end his NAHL career at the end of December and head to Bemidji State University in the spring, so the majority of the games will fall upon Tim Shaughnessy and Blake Wojtala, who was recently acquired from Odessa. Of their 28 games remaining, 15 of them are on the road.
Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings (3rd place, 20-11-3, 43 pts.) - The Jr. K-Wings have steadily rolled along to 3rd place in the North Division. They are actually a win better at this point this season than they were last season. Forward Robbie Payne is leading the charge again this season with 30 points after accumulating 55 points last season. Luc Boby and Josh Dangel, who both played last season for the St. Louis Bandits, have been excellent additions to the team, as they are in the top four in team scoring. Defenseman Brett Beauvais has been his usual steady and productive self, which has led to an NCAA Division I college commitment to Bemidji State. In goal, Alex Okicki has played the majority of the games and has played very well as of late, not having lost a game in regulation since November 10th. The schedule sets up very favorably for Kalamazoo as they play 12 of their final 15 games at home, but they are currently in the middle of a 10-game road trip.
Johnstown Tomahawks (4th place, 17-9-7, 41 pts.) - For as good as the Tomahawks have been lately, they can take solace in the fact that their record could be even better with the amount of overtime/shootout losses they have had. It is all part of a team that is starting to learn and get better by the game, particularly on the road. In November and early December, the Tomahawks rattled off a stretch of eight wins in nine games, including a successful trip out west. The home crowds have responded and so have the players. The Tomahawks have developed a very balanced scoring attack with 10 players in double digit scoring, led by Cody Gylling's 25 points. Casey Nelson is a former NAHL Defenseman of the Month, who is one the NAHL's top scoring defenseman and forward Andrew McDonald has been a great addition since arriving from Fresno, as he averaging almost a point per game. However, the biggest battle down the stretch may be in goal because both Chris Truehl and Collin Brennan have been worthy of being the #1 goaltender.
Port Huron Fighting Falcons (6th place, 16-17-2, 34 pts.) - As one of only two teams to make a coaching change already this season, the Fighting Falcons are trying to repeat last year's success and have put themselves in pretty good position to do so after the first half. The Falcons got off to a fast start, but struggled in November. However, they have won three of their last four games. They have a seasoned veteran goalie that is playing well in Max Milosek. The offense is a balanced attack with close to a dozen players in double digits in scoring lead by Ian Miller's 20 points and Kody Polin's 10 goals. Defenseman Ryan Nick is leading the blue line core, but the Falcons will have to find the way to fill the shoes of the departed Mark Evan Auk, who was the NAHL Defenseman of the Month back in September. The key for the Fighting Falcons will be playing well on the road as the second half of the season is filled with difficult road games including two series at Soo, two at Janesville and other series in Jamestown and Johnstown.
Springfield Jr. Blues (7th place, 13-21-2, 28 points) - Another one of the younger teams in the league, the Springfield Jr. Blues, have also been searching for consistency. Their peaks and valleys have come in bunches. After winning just one of their first 10 games to start the season, the Jr. Blues rebounded nicely in October and November when they won a stretch of nine of the next 11 games, which included wins against the likes of Port Huron, Topeka and Johnstown. Then they went through another rough stretch in November and early December as they lost seven of their next eight. Forward Brett Skibba is having a career season so far, leading the team with 29 points and a +8 rating. Mike Fazio and Nate Chasteen also have over 20 points and rookie defenseman Alex Baskakov is having a nice season along the blueline. In goal, Matt Leon and Ryan Kellenberger have both played well in stretches, but neither has emerged as the clear #1 starter. The Jr. Blues face a very tough challenge coming off the break with roadtrips to Topeka, Port Huron, Kenai River and Fairbanks in a five-week stretch. If they can survive that and play well, the playoffs are a distinctive possibility.
Michigan Warriors (8th place, 10-18-5, 25 pts.) - The Warriors, who were a Robertson Cup finalist in 2011, were plagued by a slow start to begin the season, winning just three of their first 18 games. They picked it up with five wins in nine games in November and December, but are still trying to find consistency and offensive production. If the Warriors are to make a run for the top six in the North, their scoring has to pick up and their power play has to produce. They average the second fewest goals scored per game and their power play ranks last in the NAHL. Most of the production to date has come from the forwards, with the exception being from Western Michigan recruit Corey Schueneman along the blueline. Up front, Martin Gruse and Zack Szajner lead the way, but the Warriors do not have a player who has scored in double digit goals yet this season. Connor Lyons leads the team in goals with eight. In goal, Trevor Gorsuch has played the majority of minutes and Dillon Kelley, who came from Corpus Christi, has played solid as of late. The Warriors do have a manageable schedule the remainder of the season, but their final six games are all on the road, so the wins need to come right away in order to get back into the playoff race.
Upcoming Eagles games
Friday, January 4th, vs Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings - 7:30 pm (Pullar Stadium)
Saturday, January 5th, vs Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings - 3:00 pm (Pullar Stadium)
Friday, January 11th at Jamestown Ironmen - 7:00 pm (Jamestown)
Saturday, January 12th at Jamestown Ironmen - 5:00 pm (Jamestown)
Sunday, January 13th at Johnstown Tomahawks - 1:00 pm (War Memorial)
Friday, January 25th, vs Jametown Ironmen - 7:30 pm (Pullar Stadium)
Saturday, January 26th vs Jamestown Ironment - 7:30 pm (Pullar Stadium)
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North American Hockey League Stories from January 4, 2013
- D'Arrisso Scores Two, Rays' Respond with 6-4 Victory - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Late Push Costs Kalamazoo - Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings
- Bobcats Host Blizzard in Tightening Central Chase - Bismarck Bobcats
- Jets Brock Kautz, Ruslan Pedan and Zach Diamantoni Earn NAHL Notice - Janesville Jets
- NAHL Announces Monthly Player Awards for December - NAHL
- Tomahawks Charity Classic Tickets Sell out in 7 Minutes - Johnstown Tomahawks
- Soo Eagles Weekly Update - Soo Eagles
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