Soo Eagles Weekly Update
February 15, 2013 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Soo Eagles News Release
Eagles take on Fighting Falcons at Pullar Stadium TONIGHT!
The Soo Eagles will look to remain in first-place in the North American Hockey League's North Division, as they will take on the Port Huron Fighting Falcons, for a pair of games this Friday and Saturday at Pullar Stadium. Game times are 7:30 p.m. both nights, and if you can't make the games, you can catch all the action on fasthockey.com.
The Eagles currently lead the North Division by two points over the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings, and six points over the Jamestown Ironmen. Port Huron sits in 5th place with 49 points, 17 behind the first-place Eagles.
These teams have met four times this season, with the Eagles holding a 3-0-1 advantage, including winning a pair of games at the Pullar back in December. These teams will meet one more time during the regular season, March 15-16 in Port Huron.
The Fighting Falcons are led in scoring by Rick DeRose who has 10 goals and 20 assists on the season, good for 30 points. Forward Ian Miller has 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points, and Nick Horne 11-10-21.
Goaltender Max Milosek gets the majority of work for Port Huron and is 17-14-1 on the season with a 2.73 goals against average and a save percentage of .915.
Port Huron's Ian Miller is a Lake Superior State University college commitment, so fans in Sault Ste. Marie will see two future Lakers on the ice, including Eagles net minder, Tyler Marble. Defenseman Ryan Nick and forward Kyle Plageman will be playing college hockey at Army.
The Eagles are led in scoring by Jared VanWomer, who has 17 goals and 36 assists, good for 53 points. VanWormer also leads the team in the plus/minus rating, with a +25. Eric Rivard has 22 goals and 30 assists, for 52 points, and Alexander Taulien 14-23-37.
Eagles goaltender Tyler Marble is 22-6-3 this season, with a goals against average of 2.25 and a save percentage of .941.
Eagles split against Ironmen at Pullar Stadium The Soo Eagles split a series last weekend, against the Jamestown Ironmen at Pullar Stadium. They lead the NAHL's North Division by two points over the charging Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings, and six points over the Ironmen.
Soo Eagles 5, Jamestown Ironmen 1 - February 9, 2013
After a tough loss on Friday night to the Jamestown Ironmen, the Soo Eagles responded, as they have seemed to do all season after a loss, and increased their lead to four points in the NAHL's North Division, with a 5-1 victory on Saturday night, at Pullar Stadium, in front of 649 fans. The Eagles exploded for three 3rd period goals, including two of the empty net variety. The teams traded goals in the 1st period as Eric Rivard lit the lamp for Soo and Luc Gerdes scored for Jamestown. Chris Waterstreet gave Soo the lead for good in the 2nd period and followed it up with another goal in the 3rd period. Jared Van Wormer and Michael Crowley also had goals in the Eagles win. Tyler Marble was outstanding, between the pipes for the Eagles, and made 46 saves in earning the victory. The Eagles lead second-place Kalamazoo, by two points, and Jamestown by six points in the North Division. The Eagles won the season series against the Ironmen, 6 games to 2. They still have two games left against the Jr. K-Wings in Kalamazoo the first weekend in March, and a game in hand on the K-Wings. You can see the box score here.
Jamestown Ironmen 3, Soo Eagles 2, - February 8, 2013
Jamestown defenseman Aaron Scheppelman's goal with :04 seconds remaining in the game was the difference, as the Ironmen inched to within four points of 1st place Soo with a 3-2 win on Friday night. Joe Ballmer made 42 saves in his return to the Jamestown line-up. Daniel Cesarz gave Jamestown a 1-0 lead in the 2nd period, which was answered by two goals form Chris Waterstreet and Sean Murphy for the Eagles. Dylan Zink tied the game late in the 3rd before Scheppelman's heroics. You can see the box score here.
Scribbles from the snowy Soo By Randy Russon - Miki Media
If you don't like snow, then you probably shouldn't live in a cold-weather outpost. Snow -- like junior hockey -- is a mainstay for months of wintery weather that residents of the nippy north live by.
Methinks the style of play in the North American Hockey League is just as fast, furious and appealing as what the Ontario Hockey League has to offer.
I have taken in a significant number of NAHL games this season and the skill level and end-to-end action has been eye-popping. To be sure, one or two of the games I have watched have been clunkers but hiccups happen in every league, even the pro ranks.
I watched the Soo Eagles play host to the Jamestown Ironmen on Saturday night in a thriller of a contest. The Eagles won 5-1 but three of the goals came with less than five minutes to play in the third period, including two empty-netters.
North American Hockey League Stories from February 15, 2013
- Balanced Attack Helps Nelson, Bobcats Blank Wings - Bismarck Bobcats
- Wild win at Johnstown - Wenatchee Wild
- Ironmen Dominate in Victory - Jamestown Ironmen
- Soo Eagles Weekly Update - Soo Eagles
- Young Eagle Fans Can Skate with the Team - Soo Eagles
- Scribbles from the Snowy Soo - Soo Eagles
- Blizzard Gear up for Top Prospects - Brookings Blizzard
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
