League News
After a two week shutdown following a surge of hockey related COVID-19 cases in the state, the DCEHL resumed play on Monday, November 2nd with a full slate of four games. The games were a series of Northern Division versus Southern Division matchups, with teams on the top playing against teams near the bottom.
What was the theme for the night? Goals, goals, and more goals. That’s right, three of the four games played were decided by four or more goals, with only one game resulting in a stalemate after the dust settled.
Let’s have a look back at the action!
PowerPro Electric vs Black Knights - Game Summary
The evening kicked off with a game between PowerPro Electric (4-2-0-0) and the Black Knights (2-4-0-0); one team who’s been on fire this fall, and one still trying to find their stride. Green would open the scoring pretty quickly in the 1st period at the 9:11 mark when Forward Dennis Pelletier found the back of the net assisted by D-man Chris Eckelman. They would score again late in the period when Pelletier scored his second of the game, this time with a helper from Forward Mike Edgecomb. Black would finally answer back with just over a minute left courtesy of Forward Greg Allen, but Green would have the last word when Forward Joe Kewley would punch one in with a second left on the clock.
The second period would see Green extend their lead with another trifecta of goals; the first from Forward Em Bisson, a second from Pelletier (hat trick), and a third from Edgecomb, pretty much putting the game out of reach. They’d successfully kill off a penalty, keeping Black from gaining any momentum.
When the third rolled around, the game was pretty much academic. Green Forward Mike Jaworski would score the seventh and final goal for the PowerPro crew, they’d kill off another penalty, and roll right along to a commanding 7-1 final.
Red Army vs Purple Pain - Game Summary
Following the thorough shellacking taken by Black, game two saw another blow-out game between perennial rivals the Red Army (3-3-0-0) and the Purple Pain (4-0-1-1). Purple would be the ones to draw first blood, with a goal about a minute into the game from Forward Matt McColley, assisted by Defenceman Karl Morgan and Forward Kevin Dalton. Their tally would open the flood-gates, seeing three more goals before the period closed.
Purple would continue to pour it on in the second. They would pepper Red goalie Chris Childress, and ultimately find the back of the net four more times. One of the four goals would be a power play goal by Forward Todd Shaffer. Red would kill off a second penalty, but by the time the period came to a close, Purple would have seven players with a goal and several with multiple points on the night.
It wouldn’t be until just past the mid-way point of the third when Red would find the scoring touch. Forward Mike Sinkewich would score the team’s only two goals of the game a few minutes apart, but the deficit would be too much to overcome. When the final buzzer sounded, Purple would secure a commanding 8-2 victory.
NHMS vs Blue Roosters - Game Summary
Game three would finally bring us the night’s most even contest, pitting NHMS (1-4-1-0) against the Blue Roosters (3-1-2-0). The first period would see both teams trading goals. Blue would find the back of the net first, when Forward Scott MacDonald would bury a feed from Forward Adam Holmes. White would answer back with a goal of their own from Captain Jeff Cole, unassisted with 4:32 left in the period. Neither team would score again though, sending both teams to the room tied 1-1.
The second period would be a quiet one with either team able to break through the other goalie’s defenses. Both teams were putting up a strong defense, and also keeping their players out of the penalty box. The period would end scoreless, setting up a potentially exciting finish; it was anyone’s game to win!
White would come out of the gates in the third period and score just a few minutes in, courtesy of Forward Jordan Ferguson, giving them a 2-1 lead. They would only stay ahead for a few minutes though, as Blue would answer back. Holmes would record his first goal of the night (and second point), tying the game 2-2. That would be the end of the scoring for both teams though.
Neither team would break through in the shootout, both team’s shooters going 0-3, and leaving this game in a 2-2 tie.
Dover Gold vs Grey Squirrels - Game Summary
The fourth and final game of the night see Dover Gold (1-3-0-2) clashing with last season’s Cinderella story, the Grey Squirrels (4-2-0-0). Around the 8 minute mark of the first period, Gold Forward John Hall would find his scoring touch with an assist from Forward Sam Raynor. That would be the only goal of the period until around the 2 minute mark when Raynor would score a goal of his own, giving Gold a 2-0 lead going into the second.
Grey would continue to struggle to find their offensive touch, but Gold would strike again. Gold rookie, Forward Zach Annis, would score the first goal of his DCEHL career. But clearly, one goal wasn’t enough, because with just under a minute to go, Annis would strike again! His second tally, assisted by Colleen Lynch, would give Gold a commanding 4-0 lead.
The remaining 13 minutes of the game wouldn’t see a change of fortune for Grey, unfortunately. The game would end with a 4-0 final score, giving goalie Ryan Gionet his first shutout of the season, and the Gold team two points and their first win of the fall campaign.