Good Friday The 13th for both Battle teams

November 14, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

It’s Friday The 13th. Unveils Jason hockey mask which I actually wore for our little Halloween get together at Balz’ a couple of weeks ago. All joking aside, at least it went well for both Battle teams tonight with the Islanders and Sabres each prevailing, coincidentally needing to go past regulation for the required two points.

The Isles went back over .500 with a 4-3 overtime win over hapless Carolina, who now have dropped 14 in a row. They haven’t won since Oct.9. Eek. Yet they fought back from three down tying Scott Gordon’s club after they’d jumped all over the Canes with a three-spot early on. But the Islanders showed mettle with not even H1M1 preventing Kyle Okposo from being the OT hero.

Meanwhile up in Western New York, a predictable defensive battle between the Flames and Sabres saw each star netminder shine, taking it to a shootout. Both Miikka Kiprusoff (32 saves) and Ryan Miller (25 saves) were stellar but in the end, Miller made one more stop in the skill comp backstopping Buffalo to the 2-1 ‘W,’ making Jason Pominville’s five-hole target shot in Round Four stand up.

We caught some of both games leaning a bit more to Flames-Sabres due to the low score. Both clubs exchanged goals in the first with Daymond Langkow tallying 64 seconds in and Derek Roy coming back 16:50 later on the power play, backhanding home a loose rebound for his fourth in five games. Remarkably, despite firing 18 of 23 shots in the stanza, it was the only marker Buffalo got on Kipper, who turned aside the other 17 to keep his team all square. That included a late stone job on a rushing Roy as time wound down.

In the second, Miller was equally good with his team in the box a lot, allowing Calgary to hold a 12-3 SOG edge along with a territorial advantage. During the first half, the Sabres handed the Flames three straight power plays but their PK was outstanding along with Miller keeping their Northwestern Canadian opponent at bay.

The game didn’t lack edge with Adam Mair and Brandon Prust going in the first and Patrick Kaleta coming to a teammate’s aid when Flame captain Jarome Iginla was on top of him. Those were the kind of battles all night, typifying how feisty both clubs are and why there’s much to respect about each. Late in the second, Paul Gaustad and Dion Phaneuf got into a quick scrap with neither able to get loose.

As we flipped to the conclusion of Isles-Canes which saw a seeing eye Tim Gleason shot get past ex-Sabre Martin Biron that tied it with 2:31 left in regulation, Buffalo and Calgary turned up the intensity in a defensive oriented third that saw them split a dozen shots with neither budging.

Meanwhile, in Raleigh, the Isles nearly broke the Canes’ hearts when Okposo somehow got off a shot with a man draped all over him. The puck squeezed through Manny Legace but Matt Moulson couldn’t backhand it home with a Cane defender doing just enough to keep it out as the buzzer sounded. It would require four-on-four and wouldn’t lack drama as both teams went for it. The Canes’ best chance to finally get in the win column came with under a minute left when Tuomu Ruutu won a battle behind the Islander net and then fed trailer Bryan Rodney for what looked like a gimme. Instead, a last second block kept it out, allowing the Islanders to go the other way. With it headed for a shootout, Rodney made the mistake of making a cross-ice pass in his end right to Okposo, who cut in and managed to get his shot off with a sprawling Joni Pitkanen close to getting in the path. However, he did pull the trigger wiring the shot past Legace for a thrilling Isles win, which Howie Rose emphatically and accurately declared:

“This is much better than a shootout!“

Way to go! Might this have had something to do with the 11 Round heartache to the Caps the other night with Chris Clark winning it? Probably. But again, Mr. Rose is correct. Way too many of these tightly contested games are decided by street hockey. This was a more exciting finish to an unpredictable game. One other thing we learned is that despite how brutal their team is, Hurricane fans rock. Either that or they don’t check the standings. Kudos to them for supporting their team even in trying times. Go figure on Friday The 13th!

As for the Flames/Sabres finish, just the first shift of OT alone was better than the entire third in which each team played not to lose. Something we see far too much of in a league that claims it’s better than ever. Right. That’s why teams take away the neutral zone and are sitting back again just like they did pre-lockout. Conversely, things opened up during four-on-four with each trading chances. Buffalo got a power play on a weak trip call on Olli Jokinen. The kind this league warrants while players continue to cheapshot each other in a lack of disrespect, causing injuries. But the home club couldn’t beat Kiprusoff, who repelled all six shots he saw in the extra session, including a cool Tim Connolly spin-a-rama.

The game went to the SO and in it, Roy got things started in Round Two with a beautiful forehand deke top shelf, earning the traditional Rick Jeanneret-ism:

“Top shelf! Where Mama hides the cookies!!!!!“

No doubt the legendary Sabres play-by-play man had that one clipped and ready to go. But before the round was over, Jokinen leveled it with a nifty backhand deke five-hole on Miller. After Tyler Myers forehand deke slipped off his stick, Iginla had a chance to win it but an aggressive Miller denied his forehand bid. Finally, Pominville came up and right away, we could tell his intention as he lined up the puck and released quickly thru Kipper’s wickets giving Buffalo the lead once more. This time, it held up when an aggressive Miller calmly blocked away Rene Bourque’s shot from in tight, giving a pumped up Sabre club triumph.

All in all, a great night for both Battle teams, who delivered even if Jason was watching nearby.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-John Tavares, NYI (2 goals-6, 7, 2 SOG, +1 in 17:27)

2nd Star-Ryan Miller, Buf (25 saves incl.last 21, plus 3/4 shooters)

1st Star-Kyle Okposo, NYI (OT winner plus assist, 2 SOG, +1 in 21:22 in return)