Blizzard 5 - Stampeders 3

The Blizzard pick up four points on a big road trip with a depleted lineup. Tonight's match was a gutty road win coming from behind in the third period with three players playing under the weather (Elmes, Chief, Kavanaugh).

Jack Petrino got the Blizzard off to a quick start just 1:07 into the first period after solid work to get past two defenders and slide the puck between the legs of Swan goaltender Landon Noel. After a bit of an off night last night both Petrino and Valiquette returned to their normal fine form tonight.

The Stampeders would tie things up later in the first as Eisenberg put the puck past Justin McDonald at the 13:51 mark.

The Blizzard who normally play a high octane offensive game slowed things down for the first two periods today, trapping and clogging up the neutral zone. With lots of youth in the lineup tonight and some players skating under the weather the Blizzard simplified their game.

The Stampeders led on the shot clock 9-4 after the first period.

Jagger Thomas put the Stamps up for the first time in the game just 2:36 into the second period. The Blizzard would pour on the shots in the second period outshooting Swan Valley 15-13 in the second frame.

With four minutes left in the second period Thomas Ward-Cardinal would chase down a Wilson Dumais rebound and wire it home off a terrible angle for his tenth goal of the season tying the game at 2-2.

Just two minutes later however Swan would answer back with a Kyle Smart marker.

The turning point in the game was a Tyler Grove scrap with Landon Hiebert. Grove who gave up a few inches and pounds in the tilt took a good right hand hook to the chin after just one punch. The Selkirk kid stood in there and answered back with a flurry of left handed shots in a tilt that most people in the crowd thought was just one Hiebert punch away from being over. Grove knocked Hiebert down and the Stampeders D-Man went down hard and re-injured his left shoulder and would not return to the game.

The momentum would carry the Blizzard the rest of the way even though they would enter the third period down a goal.

OCN would surge back from their 3-2 deficit after 40 minutes.

6:39 in Thomas Ward-Cardinal took a pass from Elmes at the point, walked in a few feet to the top of the circle, faked a shot and found a trailing Kirk Chief on the far dot who cranked home his second goal of the season into an empty cage. Ward-Cardinal’s pass was a masterpiece through legs and sticks. It was the first assist of his that put his trade mark vision on display since his return from injury.

Wilson Dumais would score his tenth of the season off a turnaround shot from the far dot, bar down on Landon Noel who also made some spectacular saves (see: Bayer, Edward). That goal would give OCN the lead for good with under five minutes left in the third.

Justin Waskewitch would add an empty netter for his fourth goal in as many games with the OCN Blizzard.

The Blizzard big guns were present tonight. Ward-Cardinal picked up a goal and an assist, Dumais had a goal and two assists, Tagoona had two helpers, Cochrane had two assists, Justin McDonald shut the door and Josh Elmes was great even though he’s battling the flu. 

Camacho Lathlin (2A) and Bryce MacInnis (who threw a thunderous snot flying check last night) also had very strong games tonight.

The Blizzard move to 22-8-3 on the season, 47 points and a .712 Winning %.

Garick Gray and TJ Constant are expected to make their return this weekend as Winnipeg and Winkler both swing North.

The Blizzard played without five regulars tonight; Baptiste, TJ Constant, Gray, Bruyere and Cardinal.

All of them are expected to play this weekend with the exception of Baptiste.

Tagoona looked great, he’ll be a fan favourite in no time, big kid, loves to hit, strong on the boards and is just a horse on the puck.

Now that Waskewitch has found his game it’ll be exciting to see him go head to head with the supremely skilled players on Winnipeg.

Bryson Constant did very well in a call up role, didn’t look out of place and made no errors. Couldn’t ask for anything more from Bubba (if anyone knows how he got that nickname leave a comment).

Pitre Tire 3 Stars:

1. Wilson Dumais (1G, 2A)

2. Roger Tagoona (2A)

3. Ralph Cochrane (2A)

Northern Building Supply Hardest Working Player:

Josh Elmes/ Tim Kavanaugh/ Kirk Chief -- three way tie tonight as those three players battled through the flu tonight and played exceptionally well.

The Blizzard host Winnipeg on Saturday and Winkler on Sunday.

That’s it for tonight!

-Brad-

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

OCN Blizzard at 1:07 - Jack Petrino from Grant Valiquette and Roger Tagoona

Swan Valley Stampeders at 13:51 - Mitchell Eisenberg from Colton Magwood and Nathan Armstrong

PERIOD 2

Swan Valley Stampeders at 2:36 - Jagger Thomas from Mitchell Eisenberg

OCN Blizzard at 16:00 - Thomas Ward-Cardinal from Wilson Dumais and Camacho Lathlin

Swan Valley Stampeders at 18:07 - Kyle Smart from Garrett Johnston and Colin Baudry

PERIOD 3

OCN Blizzard at 6:39 - Kirk Chief from Thomas Ward-Cardinal and Camacho Lathlin

OCN Blizzard at 15:10 - Wilson Dumais from Ralph Cochrane and Roger Tagoona

OCN Blizzard at 19:20 - Justin Waskewitch from Wilson Dumais and Ralph Cochrane

Lineup vs Swan Valley

Here is tonight's lineup vs Swan.

Goal

McDonald - Starter
Henry - Backup

Defense

Elmes / Ward-Cardinal
Robak / Cochrane
Bryson Constant / Kavanaugh

Forwards

Grove / Bayer / Waskewitch
Dumais / Valiquette / Petrino
Brady Constant/ Chief / Tagoona
MacInnis / Lathlin

Scratched: None
Sick: Bruyere, Cardinal, Kavanaugh (game time)
Injured: TJ Constant, Gray, Baptiste

* Tim Kavanaugh is a game time decision tonight due to sickness.

Here are the Stampeders dressed for tonight.

2- Froese
4- Hiebert
5- Enns
6- Peel
8- Johnston
9- Baudry
11- Reimer
14- Olson
16- Thomas
17- Eisenberg
18- Smart
19- Magwood
20- Hykaway
21- Valentino
23- Avery
24- Flanagan
25- MacDonald
39- Horecka

G- 35 - Noel
29- Armstrong

Scratched:

Favell - Injured
Howe
Sigurdson

Blizzard @ Stampeders Preview

It's another big four point match up for the OCN Blizzard (21-8-3) tonight.

The Stampeders (18-8-2) are coming off a big come from behind shootout win over the Dauphin Kings, the Stamps were down 2-0 and would win 3-2 in Dauphin.

Swan Valley has now won 4 games in a row and sit at 38 points on the season, two back of Dauphin and seven back of OCN.

Dylan Reimer and Richard Olson lead the Stampeders offensively with 32 and 30 points respectively.

The Stampeders power play is ranked fifth in the MJHL (21.64%). OCN's power play is slowly creeping upwards after scoring another marker with the man advantage last night the Blizzard power play is still last in the league at 15.87%.

OCN gave up a power play goal last night to Zane Morin but still hold the leagues top PK unit at 84.12%. Meanwhile Swan Valley isn't far behind, 3rd at 81.36%.

After tonight's match up the Blizzard only have nine road games left on the season.

The rough start to the season with all those road games can pay dividends if the Blizzard can play solid hockey at the GLMC.

Puck drop at 7:30 - Pre game at 7:15 on the air.

About Last Night... Blizzard 5 - Stampeders 6 OT

Here is your full recap of last night's game.

The Blizzard got off to a slow start to last night's game in Swan, and were never able to fully recover.

BJ Avery put the Stampeders ahead ten minutes into the first as the Stampeders would come out of the gate firing in the first ten minutes, Alex Henry kept the Blizzard in the game.

Henry congratulating his team after Bayer's goal

Edward Bayer would get his second of the season with 3:95 seconds left in the first frame.

Shots after the first period were 14-9 in favour of Swan Valley.

OCN would take the lead for the first time just 23 seconds into the second period courtesy of a Kolton Baptiste marker.

Richard Olson would respond for the Stampeders just minutes later, his first of three on the night 3:45 into the second frame.

Thomas Ward-Cardinal was getting heckled by Swan fans behind the OCN bench and on his very next shift went out and scored after sneaking in from the point and firing home a Darien Cardinal pass on the ice beating Landon Noel 8:38 into the second.

The Stampeders would erase OCN's 3-2 lead quickly with goals from Mitchell Eisenberg at the 9:57 mark and another by Colin Baudry at 11:52. Swan Valley would carry that 4-3 lead into the third period while holding the edge on the shot clock again in that second frame by a wide margin of 23-12 for a total of 37-21 after 40 minutes.

In the third the Stampeders would take a 5-3 lead courtesy of Richard Olson's second marker of the night at the 6:28 mark.

The Blizzard would get their Mojo going a few minutes later on the powerplay as Justin Waskewitch displayed some brilliant hands in moving the puck around on the PP. He would eventually score short side on Landon Noel to pull the Blizzard within one at the 9:07 mark.

His childhood friend Thomas Ward-Cardinal would get his second goal of the night and his ninth on the season would tie things up for OCN at 17:23.

Brady Constant and Blizzard getting ready for OT

OCN would carry the momentum into the overtime frame, but Richard Olson would get the winner just 2:53 in on a back door pass by Landon Peel.

Final score 6-5 for Swan Valley, shots on goal 47-30 in favour of the Stampeders.

The Blizzard defence was scrambling all night, that led to confusion on the break outs among the forwards and awkard offensive zone entries on the other end of the ice.

The flow was not there for the Blizzard last night, they also lost Kolton Baptiste to what seems to be a high ankle sprain although I'm still waiting on an official word.

Roger Tagoona will be in the lineup tomorrow night in Waywayseecappo, while Garick Gray could make his return this weekend. Help is on the way, the Blizzard are missing an entire line of top six forwards.

It will certainly help, but the defensive structure needs to improve, the coaching staff will have to put in some audible systems for when things don't work.

You have to try and play your game at first, but if it doesn't work there's not point in running into the wall and continuing to play the same systems, adjustments are a part of hockey.

The Blizzard are in Waywayseecappo on Tuesday and Swan Valley on Wednesday, both games will be broadcast.

Here are Mollard's thoughts on last night's game.

Jim Mollard Post Game - December 2nd 6-5 OT Loss to Swan by Bradley Karp on Mixcloud

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

Swan  10:17 - B.J. Avery from Peter Horecka and Bryce Enns

OCN  16:05 - Edward Bayer from Tyler Grove and Wilson Dumais

PERIOD 2

OCN  0:23 - Kolton Baptiste from Darien Cardinal

Swan  3:45 - Richard Olson from Riley Hiebert

OCN  8:38 - Thomas Ward-Cardinal from Darien Cardinal

Swan  9:57 - Mitchell Eisenberg from Garrett Johnston and Max Flanagan

Swan  11:52 - Colin Baudry from Kyle Smart and Brayden MacDonald

PERIOD 3

Swan V 6:28 - Richard Olson from Dylan Reimer and Justin Valentino

OCN  9:07 (PP) - Justin Waskewitch from Nathan Bruyere

OCN  17:23 - Thomas Ward-Cardinal from Tyler Grove and Justin Waskewitch

OVERTIME PERIOD 1

Swan  2:53 - Richard Olson from Justin Valentino and Landon Peel

Blizzard 5 - Stampeders 6 OT

The Blizzard fall to a divisional rival chasing them in the standings for the second game in a row.  The Stampeders had 47 shots on Alex Henry including 23 in the second frame alone.

Too many shots against, too many scoring chances and too many turnovers killed the Blizzard tonight.

Justin Waskewitch looked much better, Thomas Ward-Cardinal had another 2 points night.

Richard Olson picked up the hat trick with his new team including the game winner in overtime as Landon Peel slid the puck back door to Olson who simply had to tap it into the open cage.

Just a lite recap for tonight, more tomorrow.

-Brad-

Blizzard @ Stampeders - Preview

It's another big contest against a division rival tonight as the OCN Blizzard (20-8-2) will travel to visit the Swan Valley Stampeders (16-8-2).

The Blizzard dropped the ball in the third period on Friday and blew a two goal lead to Dauphin. Tonight they'll look to get back in the win column and take a 3-2 lead in the season series against Swan.

The Stampeders have made some moves to improve their club over the last few weeks and are gunning for a run at the league championship just like OCN and Dauphin.

The Stamps sent Briscoe to Neepawa for a list player and also picked up Richard Olson for three list players. Olson is one of the leading goal scorers in the MJHL.

Justin Waskewitch will play in his second game with the OCN Blizzard tonight, Roger Tagoona watches from the stands for the last time as he will be ready to go on Tuesday in Waywayseecappo.

On special teams the Blizzard powerplay is slowly improving but is still last in the MJHL at an even 15.00%, while Swan is fourth in the league clicking at 22.66%.

On the PK side the Blizzard are still first (83.95%) but Swan is not far behind at 82.14%. Special teams advantage tonight certainly goes to the Stampeders.

The leading scorers for both teams tonight have 31 points in 26 games. For the Stampeders Dylan Reimer has 16G, 15A, while for OCN Tyler Grove has 14G, 17A.

Friday night's game was the 30th of the season for OCN, officially the halfway mark of the year.

Last season in 61 games the Blizzard had a record of 31-30 and 69 points on the season. At this pace playing one game less they would finish the season with 41 wins and 82 point calculated at a .700% winning percentage.

I hope to have a larger mid-season article up later this week.

Game tonight will not be on the radio, back on the air Tuesday and Wednesday from Waywayseecappo and Swan respectively.

-Brad-

Stampeders Sanctioned for Playing With 26 Carded Players

The Swan Valley Stampeders have received a "severe sanction" in the words of MJHL Commissioner Kim Davis for what could be called an illegal roster.

The Stampeders played 10 games between the dates of October 25th to November 13th with 26 carded players which by some could be considered a severe roster violation. MJHL teams can only carry 25 carded players at this point of the season.

The Stampeders went 6-4 during that span beating the OCN Blizzard twice along with the Virden Oil Capitals, Winkler Flyers, Portage Terriers, and the Neepawa Natives.

In some Jr.A leagues that infraction of league rules would result in an automatic loss of points along with possible supplemental sanctions such as a $500 fine.

According to Davis, in the MJHL there is no set punishment for carrying more players than allowed by the league, so in essence the sanction is up to Davis' discretion.

Davis confirmed there would be no loss of points or changes to the standings as a result of the infraction.

Davis said the Stampeders have been sanctioned monetarily along with a sanction affecting their roster abilities for the rest of the season.

An anonymous source says the Stampeders have been fined $1,000 and lost 2 of their 45 player cards for the season (each team can only have 25 players carded at a time until December 1st when the number drops to 23, but can burn through 45 in a season.)

It seems that the Stampeders are lucky they don't play in the "other" leagues that would have taken away points for that infraction as they would move from 30 points on the season to 18.

The OCN Blizzard would have seen their numbers improve to 20-5-1 good for 41 points. The Stamps would then be second last in the Sher-Wood division with a record of 8-14-2 , only four points up on Neepawa who would gain two points.

Other teams that would gain two points are Winkler, Virden and Portage. Putting them at 20, 27, and 23 points on the season respectively.

Davis was willing to answer questions over the phone but did not want to record a statement.

** Note: I did have to readjust some numbers that were typo's. To be clear the Stampeders had 26 carded players, only allowed 25. Clearly this error justifies my crappy radio salary!**

Grove Named Player of The Week

Tyler Grove is being recognized for his strong work of late.

Here's the release from the MJHL site:

Tyler Grove of the OCN Blizzard has been named the MJHL Player of the Week, ending November 18.

The veteran forward recorded nine points (6-3) over a four game span for the Blizzard who sit first in the Sher-Wood Division. Grove, 19, hails from Selkirk.

The runners up are 20 year old goaltender Landon Noel of the Swan Valley Stampeders and 16 year old goaltender Ty Edmonds of the Virden Oil Capitals.

Dumais Runner Up for POW

Wilson Dumais played the three best games I've seen him play so far and he's been rewarded.

Dumais hasn't taken a penalty in his last three games and the increase in his impact on the game since then has been immeasurable.

Dumais has 2 goals and 5 assists in his last three games, all of them wins for the OCN Blizzard.

The winner was Swan Valley's defender Garrett Johnston and the other runner up was Selkirk's Justin Derlago.

Halloween Horror - OCN 3 - Swan 6

You know that scene in the exorcist from the extended cut... yeah this one.






That's kind of how things went tonight for the Blizzard.

When Gray, Valiquette, and Cardinal were on the ice the Blizzard controlled the play.

The fourth line played a solid game as well with extended periods of pressure deep in the Swan zone.

Petrino played well again, dazzling hands and quick release on the Blizzard's first goal. That Baptiste trade looks pretty sweet right now.

Elmes, Cochrane and Bruyere had solid night on defense.

I think the rest of the team was too busy riding along on the exorcists body down those stairs.

Too many passengers tonight.

The Blizz D gave up too many odd man rushes, and two breakaways they were lucky that Henry was there for those.

Henry didn't have his strongest game of the season either, but it happens. He's a good goalie none the less.

On the other side the Stampeders did a good job of staying out of the box and taking advantage on the power play.

Two goals from the point on the PP - that's how it happens.

The Stampeders got under OCN's skin and that's become the scouting report, it's too easy to goad the Blizzard into taking useless penalties.

Wilson Dumais spent more time in the box than he did on the ice.

Although there were a few questionable calls, like TJ Constants so called hit to the head, that was pure shoulder to chest, same on Wilson Dumais hit that they called late. He finished his check, plain and simple.

TJ looks a little slow out there, it will take him a few more games to get back into game shape.

Landon Noel looked better tonight I thought. Still not unbeatable but the Blizzard just couldn't get to his rebounds. Swan did a good job of boxing out the Blizzard garbage hunters and got to the puck first.

The Blizzard controlled the play for the first two periods. It was a great hockey game through 40 minutes, probably the best 2 periods of hockey I've seen all season.

The third was a different story. Things just sort of fell apart.

The Blizzard set the tone right from puck drop with Fontaine tapping Valentino's shins at jawing him at the opening draw, he then went and knocked Riley Hiebert out of the game with a clean hit behind the Swan goal.

Parker Sharp nailed Sam Briscoe a few minutes later simultaneously giving him a whack in the knee which sent him off for the rest of the game.

The Blizzard had a tremendous physical presence in the first and controlled the play, then the penalties started and it all went down hill.

OCN's top guys like TJ Constant, and Wilson Dumais can't be spending 10 minutes in the box each per game. Just kills the team.

The loss of Grove for the past two games has hurt the penalty kill, as has the loss of Santorelli and Thomas Ward-Cardinal.

I spoke with Clay DeBray after the game, here are his thoughts...




Hope you all had a safe halloween, should there be any candy you don't want feel free to drop it off at the radio station on 3rd street!

-Brad-

Lineup vs Swan Valley

Tonight's lineup.

Goaltenders:

Alex Henry - Starter
Justin McDonald - Backup

Defense:

Elmes / Dusik
Bruyere / Cochrane
Robak / Kavanaugh

Forwards:

Dumais / TJ Constant / Petrino
Cardinal / Valiquette / Gray
B. Constant / Cameron / Sharp
Fontaine / Lathlin / Swampy

Scratches:

MacInnis
Bayer
Santorelli - Injured
Thomas Ward-Cardinal - Injured
Grove - Injured

Wayne Hawrysh takes a familiar spot behind the bench again tonight filling in as Mollard serves his suspension. Wayne tells me this is his 38th year involved with the MJHL. Hawrysh started with the Dauphin Kings in the 70's.

Game Day Preview: Blizzard vs Swan Valley

Round 4 of 8.

The first two rounds scored 5-3, 3-0 in OCN's favour, the third the Stampeders jumped out hard from their corner to score a 6-3.

Round 4 goes tonight at the GLMC and the Blizzard will have the advantage of playing at home.

The last time these two teams met was on Saturday, Swan won 6-3 at home in a chippy, sloppy hockey game.

Neither team played exceptionally well, many turnovers, broken plays etc...

TJ Constant and Colton Magwood fought off the opening draws. Two other fights took place in that game.

Blizzard players and staff felt Magwood was taking runs at OCN's players and was unwilling to answer the Blizzard players challenge to a fight after his original tilt as he had his wrist wrapped up.

The Blizzard are going to look to set the tone and avenge what they felt happened in Swan last weekend right from the opening faceoff.

Tonight should be a very entertaining affair. For OCN they need to take care of things in the first minute or two of the game then get back to their skating and skilled game, that's how they win.

All the Blizzard players who were suspended for Saturday's game in Swan are allowed to play tonight, that means Lathlin, Kavanaugh, Cameron and Brady Constant are eligible.

How They Matchup:

Record:

OCN: 12-4-1 / 25pts
SWAN: 8-5-1 / 17pts

Goals For:

OCN: 57
SWAN: 52


Goals Against:

OCN: 42
SWAN: 50

Goal Differential:

OCN:  +15
SWAN: +2

Power Play:

OCN:  6/67 - 8.96% (11th)
SWAN: 11/67 - 16.42% (8th)

Penalty Kill:

OCN: 85/98 - 86.73% (1st)
SWAN: 73/82 - 85.48% (3rd)

Top Scorer:

OCN: Tyler Grove (6G, 10A, 17GP)
SWAN: Dylan Reimer (9G, 8A, 14GP)

The Stampeders have a new/old face with the team. TJ Fairall has returned to the club and played his first game last night with the Stamps, Fairall was held off the score sheet. Fairall will add some punch to the Stamps offense as he scored 29 goals and added 23 assists in 62 games last season with Swan Valley.

Injury Update:

Tyler Grove (Hip Injury - Day- to- day) - Out for tonight's game as his hip is still tender, expected to return to the lineup Friday vs Portage.

Taylor Santorelli (Fractured Rib - 6-8 weeks) - It was originally thought that Santorelli would be day to day with a back injury, but after continued pain and no progression Santorellis was sent for x-rays where it was discovered he's actually fractured the highest rib on his rib cage just under the clavicle. He is expected to be out 6-8 weeks.

Thomas Ward-Cardinal (High Ankle Sprain - Day-to-day) Out for tonight's game, but began riding the bike last week and will begin practicing tomorrow. Should be ready to return to action sometime next week. At this point the injury can't get any worse, all depends on Ward-Cardinals pain tolerance.

Puck drop is at 7PM. Game will NOT be broadcast tonight. Our next broadcast is Saturday as Neepawa rolls into town.

Stampeders 6 - Blizzard 3

A fight 11 seconds into the game between captain TJ Constant and Colton Magwood set the tone for the rest of the game.

It went in Swan's favour.

The Blizzard let Magwood run their best players and didn't return the favour, yes Dusik and Gray both fought but it wasn't beating up their top guys like Swan did last night.

The game had a great pace for the first ten minutes when it was a skating game and the Blizzard controlled the play.

But when Magwood got out of the box and started taking runs, the game slowed down, became choppy and  both teams were turning the puck over consistently.

It was a very slow game.

Justin McDonald played okay, not the spectacular Justin McDonald we've seen almost every night, but he can't be superman every time he plays.

TJ Constant showed well in his first game back, was a little slow but he'll be back into game mode shortly.

A few players had awful games last night, if you were at the game you know who they were.

I thought Jack Petrino played tremendously well as did his linemates Parker Sharp and Bradley Swampy.

I think we might see Mollard try Petrino out on that top line on Wednesday, the kid can fly.

Landon Noel Swan's new goaltender was not very impressive, his positioning is good but his rebound control is just awful. If the Blizzard had crashed the net more like they did on Petrino's goal they would have had plenty of opportunities.

All in all Swan didn't play very well, they're not a dangerous team, OCN just didn't get the bounces and missing three regulars from the lineup certainly didn't help.

Wednesday will be a fun game to watch.

Bring your boxing mitts, I expect OCN to even the tone from the opening draw.

Blizzard Preview vs Swan Valley

The Stamps are hot, winning five in a row.

They have a new goaltender in Landon Noel the Sudbury product who's been playing very well for the Stampeders. In the last two weeks they've been climbing the standings as before they were in dead last in the MJHL  they're now only one point behind Dauphin for second in the Sher-Wood division.

Noel is a perfect 4-0 since coming to the Stamps via trade from the MHL, he has a 1.96 GAA and .932 sv %.  Meanwhile Dylan Reimer has found his scoring touch as he has 8 points in seven games and leads Swan Valley in scoring with seven goals and seven assists.

The Stampeders are coming off a 4-2 win over the Virden Oil Capitals in Virden, Dylan Reimer was the games first star scoring two goals.

Here is how these two teams matchup:

Record:

OCN: 12-3-1 / 27pts 1st in Sher-wood & MJHL

SWAN: 7-4-1 / 15pts 3rd in Sher-wood & 4th in MJHL

Powerplay:

OCN: 6/62 - 9.68% 11th 

SWAN: 8/53 - 15.09% 8th

Penalty Kill: 

OCN: 81/93 - 87.10% 1st

SWAN: 40/47 - 85.11% 3rd

Top Scorer:

OCN: Tyler Grove - 6G, 10A - 16pts in 16GP

SWAN: Dylan Reimer - 7G. 7A - 14 pts in 12GP

Top Goalie:

OCN: Justin McDonald - 9W/1L - 1.89GAA - .950sv% - 3SO

SWAN: Landon Noel - 4W/0L - 1.96GAA - .932sv% 

The last time these two teams played OCN shutout Swan Valley in their own barn on the second half of a home and home. 

Swan is a very different team this time around.

It will be another tough game for the Blizzard.

Injury update:

Captain TJ Constant makes his return to the lineup tonight, Thomas Ward-Cardinal rode the bike for the first time yesterday and is about two weeks away from returning and Taylor Santorelli hurt his back/neck in Neepawa and might be unavailable.

Puck drop is at 7:30, pregame at 7:15.

Enjoy your Saturday!

-Brad-

Pistons Rous MJHL POW

This from the MJHL site...


Kyle Rous of the Steinbach Pistons has been named the MJHL Player of the Week, ending October 21.

 The 20-year-old defenceman showed he’s not only a steady man along the blueline, but also demonstrated his offensive skills with five points (1-4) and an impressive  +7 rating over a three-game span for the Pistons who sit third in the Addison Division with five wins and 11 points ─ five back of division leading Winnipeg Blues.

The runners up are 20 year old goaltender Landon Noel of the Swan Valley Stampeders and 20 year old goaltender Jeremy Pominville of the Dauphin Kings.

Tonight's Lineup

Here is tonight's lineup in Swan Valley

G

Starter - Justin McDonald -30
Backup - Alex Henry - 33

D

4 Elmes / 5 Ward- Cardinal
7 Bruyere / 17 Cochrane
3 Dusik / 20 Kavanaugh
2 Fontaine

F

16 Grove / 11 Valiquette / 25 Gray
15 Dumais / 19 TJ Constant / 12 Constant
24 Chief / 21 Baptiste / 10 Cardinal
23 Santorelli / 6 Bayer

Puck drop is at 7:30, pregame at 7:15.

About Last Night...

Last night the home town fans were treated to a show. A 5-2 win by the Blizzard, not a blow out but a spectacular win considering they held off the Stampeders and never really gave away the momentum after the first goal.

The Blizzard played the style that the coaching staff has been preaching about, agressive, fast and hard hitting hockey.

Head Coach Jim Mollard has told me many times that 5 on 5 he doesn't think there is a team that can skate with OCN -- after last night you would have to agree with him.

It is just one win, in a long schedule, but for an opening night game at home it was a statement game.

The Blizzard rolled all four lines, the top three getting the lions share of scoring chances and the fourth line put pressure on the puck and didn't look outmatched when on against the Stamps Valentino line.

Tim Kavanaugh looked very good, he's a great skater, works his edges very well.

Brendan Dusik was invisible (in a good way), until he bashed Valentino over the head with his stick.... then he was invisible for a little longer while sitting in the box.

I think, and hope that Blizzard fans can expect this level and style of play from OCN all season. This is a team of hard workers, with the skill to compliment the compete level.

The most impressive line for me last night was Gray, Grove and Valiquette. Speed, skill and physicality in abundance. If they aren't, they're going to be pretty damn close to the best second line in the league.

Chief, Baptiste and Cardinal played very well also.

This team can score with three lines --- that is depth, that is the depth needed to be considered an elite team.

Alex Henry impressive, starts off the season with a 0.935 sv% and looked great on a couple of chances, the Blizzard did a good job of keeping most shots to the outside.

And for those of you at the game I don't think I need to say what Santorelli did. The kid never stops working and it paid off for him last night. 

Should be an entertaining night in Swan this evening.

Pre-game at 7:15

Blizzard 5 - Stampeders 2

The Blizzard open up the season with a win, a convincing one in front 570 fans at home.

Here is tonight's scoring summary.

1st Period

OCN 8:12- Tyler Grove - Assist, Joshua Elmes
OCN 10:11- Darien Cardinal - Assist, Kirk Chief, Kolton Baptiste
OCN 15:41- Camacho Lathlin - Assist, Taylor Santorelli, Brad Swampy
SWAN - 17:54- Dylan Favell - Assist, Dylan Hykaway, Kyle Smart

2nd Period

SWAN 0:57- Max Flanagan- Assist, Dylan Reimer, Garrett Johnson

3rd Period

OCN (SH) 0:25- Taylor Santorelli - Assist, TJ Constant
OCN 5:48- Thomas Ward-Cardinal - Assist, Josh Elmes, Tyler Grove

Shots: OCN - 41/ Swan 31

Powerplay: OCN - 0/2 -- Swan 0/4

Alex Henry makes 29 saves, he looked great tonight.



**BLIZZARD TRADE**

The OCN Blizzard also completed a trade earlier today acquiring F Matt Gamblin (94) from the Neepawa Natives for futures.

Gamblin is expected to bring additional toughness to the lineup when needed, he'll be a scrapper. Apparently he spent a considerable part of his childhood just North of here in Cranberry Portage.






More on "About Last Night..." tomorrow.