EDMONTON MINERS RENEW ACQUAINTINANCE WITH
SR. MOUNTIES
In the first of two games on the weekend the Edmonton Miners faced the
Calgary Mountaineers for the first time in a number of years due to the
new schedule after the withdrawal of the Red Deer Rage from the league.
The Mounties and the Miners were both 0-1 coming into the game.
The game started off rather cautiously as both teams were feeling the
other out. Half way through the first the Miners grabbed a 2-0 lead and
started to take control until late in the period when Steve Truzak popped
2 to even the score. In the second period the game opened up a bit and
the Miners took advantage of the faster pace scoring the next 4 goals
before the Mounties got one. The teams then traded goals and the score
after two was 7-4. In the third the Miners seemed to be able to keep
up the pace while the Mounties started to slow down causing the Sr. team
to take a number of penalties. Although the Miners did not capitalize
the Mounties could not gain any momentum. The score at the end was 11-5
and the Miners had a well earned victory.
The Miners were lead by Nate Schmidt who had 6 points (4, 2) , Kevin
Walllin 4 points (3, 1) and Spencer Lorenz with 4 assists. Donnie Haynes
had a goal and two assists for the Mounties. Both goaltenders played
well. Trevor Van Baval was very strong in the Miner’s net
The game was a chippy affair with both teams trying to get an advantage.
The Miners used their speed while the Mounties their size. Speed won
out on size as the Mounties found themselves on the penalty kill and
paying the price as the Miners were 5-11 on the PP. The Mounties tried
to break off of the shot but the Miners did a nice job of neutralizing
the fast break. The game ended on an ugly note when Andy Williams threw
an elbow and a high stick which lead to a melee. Not much more came of
it but it could have gotten worse.
The Calgary Jr. Mountaineers had to wait a week to get back on the floor
after a tie with the Calgary Jr. Raiders while the Edmonton Miners had
18 hours to recover from their rough and tough game with the Sr. Mountaineers.
The Jr. Mounties made a lot of changes in the off season and it was clear
from the opening whistle that they had a faster and more polished team.
The Miners are trying to avoid their slow start they experienced last
year but had to rely on some call ups to help their core group.
The game was a spirited affair with the teams keeping close contact
with each other. Neither team was able to penetrate the other’s
defense and there was no scoring for the first nine minutes when the
Mounties fired from the outside and took the lead. That lasted for only
a short time before the Miners got that one back and then another. The
teams then exchanged goals and the Miners had a 4-3 lead going into the
second period. In the second period the Mounties took over the game and
had the Miners reeling. They scored 4 goals before the Miners could muster
one and then they responded again. The Mines got one late to make it
9-6 going into the final frame. The trend of the game did not change
in the first part of the period and the Mounties got one more. The Miners
immediately responded. The remaining time the Mounties tried to slow
it down and waste time. The Miners got one more to make it a little more
interesting however it became clear with about 5 minutes left that there
would not be a miracle comeback.
Kane Swartart was outstanding in the Mounties net as he made a number
of solid saves and robbed the Miners on occasion. The Mounties had contributions
from 7 different scorers and was lead by their assistant captain Sean
Pesowski with 6 points (2,4) and 3 goals from Danny Farmer (3,1). The
Miners got a three goal performance from Nick Petz (3,1).
The game was a bit rough as there was no shortage of cheap shots. The
referees did a pretty good job but could not be expected to catch all
that was going on as there were few times during the game when someone
was not giving his opponent the business. In the end the team that wanted
it the most was the team that won the game. The Mounties out hustled
and out worked the Miners for this victory.
Eclipse and Miners Continue the Close
Battles. May 5, 2008
It might be a new year but the difference between the Edmonton Eclipse
and the Edmonton Miners continues to be one small goal. Both teams had
plenty of exhibition games prior to this game but there clearly is a
difference between the pre-season and the regular season.
It seems like
everyone’s grip on their sticks was just a bit tight and the play
much more scrambled then the earlier games, resulting in a sloppy effort
by both teams and leaving coaching staffs with lots of work to do ahead
of them. The only bright spot for both teams was the goaltending of Trevor
Van Bavel for the Miners and Mitch Anders for the Eclipse. Van Bavel
was solid throughout the game but especially in the first period when
he was tested in close a number of times. Anders did not start but he
got in at the 13:53 mark of the second period and was only beaten once
for the remainder of the game. He made a few highlight reel saves to
preserve a 7-6 victory.
The Miners may not have been strong on defense in the first but they
did have a number of chances at the other end as well scoring a couple
of times to take a 2-1 lead into the dressing room. In the second period
the Miners looked stronger and seemed to have more energy. The Eclipse
got one before the Miners scored the next four goals and held a commanding
6-2 lead before the Eclipse scored two at the end of the second to make
it 6-4 after two. In the third the Eclipse kept chipping away and the
Miners could not find their legs to get back into it. Slowly but surely
the Eclipse took full control and Tyler Kristiansen scored the winner
at the 2:13 mark.
At the end of the day the team that wanted it more was the team that
won. The Eclipse outworked, out hustled the Miners at every turn. The
Miners had plenty of chances to expand the score when they had the lead
as the Eclipse took a number of penalties but the Miners could not convert
on the power play.
The Eclipse scoring was spread around the lineup with only Paul Josey
getting on the score sheet more then once with two goals. The Miners
got a hat trick from Nate Schmidt and two from Nick Petz.
