In just the second of nine games between the Hampton Roads Whalers Elite and Carolina Jr. Hurricanes, it was a penalty-filled game that saw the Jr. Canes walk away with a 5-2 win at Chilled Ponds on Saturday night. The two teams combined for 86 penalty minutes and had everything from goal scoring to a fight, and everything in between.
With the win, the Jr. Canes move to 5-2-0-0 on the season and sit in third of the Southeast Division.
The Whalers fall to 6-3-0-0, but still sit atop of the Southeast Division standings.
Owen Nasholds was near perfect in net as he stopped 31 of the 33 shots he saw come his way. He moves to 3-1-0-0 on the season with a 1.50 goals against average (GAA), .948 save percentage (SV%), and one shutout.
Nick Kremnister allowed five goals on 34 shots, but some he could not have done anything better on. He falls to 2-2-0-0 on the season, with a 2.82 GAA, .909 SV%, and one shutout.
Game Recap
With just six days removed from the two teams’ last meeting, there was no love lost early in the game. The physicality was there, just as it was last weekend when they met for the first time in the USPHL Southeast Showcase. The Whalers gave the Jr. Canes a couple of chances on the powerplay late in the first period as Dylan Sedlak was sent off for high-sticking at 15:48. Less than a minute after killing that one off, Landon Cordova was sent off for interference at 18:23. For the second straight period against the Whalers, dating back to last weekend, Gregory Harter made the Whalers pay for going down a man as he tallied the game’s first goal just nine seconds into the powerplay. A faceoff win by Kester Sadler in the Whalers’ zone allowed Jack Ray to control the puck. Ray quickly moved the puck down the left-wing wall to Andrew Pi. Pi would have his cross-ice pass attempt blocked by Whalers’ forward Blake Marvici. Stadler found the loose puck and fired it on net. Kremnister stopped the shot, but the rebound bounced right in front of the goal, allowing Harter an easy tap-in goal.
The Jr. Canes took a 1-0 lead into the locker room as they outshot the Whalers by a 16-7 margin.
Early in the second period, penalty troubles were a huge issue for the Whalers. At 1:12 of the period, Taryk Filipuzzi was sent to the box for slashing. On the ensuing powerplay, the Jr. Canes were again able to control the puck off the draw and set up their powerplay. A great read by Marvici to poke-check the puck off the defenders’ stick allowed him a breakaway. Marvici tried shooting the puck to the far-right of Nasholds, but he was able to easily kick it away. With 38 seconds left on the penalty kill, Preston Michels found himself on the breakaway. A beautiful and smart play to us his hand to push the puck ahead if him allowed him to create distance between him and the defender. Michels shot the puck to the glove side, but was easily snagged by Nasholds. The Whalers were able to kill the rest of the penalty, and bring the game back to 5-on-5.
At 7:10 of the second period, the Whalers went on their second powerplay of the game as Ray was sent to the box for tripping. Through the first minute of the powerplay, the Whalers were playing sloppy hockey as they were throwing the puck to areas they did not have a player. A powerplay that looked deadly last weekend, took a turn as the Whalers’ units looked as if they had not practiced their powerplay set up at all. They were unable to capitalize on the chance, and continued to trail 1-0. At 10:22, the Whalers had another chance as Patrick Stevens was sent to the box for tripping. This time around, the Whalers’ passing was clean and crisp, which led to a good chance on the backdoor, but the puck would not go in the net. Raymond Johnson had a solid chance with 28 seconds remaining on the powerplay as he used his speed, drove to the outside, and got a shot on net, but Nasholds was in perfect position to take the shot right in the Jr. Canes’ crest for the cover.
At 13:49, the Whalers finally broke through as a seeing-eye shot from the point by Alexander Denton went past a moving screen set by Michels, and right by the blocker of Nasholds. It was his first goal of the season with Zachary Alberico getting his sixth assist of the season. Just seven seconds later, the Jr. Canes answered right back as Cooper Thomas notched his second goal of the season. Right off the faceoff at center ice, Thomas walked in the Whalers’ zone uncontested and used Johnson as a screen to shoot through his legs, and past Kreminister’s glove hand.
A physical and exciting second period came to an end, with the Whalers down 2-1 heading into the final period. The Whalers held a 13-9 shot advantage for the period, but still trailed by a 25-20 margin through two periods of play.
Drop of the puck on the third period saw the Whalers come out flying as the put on five shots through the first three minutes, keeping the Jr. Canes out of their own zone. But on their first shot of the period, the Jr. Canes extended their lead to 3-1 thanks to Brady Piscitelli’s first of the season at 3:51. A lack of defensive coverage in front of their own net allowed Piscitelli to be left all alone on the backdoor, finding the loose puck to one time it right by the blocker of Kremnister, who was sliding left-to-right. On their second shot of the period, the Jr. Canes extended their lead to 4-1 as Stadler tallied his fifth goal of the season at 5:05 of the final frame. A beautiful 3-on-2 passing play ended on the tape of Stadler on the far side, who buried the puck on the glove side of Kremnister. Liam Geyer and Ilya Gunko tallied the assists.
At 12:38 of the third, the Whalers went on to the powerplay as Ray was assessed a two-minute minor for indirect head contact. Looking to get back to within two, the Whalers needed to get going, and they did just that. Cordova, who has been a beast for the Whalers’ powerplay unit, notched his fourth goal on the year, in which all four have come on the powerplay. A shot from the point by Sedlak found the shin pad of Cordova on the left side of the and went in. Alberico tallied his second assist of the game on the secondary assist.
Just like they did after the Whalers’ first goal, the Jr. Canes responded quickly. A faceoff win by the Jr. Canes allowed them to gain possession. On an eventual loose puck and clear attempt by the Whalers, it went straight to Ray and was quickly put on net. Abezu DelVecchia was able to get his stick on it to change directions of the puck as it went to the blocker side of Kremnister for his first career junior hockey goal.
Time would expire on the Whalers as they fell by a 5-2 final. They outshot the Jr. Canes in the period by a 13-9 margin, but the Jr. Canes lead the shot total 34-33 for the game.
Both teams are back on the ice tomorrow morning (Oct. 6) at Chilled Ponds for a 9:30 puck drop on game three of the season series. Catch all the action on FloHockey.
