The Atlanta Mad Hatters came away with a big 3-2 win over the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Sunday morning at Chilled Ponds Ice Sports Complex. The Mad Hatters three first-period goals were enough to put the game away, but not without a big fight-back performance by the Jr. Canes.
Noel Friedman came away with the win in net as he stopped 26 shots. Dylan Rempel takes the loss for the Jr. Canes as he let up three of the first seven shots in the game for the Mad Hatters. The Mad Hatters chased Rempel, and in came Ryan Kalina to finish the game. Kalina was perfect in the 46:04 he played, stopping all 17 shots he faced.
First Period
At 4:07 of the first period, Atlanta struck first as a beautiful snipe from Landon Hackler went over the left shoulder of Rempel, and into the back of the net. Sebastian Kaminsky and Indy Wright picked up the assists. 6:58 into the period, the Jr. Canes went onto the powerplay as Matthew Jost went to the box for slashing. The Jr. Canes were able to win the faceoff and gain possession of the puck to get right to work. A shot that went off the end boards came out in front and Friedman was able to easily cover for a whistle. Some great defensive efforts and solid goaltending kept the Jr. Canes off the board as Atlanta secured it’s 1-0 lead with 7:31 to go.
At 10:11, Atlanta tallied another off what was a long-range shot that should have been stopped. Matthew Hunter drove down the left-wing wall and fired a shot from an angle that should not have gone in. Just 45 seconds later, Atlanta would end Remple’s morning as they tacked on another soft goal. A low shot from way out at the point by Ethan Fredricks found it’s way under the right pad of Remple, ending his morning as head coach, Brad Gaylord was not happy with the performance and replaced him with Kalina. Hunter picked up his second point of the period with an assist, and Bradley Mills picked up the secondary assist. With 1:36 to go in the first, the Jr. Canes found life as a shot from Matteo Viglino bounced off a couple of skates, and through the five-hole of Firedman. Roberto Nabozny picked up the assist on the goal.
The opening frame ended 3-1 in favor of Atlanta, despite Carolina holding an 11-7 shot advantage.
Second Period
Carolina went down a man early as 28 seconds in, Alec Pool was called for cross-checking. On the ensuing penalty kill for the Jr. Canes, they were fantastic on the kill, keeping possession deep in the Mad Hatters’ end and not allowing them to get a shot on net. At 11:49 of the period, the Jr. Hurricanes pulled to within one as a shot by Chris Cuddy from the point was tipped in front by Billy Loughhnane, and right over the glove of Friedman. With the pass to Cuddy that started it, Nabozny picked up his second assist.
The second period came to an end with the Mad Hatters up 3-2, but were again outshot in the period 12-7 in the period.
Third Period
Keeping his team in the game, Kalina came up with two huge saves. The first came off a swipe at the puck as Wright dangled around a Jr. Canes player and chipped the puck on net. He would get his own rebound and shovel it on right in front with his backhand. The outstretched right pad of Kalina barely got enough to kick the puck into the corner, preventing any more danger from happening.
With just under 10 minutes to go, the Jr. Hurricanes hurt themselves as Brandon Raleigh would be sent to the locker room with a five-minute major and game disqualification for head contact. An unsuspecting Cameron Neidig of Atlanta took a big hit to his head as Raleigh flew in, getting his shoulder up high. Already down one, it was going to be the most important part of the game for Carolina. Despite whether or not Atlanta scored, they would have just 4:01 left of game time to tie things up at 5-on-5.
On the ensuing powerplay, the Mad Hatters were all over the Jr. Canes. Puck movement and good board-battle wins were their best friend. However, 2:19 into their powerplay at 10:06, the Mad Hatters’ Ethan Bellamy was called for interference, bringing the game to 4-on-4 for the next two minutes.
With nothing coming out of the 4-on-4 situation, the Mad Hatter went back to work on the powerplay for the next 40 seconds. Despite some sustained zone time, the Jr. Hurricanes were able to kill off the remaining time, and bring the game back to even strength. At a crucial moment in the game, with 2:30 to go, the Jr. Hurricanes went to the man advantage as Wright would head to the box for roughing. Off the draw, the Mad Hatters gained possession, and skated the puck down the ice for a great chance on net that barley missed the far-right side of the net. Back the other way, Carolina tried a backdoor pass, but missed, and was cleared again by the Mad Hatters. Calm, cool, and collected, the Mad Hatters were outstanding on the kill. Until the final 30 seconds of the powerplay, the Jr. Canes were unable to get set up. With 20 seconds of powerplay time, a beautiful passing play by the Jr. Canes would end on the stick of Loughnane was riffled on net, but Friedman came up with a huge glove save.
A flurry of chances by Carolina eventually saw them come up short as Atlanta held on for the 3-2 win. Atlanta outshot Carolina by a 10-5 margin in the final frame. Both teams went 0 for 2 on the man advantage.
