Last night’s game summary as brought to you by our very own Yotesgurl. She was gracious enough to write this up for me since I was watching the game and working on homework yesterday. Expect to see a bit more of her this season. So without further ado….
Welcome fans to this opening battle between these great rivals. It’s a six round bout and this opening round will set the tone for the series this year.
Starting off in the teal corner, the Sharks decided to have Heatley and Thornton determine their fate in this game. They are 12’8 and a combined 456 lbs. Last year they had a combined 64 goals and 94 assists last year.
Coming from the red corner, we have Martin Hanzal being sent into trade blows with the dynamic duo. Taking on one of the most talented duos in all of the NHL will be a daunting task, especially with them coming in with a crazy 10 points combined in their last two home games.
Period 1: The teams started off pushing hard up and down the ice. The teams seemed very evenly matched, however the Coyotes may have had a paranormal helper because Vlasic fell down with the puck when no one was near him. Pushed over by a ghost? It didn’t take long for the former President’s Cup winners to become frustrated by the Coyotes tight defense. Whoa! Crushing blowon McGinn by… Upshall? Uppy, how many 5 hr energys did you take before the game? Both teams kept it pretty disciplined, each taking only one penalty. Both PP’s took a swing and missed. There weren’t many decent scoring chances throughout the period and the goalies were perfect.
Period 2: Frustration is setting more intensely for the top line for San Jose. I think Thornton put in a call for a goon hit. Four minutes into the period, Jody Shelley puts a big hit on Z and at the other end of the ice, after the play was blown dead, Shelley crosschecked Hanzal in the back, knocking to the ice, which he was slow getting up from. This didn’t sit well with the Yotes and Bisonnette took on a noticeably bigger Shelley. The fight wasn’t long and was mostly jabs before a non-graceful fall to the ice where Bisonnette was the winner. The suffocating defense from the Coyotes continued and they started to get more prolonged pressure at the Sharks end. Coyotes had two power plays but nada! Period ends still 0-0.
Period 3: Prucha had a great scoring chance! Pruuuuuuuuuuuuuu! Alas, it was still 0-0. Each team had a power play opportunity (Ryan Clowe ‘held the stick’ of Prucha, but can you blame him?), to no avail. Coyotes defense and their inability to convert good scoring chances was once again the story. Oooooooovertime.
OT: Heatley had a good scoring chance (but it was his only shot of the game!). The Sharks pressed Bryz and the crazy Russian said no goal for you!
Shootout:
Heatley: Bryz already told you, no goal for you. He wasn’t kidding. SAVE! BRYZ!
Vrbata: Vrby couldn’t get the puck up like he wanted and he was denied.
Setoguchi: Weakest effort ever. Never allow him to be in the shootout. Try aiming at the net next time.
Mueller: Interesting attempt. Pete did a leg kick fake that reminded me of Minnesota dancing. Nebby was hyponotized and MUELLER SCORES!
Boyle: Bryz went for the poke check. Neg. Boyle scores. Booooooooo
Korpikoski: First career shootout attempt. Barely saw ice time during the game. No pressure Lauri. Seriously, what the heck was Tippett thinki…….OH MY GOD HE WON THE GAME!!!! He flew up the ice and stole that second point from the Sharks.
Looking back: Boedker has been getting less than ten minutes of ice time. Will he stay with the team or go down to the AHL? Lombardi was out with a groin injury and Sauer was out with headaches. Can the Coyotes stay healthy? Korpikoski didn’t play much, but when he does play, his speed is very noticeable. Mueller is still wheeling all over the ice and Doan is doing all the little things that don’t show up on a boxscore.
The Decision: Round 1 goes to the Coyotes. Hanzal was a big part of that, helping keep Thornton/Heatley to 0 pts and limiting them to 5 SOG (Heatley 1, Thornton 5). The offense and power play are still sketchy, but we have only allowed 2 even strength goals all year and Bryz has been solid.
Round 2: SAT DEC 12, 2009 in Phoenix. Hey Joe! Look Out! He’s gonna get you Joe!
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