Jr Steelheads Have Rolled Into Zoo Town

Welcome back to another Maulers Recapped! I haven't talked with you guys for quite a while! Well, now we do have things to discuss. This weekend match up against the Idaho Jr Steelheads could possibly be one the toughest ones of the season. The Steelheads are an amazing team with such a powerful force that they absolutely steam roll over most teams. They have won 22 games out of their 24 played and are sitting comfortably at the top of the league with an outstanding 44 total points. They are reoccurring Thorne Cup champions and are overall just a physically aggressive and powerful team. Can your Maulers give them their 3rd loss of the entire season? We will just have to wait and see but for now, that hasn't happened yet. The Maulers unfortunately dropped the 1st game on December 13th, with a final of 6-1 in the Steelheads. Instead of doing my usual spiel about what the team did well in this game, I am going to discuss (completely in my opinion) what they need to do to win the final game of the match up on the 14th. First off, they need to get Swedish goaltender Sebastian Gronborg in net as fast as they can. He has only played 2 games out of the entire season up to this point and he needs more ice time! He is the most experienced goalie out of the bunch and could aid in the Maulers defensive force greatly. He absorbs each player as the game goes on and really should be playing more than he is. He is the brick that holds the tendys together and right now they aren't letting him do his job. Sebastian is a goaltender that rolls with the punches and isn't afraid to get swatted around once in a while. He takes the good with the bad and plays his best every time. In my opinion, they are severely underrating him, he could be their best asset. Next, the boys on the blue line better be prepared for some forceful blows and kick things up a notch quickly. So far they are used to teams with heavy defense but these Idaho boys are full force offense. They will take anybody down without a thought and are an enormous threat to any one in the WSHL. Our blue liners have so much potential but they need to toughen up quick and be prepared for some enormous players that are bringing a 100% game. Lastly, the offensive boys aren't off the hook either. They need to work closer than they ever have to fit through the small holes the Idaho players have to be able to even get a shot on goal. For the last couple of games I have noticed that Missoula's forwards like to be spread out while driving the puck, but if you are up against a team like this, you have to be as close knit as possible and put 100% faith into your line mates. They can't be turning over the puck and relying on the veterans. Every forward needs to be on full force and high alert at all times if they want to beat Idaho at a game they have easily perfected. In my personal opinion, the Missoula boys need to focus on the threat and tweak their game to fit the Achilles Heel of Idaho's team. Also they need to watch out for Jesper Jensen, Jan Blasko, Bryan Hodges, and Dak Dice especially because I know from personal experience that these guys are nitty gritty players and they will do their absolute hardest to get the goals no matter what it takes.This may be juniors, but things just got quite a bit more serious than they might have realized.

Forward #27 Zach Walden got the Steelheads on the board at  12:44 into the first. He was assisted by Swedish forwards #8 Philip Wong and #16 Jesper Jensen. To end the scoring of the 1st period, Slovakian forward #24 Jan Blasko put one past Janzen at 17:39. He was assisted by Philip Wong and forward #19 Macky Power.

Veteran forward and star player Corey Schafer scored the only Maulers goal of this game on a power play at 2:32 in the beginning of the second. He was assisted by rookies Austin Auzzinnaro and Max Rebholz. Forward #14 Randy Patzner scored two goal in the second. His first goal came at 7:01. On that goal he was assisted by defenseman #5 Ian Patrican. He wrapped the scoring up neatly at 15:09 when a beauty of a goal was completed with assists from Jan Blasko and forward #11 Dak Dice.

2 more Steelheads came Missoula's way in the third and final period. The first one was from forward #22 Hunter Lester at 3:33. He was assisted by forward #21 Bryan Hodges (who quickly scored a geno of his own) and Dak Dice. Hodges scored his own goal at 14:39. An apple was given to Philip Wong on this play. This was the last goal of the game.

Game # 2 will start at 7:30 pm MST on December 14th at Glacier Ice Rink. Don't miss out, it will be a great game to watch. This is the 4th annual Teddy Bear Toss as well as the last game of 2013!

Statistics:

PENALTIES:

Period 1:

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Jesper Jensen (Holding) 2 minutes, 3:28

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Randy Patzner (Roughing) 2 Minutes, 7:13

Missoula Maulers - Craig Buford (Slashing) 2 Minutes, 9:01

Missoula Maulers - Erich Jaeger (High Sticking) 2 Minutes, 16:52

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Bryan Hodges (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) (Misconduct) 10 Minutes, 17:39

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Jesper Jensen (Tripping) (Major) 5 Minutes, 18:50

Missoula Maulers - Joey Porco (Cross Checking) 2 Minutes, 18:50

Period 2:

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Jan Blasko (Roughing) 2 Minutes, 1:44

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Hunter Lester (Cross Checking) 2 Minutes, 11:22

Missoula Maulers - Tanner Todd (Roughing) 2 Minutes, 11:22

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Bryan Hodges (Slashing) 2 Minutes, 11:41

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Jesper Jensen (Fighting) (Major) 5 Minutes, 13:57

Missoula Maulers - Matt Chamberlain (Fighting) (Major) 5 Minutes, 13:57

Missoula Maulers - Christian Manning (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) (Misconduct) 10 Minutes, 15:09

Missoula Maulers - Craig Buford (Interference) 2 Minutes, 18:09

Missoula Maulers - Max Rebholz (Roughing) 2 Minutes, 19:01

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Jan Blasko (Roughing) 2 Minutes, 19:01

Period 3:

Missoula Maulers - Corey Schafer (Hooking) 2 Minutes, 5:41

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Hunter Lester (Hooking) 2 Minutes, 10:04

Missoula Maulers - Corey Schafer (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) (Misconduct) 10 Minutes, 19:21

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Dak Dice (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) (Misconduct) 10 Minutes, 19:21

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Jesper Jensen (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) (Misconduct) 2 Minutes, 19:21

Idaho Jr Steelheads - Zach Walden (Elbowing) (Major) 5 Minutes, 19:21

SHOTS ON GOAL:

Missoula Maulers - 29 total

Idaho Jr Steelheads - 49 total

POWER PLAYS:

Missoula Maulers - 1 for 7

Idaho Jr Steelheads - 0 for 4

GOALTENDERS:

#31 Cody Janzen for Missoula Maulers: 60 Minutes played, 49 shots on goal 43 saves

#1 Sean Healy for Idaho Jr Steelheads: 60 Minutes played, 29 shots on goal 28 saves