Zoo Town Boys are Playoff Bound

You read the title right ladies and gentlemen, the Missoula Maulers in their inaugural year in the WSHL, are headed to the Thorne Cup playoffs. After beating the Southern Oregon Spartans 4-3 yesterday, the Zoo Town boys have clinched the last and final Northwest division playoff spot and are headed to the post season. I am very proud of all the players because they have finally gathered everything together to make a successful team and everything fell into place. I said at the beginning of the season that these boys were fighters and now this just proves it. After coming from behind and  proving all the negative allegations wrong, the Missoula Maulers are now contenders to win the Thorne Cup, which goes to the champion of the WSHL each season. I have congratulated a lot of the boys already and the excitement is overflowing but there is still work to do. In the first round, the Maulers will go up against the Idaho Jr Steelheads. The Steelheads are notorious for playing hard, playing big, and playing dirty especially in the post season and won't go down without a gritty fight. The Jr Steelheads are a team with a huge drive and ambition to win and I feel that the Maulers can match it if they put every talent they have together and work as a solid unit just as they have in the past couple of games. One other point I have to say is that the goaltenders have definitely stepped up their game. They are faster to react to puck movement, they are stronger and can last longer, and they are even getting more aggressive. All 3 are making sure they have a clear view of the ice and aren't afraid to push some players out of their crease. I am very thrilled to be reporting to you all on how the playoffs go and the events that follow your very own Missoula Maulers!

Sniper and veteran Joey Sundgren started the scoring game off with a power play geno past Spartan goaltender Jiri Ponikelsky at 19:26 in the first. He had an assist from points leader Corey Schafer and Joey Porco.

Erich Jaeger put up Missoula's 2nd point of the night at 6:39 with an assist for Nikita Sheptytskyy and Jordan Wheatly. Birthday boy Austin Azzinarro scored the third goal on a power play at 9:37 with help from Jordan Wheatly and Erich Jaeger. Austin Sartorius put up the first point for the Spartans at 19:20 in the second with help from his Oregon team mates Tyler Lazarek and Tyler Spencer. This was the first of 3 burst goals.

Nick Beaune and Cy Jenson of the Spartans both scored unassisted goals to start of the third period. The first at 8:47 and the second at 16:46. In a typical Chamberlain fashion, Matt Chamberlain saved the day by scoring the game winning goal at 17:38 and preventing the game from going into overtime. The final assists were given to Tanner Todd and Max Rebholz.

Due to a blizzard warning, almost everything is closed in Missoula, but on February 28th and March 1st, the Missoula Maulers will be taking on the Southern Oregon Spartans at 7:30 pm both nights at the Glacier Ice Rink. Make sure you see the boys wind down their season before they go into one hectic post season!

Statistics:

PENALTIES:

Period 1:

Southern Oregon Spartans - Arturs Buss (Interference) 2 Minutes, 6:40

Missoula Maulers - Corey Schafer (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 2 Minutes, 7:15

Southern Oregon Spartans - Justus Saldeen (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 2 Minutes, 7:15

Missoula Maulers - John Andersson (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 2 Minutes, 10:55

Southern Oregon Spartans - Trevor Hillman (Tripping) 2 Minutes, 17:50

Period 2:

Missoula Maulers - Derek Griffin (Interference) 2 Minutes, 3:56

Southern Oregon Spartans - Cy Jenson (Tripping) 2 Minutes, 8:31

Southern Oregon Spartans - Zachary Lovelace (Holding) 2 Minutes, 9:23

Period 3:

Missoula Maulers - Anders Nord (Hooking) 2 Minutes, 4:14

Missoula Maulers - Tanner Todd (Fighting) (Major) 5 Minutes, 10:23

Southern Oregon Spartans - Trevor Hillman (Elbowing) 2 Minutes, 19:49

Southern Oregon Spartans - Trevor Hillman (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) (Misconduct) 10 Minutes, 19:49

SHOTS ON GOAL:

Missoula Maulers - 33 total

Southern Oregon Spartans - 28 total

POWER PLAYS:

Missoula Maulers - 2 for 5

Southern Oregon Spartans - 0 for 3

GOALTENDERS:

#31 Cody Janzen for Missoula Maulers: 60 Minutes played, 28 shots on goal 25 saves

#39 Jiri Ponikelsky for Southern Oregon Spartans: 60 Minutes played, 33 shots on goal 29 saves