Game 2 Wrap-Up

Ladies and gentlemen, your FHL league leading First Place Danbury Whalers!!!!

• Nick Niedert. That is all. 
• No, but really, 32 saves on 32 shots to give the Whalers a 4-0 win and the FHL's first shutout. There were some crazy bounces out there that I think some NHL caliber goalies would have trouble saving, and Niedert swatted them out of the air with a confidence I've rarely seen at this level. I think it's safe to say that we can erase any fear of goalie trouble I had 3 days ago from the books, because we clearly have a hot player on our hands. 
• I'm honestly less excited about the shutout than I am the fact that the boys stood up for themselves and each other this time. Ultimately, letting the other team know they're going to get pounded into little chunks if they try to run Niedert again will take them a lot further than the score of one game will. And it wasn't just protecting the goalie either; every time a big hit or a cheap shot came against the Whalers, there was an emphatic response. Guy led the charge on that front in Game 2 with some booming hits and brutal fights. It was highly amusing to watch him every time he skated by the A's bench. May be my clear-cut decision for an enforcer title if he keeps this up. 
• The referee and linesmen we had last night were actually worse, but I'm not going to harp on that any more. Once we get one that actually makes calls when he should and doesn't when he shouldn't, I'll make sure everybody knows who he is. Until then, my opinion hasn't changed. 
• No conversion on the powerplay. 0-2. However, both powerplays spent almost the entire time in the offensive zone with a respectable amount of shots on goal. A LOT better than Game 1, where we couldn't take the zone.
• Penalty kill, 6 for 6. It was a hard working PK with lots of chasing the puck down and clearing the zone. Tiring for sure, but it certainly got the job done. 
• Whalers are 11 for 12 on the PK this season, clicking at 91%. That's too many penalties in the first two games. 
• Coincidentally, we lead the league in shorthanded goals (2). 
• Goal 1: Hellemeyer by Willock and Bria 
• Goal 2: DiMarzo by Siefert and Nelson
• Goal 3: Siefert by DiMarzo and Nelson (Shorthanded)
• Goal 4: Guy by DiMarzo (Shorthanded)
• Both shorthanded goals were results of the PK chasing the puck down and clearing the zone with hard work and high pressure. They keep that up and other teams will be afraid to get a powerplay. 
• DiMarzo had 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points and a +3 night. Very Gionta-esque again. Lots of weaving in and out of the D-men like they were standing still, and by the time things got ugly in the third period he was delivering some solid hits along the boards as well. The combination of DiMarzo, Siefert, and Nelson was absolutely lethal last night. Hopefully that chemistry remains. 
• Lind and Malloy held pointless this time, but they were both big physical presences on the ice. 
• Felten's name isn't going to leave Whalers fans' minds any time soon. He tried 3 more times last night to go after Niedert and was stopped by Guy, Hager, and Lind on all three attempts. In the 3rd he was challenged to a fight twice and refused both times, but kept running at the mouth once there was a referee protecting him. He took a few hard hits in the brawl at the end of the game. Otherwise, our players did a good job shutting down his antics. 
• An Aviators player whose name I missed attempted spearing one of ours with about 4 minutes left in the game and missed entirely, going headfirst into the boards and crumpling. No word on whether or not he's okay, though he did manage to get off the ice himself, albeit slowly. 
• Results of both fights and the end-game brawl in front of the Whalers net: 3 Aviators players sent to the locker rooms with gushing cuts on their heads. You've got to be in a bad way when you can't win the fight or the hockey game. 
• Druce didn't show up at all. It didn't help that his team left him hanging numerous times on an off night for their goaltender. 
• We're in Rome Wednesday at 7.