All of our division leaders from last week remain in the same spots this week, but that’s not to say that races aren’t heating up. The most recent week of ECHL action was filled with hat tricks, shutouts, a winning streak that was snapped and a coaching milestone. Let’s get into this week’s Western Conference Recap.
QUAD CITY MALLARDS (14-8-1-2, 31 Points)
The Mallards hold a three point lead in the division following a weekend split at Rapid City. Matt Carey’s power play goal 7:49 into Friday’s contest gave Quad City the early lead, then Sam Warning tied the game with a shorthanded goal in the second period before the Mallards allowed three unanswered Rush goals to fall 5-2. Matt Neal and Warning netted third period goals three minutes apart to secure a 2-1 win on Saturday/ Steve Michalek made 19 saves while the Mallards outshot the Rush 37-20 in a rough contest that saw the two teams combine for 76 penalty minutes. Quad City now looks ahead to three games with two other division leading teams this weekend.
The week ahead: Friday and Saturday home vs. Wheeling (13-9-1-2), Sunday at Missouri (19-3-0-1)
CINCINNATI CYCLONES (12-6-2-2, 28 Points)
The Cyclones hold down second place following a split during a home-and-home series with Evansville. Nick Huard and peter Quenneville each contributed power play goals at Evansville on Friday night, but Cincinnati would allow four second period goals in a 7-3 loss to the IceMen. Neil Conway was pulled from the game after allowing six goals on 21 shots in 32 minutes of play. The Cyclones returned home on Saturday, where they posted a 6-4 victory over the IceMen behind Brandon Whitney’s 21 saves. Andrew Yogan (2 G, 1 A), Jack Downing (1 G, 2 A) and Joe Wilson (1 G, 1 A) led the offensive charge for the Cyclones in Whitney’s fifth win of the season.
The week ahead: Friday and Saturday at Missouri (19-3-0-1), Sunday at Wichita (6-17-0-1)
FORT WAYNE KOMETS (11-9-1-0, 23 Points)
The Komets picked up points in two of three games last weekend to remain in sole possession of third place. Nikita Kashirsky scored 10:29 into the first and Will Weber added his first of the year mid-way through the second to tie Fort Wayne’s home game with Indy on Friday night. It would not be enough, however, as the Fuel found the net in overtime to saddle the Komets with a 3-2 loss. Mike Embach and Drew Daniels each scored in the first period and Brett Perlini added a third period goal that proved to be the game winner at Indy on Saturday. Spencer Martin posted 31 saves in the 3-2 win. Jamie Schaafsma and Shawn Szydlowski netted goals a minute apart to give Fort Wayne a 2-1 first period lead over visiting Evansville on Sunday. From there, though, the Komets allowed three third period goals and went on to fall 6-4.
The week ahead: Friday home vs. Manchester (16-9-0-1), Saturday home vs. Brampton (8-14-2-0), Monday home vs. Atlanta (13-9-1-0)
INDY FUEL (10-12-2-0, 22 Points)
The Fuel claimed one win out of three games last week, yet still finds themselves just one point out of third place in the division. Rhett Bly’s power play goal late in the first period of Thursday’s game with visiting Wheeling tied the game before Indy allowed a mid-third period goal to drop their ninth game in a row, 2-1. The Fuel broke the skid the following night at Fort Wayne, posting a 3-2 win. Cody Sharib and Alex Lavoie scored in regulation before Dylan Clarke added the game winner 2:16 into overtime. Lavoie added his eighth of the season five minutes into Saturday’s home contest with Fort Wayne to give the Fuel an early lead. Fort Wayne responded with three goals before Kevin Quick added a late third period goal to pull within one, but the Fuel would run out of time and fall 3-2.
The week ahead: Wednesday at Toledo (12-7-1-3), Friday and Saturday at Evansville (9-13-1-0), Sunday home vs. Toledo
EVANSVILLE ICEMEN (9-13-1-0, 19 Points)
It was the best week yet for the Evansville IceMen, as they claimed wins in three of four contests last week. Down 2-0 in the second period at Toledo on Wednesday, Justin MacDonald scored twice to tie and Daultan Leveille added a third period power play marker to secure a 3-2 Evansville win. The IceMen then returned home Friday, where they rolled to a 7-3 victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones. Six players scored goals and six players had multiple-points as Matthew Zay’s two goals in a two minute span sparked a four goal second period for Evansville. The IceMen matched the Cyclones goal-for-goal at Cincinnati on Saturday, until they allowed two Cyclones goals in the third period to suffer their first loss of the week, 6-4. Evansville closed out the week with a 6-4 win at Fort Wayne on Sunday. Tyson Fawcett led the Evansville offense with a hat trick to take the lead in the ECHL scoring race with 15 goals on the season.
The week ahead: Wednesday home vs. Atlanta (13-9-1-0), Friday and Saturday home vs. Indy (10-12-2-0)
MISSOURI MAVERICKS (19-3-0-1, 39 Points)
With the league’s longest winning streak of the season in progress, the Mavericks travelled to Tulsa on Sunday for their only game last weekend. They left with a 4-3 loss that ended the 14-game winning streak, a streak that tied the fourth longest in league history. Andrew Courtney’s power play goal one minute into the game put Missouri on top, but Tulsa kept pace, eventually taking the lead in the second period. Tanner Fritz added a power play goal to tie 4:13 into the third before Tulsa netted the game winner later in the period. Parker Milner was solid in net, stopping 37 shots while the Mavericks were outshot 41-24.
The week ahead: Friday and Saturday home vs. Cincinnati (12-6-2-2), Sunday home vs. Quad City (14-8-1-2)
ALLEN AMERICANS (15-8-1-0, 31 Points)
The Americans pulled within eight points of the division lead, picking up three out of a possible four points while splitting a pair of home games with the Idaho Steelheads. Riley Gill was perfect on Wednesday night, stopping all 29 Idaho shots en route to a 4-0 shutout win. Tristan King scored two goals and added an assist, while Vincent Arseneau added a goal and assist in the win. Chad Costello scored his tenth goal of the season early in the second period on Sunday, evening the game, before Idaho reclaimed the lead late in the second. Gary Steffes tied it mid-way through the third, forcing overtime and a 3-2 Idaho win. Allen was outshot 14-1 in the first period while managing to put just 18 shots on goal for the game.
The week ahead: Wednesday at Colorado (11-12-2-0), Friday and Saturday at Idaho (9-14-4-0), Monday home vs. Tulsa (10-10-1-1)
TULSA OILERS (10-10-1-1, 22 Points)
The Oilers turned in a solid week, picking up four points out of six while setting a record and ending the fourth-longest winning streak in ECHL history. Tulsa’s first meeting with the visiting Idaho Steelheads turned out to be an historic night, as the Oilers posted a 4-2 win to make Jason Christie the ECHL’s all-time winningest coach. Ben Walker scored twice during a three-goal second period and Kevin Carr stopped 25 shots as the Oilers cruised to victory on Thursday. Brian Nugent’s shorthanded goal 5:21 into Saturday’s contest gave Tulsa the early lead, then Aaron Harstad added his second goal in as many games to make it 2-1 early in the second, but Idaho would go on to score three unanswered goals to hand Tulsa a 4-2 loss. Tulsa responded by breaking Missouri’s 14-game winning streak on Sunday in a 4-3 win. Dan DeSalvo and Emerson Clark each contributed a goal and assist, while Carr posted 21 saves for his eighth win. Tulsa outshot Missouri 41-24 in the game.
The week ahead: Friday and Saturday home vs. Wichita (6-17-0-1), Monday at Allen (15-8-1-0)
WICHITA THUNDER (6-17-0-1, 13 Points)
The hard times continue for the Thunder, as they saw their losing streak climb to seven in a row following road losses at Rapid City and Colorado last week. Michael Neal and Dean Chelios each contributed a goal and assist at Rapid City on Tuesday, but the Thunder fell 7-2. Kenton Miller provided the only goal of the game on Wednesday, and Grant Rollheiser posted 31 saves, but Wichita fell 2-1. Joey Sides put the Thunder on the board first on Friday, before the Eagles reeled off three-straight goals to pull away. Landon Oslanski added a power play marker in the third period to pull within one, but Wichita would not find the equalizer and went on to lose 3-2. Saturday night saw the Thunder get blanked, 4-0 by the Eagles. The Wichita power play went 1-for-12 at Colorado, and now ranks worst in the ECHL at 7-for-92 on the year.
The week ahead: Friday and Saturday at Tulsa (10-10-1-1), Sunday home vs. Cincinnati (12-6-2-2)
UTAH GRIZZLIES (14-7-2-0, 30 Points)
The Grizzlies rebounded nicely from their road trip through the Central Division, sweeping a three game home series with the Alaska Aces. Ryan Walters led the way on Wednesday, netting a pair of goals and adding an assist, while Charles Sarault (1 G, 2 A) and Alex Krushelnyski (1 G, 1 A) also put multiple points on the score sheet. Taran Kozun posted 26 saves for a 5-0 shutout win. Eric Knodel and Matt Berry’s first period goals on Friday gave Utah an early lead, then after surrendering two goals, Walters scored the game winner on the power play in the final minute to secure a 3-2 win. Berry scored twice and added an assist, while Barry Almeida added a goal and assist on Saturday to give the Grizzlies a 4-2 win over the Aces.
The week ahead: Wednesday at Idaho (9-14-4-0), Friday and Saturday home vs. Colorado (11-12-2-0)
RAPID CITY RUSH (12-8-1-1, 26 Points)
Rapid City remains in second place, following two wins out of three games played last week. Mikhail Stefanovich netted a hat trick and added an assist while five other Rush players scored multiple points in Tuesday’s 7-2 home drubbing of Wichita. Stefanovich continued to roll on Friday night, posting another hat trick, this time against the Quad City Mallards. Danny Battochio was solid in net, stopping 29 shots in the 4-2 win. Zach Cohen’s first period goal gave Rapid City a 1-0 lead that lasted nearly 43-minutes on Saturday before Quad City scored twice within three minutes to hand the Rush a 2-1 loss. Battochio made 35 saves as his record fell to 7-4-0-1 on the season.
The week ahead: Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Alaska (8-15-1-2)
COLORADO EAGLES (11-12-2-0, 24 Points)
The Eagles pulled within two points of second place, thanks to a three game home sweep of the Wichita Thunder last week. Everett Sheen’s first goal of the season put the Eagles on the board first on Wednesday, then Trent Daavettila added a power play marker late in the second and Eric Levine posted 21 saves as the Eagles held on for a 2-1 win. A three-goal second period, with goals coming from Daavettila, Sheen and Joe Zarbo would be all the offense Colorado would need on Friday as they went on to claim a 3-2 win. Adrian Veideman’s two goals led the offensive charge for Colorado on Saturday night, as Zarbo added a goal and assist and Levine turned back 20 shots in a 4-0 shutout win.
The week ahead: Wednesday home vs. Allen (15-8-1-0), Friday and Saturday at Utah (14-7-2-0)
IDAHO STEELHEADS (9-14-4-0, 22 Points)
Idaho picked up four points out of a possible eight, as they claimed their first back-to-back wins since November 2 during a four game road trip through the Central Division. The trip did not start well, though, as the Steelheads failed to score in a 4-0 loss at Allen on Wednesday. Idaho scored twice in the third period at Tulsa on Thursday night on goals from Jefferson Dahl and Andrew Panzarella; however, it was too little, too late as they would fall 4-2. They bounced out of their funk the following night, with four players finding the net in a 4-2 win over the Oilers. Maxime Lagace posted 23 saves as the Steelheads outshot the Oilers 38-25. On their return trip to Allen, Idaho outshot the Americans 30-18 and Cole Ully scored his first goal of the season 3:24 in overtime to claim a 3-2 win.
The week ahead: Wednesday home vs. Utah (14-7-2-0), Friday and Saturday home vs. Allen (15-8-1-0)
ALASKA ACES (8-15-1-2, 19 Points)
The struggles continued for the Aces last week, as they dropped a three game road series at Utah last week. The Aces offense could not get going on Wednesday, failing to score a goal in a 5-0 shutout loss to the Grizzlies. Down 2-0 Friday, Tim Coffman and Garet Hunt scored to tie the game before Utah scored the game winner with 48-seconds remaining. Stephen Perfetto scored his fifth of the season and Coffman added a second period power play goal to tie the game going into the second intermission on Saturday. However, the Aces would go on to allow a power play goal and shorthanded goal in the final period and fell short 4-2.
The week ahead: Friday, Saturday and Sunday home vs. Rapid City (12-8-1-1)
GOALS: Tyson Fawcett (EVN) 15; Daultan Leveille (EVN) 13; Tyler Barnes (MO) 12; Matt Berry (UTH), Jack Downing (CIN) 11; Five players tied with 10.
ASSISTS: Chad Costello (ALN) 23; Trent Daavettila (COL), Mike Monfredo (QC) 16; Rocco Carzo (MO), Rob Linsmayer (IDH) 15; Six players tied with 14.
POINTS: Chad Costello (ALN) 33; Tyler Barnes (MO) 26; Trent Daavettila (COL) 25; Matt Berry (UTH) 23; Nick Huard (CIN) 22.
*From players on active ECHL rosters as of December 15, 2015
WINS: Josh Robinson (MO), Joel Rumpel (ALN) 11; Parker Milner (MO), Steve Michalek (QC), Kevin Carr (TUL) 8.
GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE: Parker Milner (MO) 1.64; Josh Robinson (MO) 1.65; Kevin Carr (TUL) 1.95; Kris Lazaruk (COL) 1.97; Shane Owen (IND) 2.30.
SAVE PERCENTAGE: Parker Milner (MO) 0.938; Josh Robinson (MO) 0.931; Steve Michalek (QC) 0.924; Kris Lazaruk (COL) 0.923; Shane Owen (IND) 0.922.
*From players on active ECHL rosters as of December 15, 2015
Check out our previous ECHL Western Conference Recaps:
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 / Week 8
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Contact the writer: john.hall@prohockeynews.com
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