WAYNE, NJ – It is said that while offense is a great thing to have, it is defense that wins championships. If this is true, the New Jersey Outlaws could be about set to bring a trophy home.
Outlaws’ goalie Dan McWhinney stopped all 34 shots he faced and his teammates gave his just enough offense as New Jersey defeated the Cape Cod Bluefins 3-0 in games two of their FHL Commissioner’s Cup playoff series Saturday night at the Capital One Ice Vault. The Outlaws now lead the best-of-five series two games to none as the teams head to Hyannis, MA for game three on Wednesday.
The tenor of Saturday’s tilt was much different than Friday’s series opener. Game one saw a total of 14 goals between the two teams and plenty of chippy play. Game two was more of a defensive struggle and just one real scrap.
The first period went by scoreless but it wasn’t for lack of effort. The Bluefins put a healthy ten shots on McWhinney who handled them with ease. Down the other end, Cape Cod netminder Adam Roy faced 18 Outlaws shots and he too turned every one away. There were just three penalties called but none resulted in a power play goal.
The second period started off much like the first had gone. The goalies continued to be perfect in denying the opposition offense. McWhinney faced two early Bluefins man advantage situations and handled them while Roy thwarted an Outlaws power play. Cape Cod thought they had opened the scoring when a shot got past McWhinney but it clanged off the crossbar and the officials ruled it never crossed the line.
Midway through the period, New Jersey finally broke the ice when veteran Matt Puntureri found a way to beat Roy at the 10:36 mark. It was the lone goal of the period as Roy and McWhinney remained stingy between the pipes. The Outlaws once again out-shot the Bluefins, this time by a count of 17-11, but the lead was just one heading to the third.
The final period, as it has been on many occasions this year, belonged to New Jersey on the scoreboard. Matt Miller lit the lamp 2:13 into the stanza to double the Outlaws lead. It was a bit of luck for Miller whose centering pass from the wing caromed off a Cape Cod defender and past Roy. McWhinney was on his game as the Bluefins tried to increase the pressure in hopes of getting back into the contest. Nathan Oke stuck the final dagger into Cape Cod’s hopes when he took a pass from Travis Kauffeldt and buried a wrist shot in the back of the net at the 15:06 mark, sealing the win and a commanding series lead.
Game Notes: New Jersey was without Craig Cole and Jeff Winchester who were both sitting out one-game suspensions for incidents in Friday’s game…Kauffeldt may miss game three after being given a major penalty and a game misconduct for elbowing late in game two…For the game, the Outlaws out-shot the Bluefins 42-34…Roy, who started in place of Chris Testa who was banged up in game one, recorded 39 saves in suffering the loss…The sole fight of the game came with less than four minutes remaining when Cape Cod’s David Lun squared off with New Jersey’s Brett Angel. It was Lun’s second fight in two nights…Game three at the Hyannis Youth Community Center is set for Wednesday at 7:35 pm. If a game four is needed, it will be played at the HYCC on Thursday.
Contact the author at gary.marchese@prohockeynews.com
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