Shattuck sweeps weekend in U.P.; takes league lead
Shattuck beat the Ojibwa Eagles 9-3 Friday night to lock up at least a second place finish in the final standings, and then topped the Marquette Electricians 4-2 Saturday and 6-1 Sunday.
The Eagles (3-8-3) scored the first goal Friday night as Robbie Payne found open net, but Shattuck owned a 2-1 lead after one period.
After Bryant Froberg tied the game at two, SSM went on a scoring spree with seven straight goals before Payne added his second of the game.
Caleb Neal stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced to earn the victory.
Saturday the Electricians (2-14) jumped out to an early lead as Ezra Mcphail scored a power-play goal near the end of the first period.
After a Paul Enders goal tied the game at one, the Electros again took the lead, this time on a short-handed marker by Dugan Kelly.
It was all Shattuck from there though as Nicholas Weberg tied the game at the end of the second. Denis Dalidovich then added the eventual game winner 1:09 into the third, and Hans Drawbert gave the team an insurance tally in the final minute.
Marcus Zelzer stopped 28 shots to earn the win.
Sunday morning Weberg gave the visitors an early lead, but T.J. Christensen tied it before the first period ended.
Clay Curwin scored the eventual winner 4:56 in, then Weberg made it 3-1 late in the second period.
Peter Clements scored 6:08 into the third to put SSM up by three and then Weberg scored his third of the game, earning his second hat trick of the season, before Ben Roush finished the scoring.
Weberg’s performance was his fourth straight multi-point game. Neal stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced for the win, moving his record to 4-0-3 on the year.
Shattuck has only two games remaining, both against the Ojibwa Eagles. With wins in both games the Sabres can clinch at least a tie for the league title.
The only team that can keep pace is the Capital Centre Pride (12-3-1), who had two games with the Eagles and two games with Thunder Bay remaining on their schedule.
The Thunder Bay Kings (7-7-2) could still finish as low as fifth or as high as third. The Kings will finish their season with a vital four-game road trip starting with games in the Soo and then in Lansing.
The Indians (4-7-5) are currently a game-and-a-half off pace of the Kings, ground that could be made up next week with a trip to Marquette.
The Eagles still have six NLHL games remaining, the most in the league. With an excellent finish, and some help, the Eagles could still earn the third seed.
However, there is also the possibility of being passed by the Electricians.
The Eagles will host the Capital Centre Pride this weekend at a neutral location before a home-and-home with Marquette and then two games at Shattuck.
Marquette will finish their season with three of their last four games at home, and all against U.P. rivals. The Tros can finish no higher than fifth place in the standings.
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Posted on Jan 25 2010 by NLHL