What’s wrong with Tuuka?

Tuukka Rask 0-3-0 so far this season...

With five games in the book of the Lakers’ 2017-18 CCHL season, the team owns an uninspiring record of 2-3 with 16 goals scored and 15 goals allowed. But digging a little below the surface, you discover that the performances of the two goaltenders that have started games thus far have been very different.

Following significant mismanagement of their goalie situation last season, the Lakers used the offseason to seriously address that part of their roster. Between acquiring Cam Talbot via trade and signing Cam Ward as a free agent, only Tuuka Rask remains from last year.

While Ware has yet to see any regular season game action, Talbot is currently 2-0, having allowed only 4 goals. By all accounts, Talbot has delivered thus far on the promise of a solid contributor to a team with playoff aspirations.

Unfortunately, Rask - last season’s stalwart - has not been as successful. In three starts, Rask is 0-3 and has allowed 10 goals. Rask has posted a 0.894 save percentage compared to the 0.942 of Talbot.

While some this can be dismissed to small sample sizes, this does not bode well for the Lakers if they must lean on Rask as the season progresses.

The Lakers will face a difficult decision in these next few weeks if Rask does not turn things around as he carries a cap hit of 7.5 million is signed until the end of next season. Meanwhile, Talbot is in the first of a three-year contract and Ward is signed for only one year.

In the meantime, the Lakers will continue to split starts between both Rask and Talbot with the hope that things work out.

As the 2017-18 CCHL season continues to play out, it will be interesting to see how it all goes.

Halifax Returns from Road Trip for Home Opener

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The Hammerheads returned home from their three game road trip that saw them go 1-0-2. The Calgary Chinook are in town for the home opener, which will be a sellout. Only standing room only tickets remain for tonight's contest.

Speaking to the press, Halifax General manager Rob Williams said, "Starting on the road was beneficial for our young squad. It gave the kids a week away from all the excitement here in town to focus on playing good hockey, sticking with our system and not being distracted by the kind of things that you have to deal with when you're at home. Nobody's bothering you for tickets, you're not waking up to feed the baby at 2:00 am, etc. It's all about hockey when you're on the road."

When asked about his recent additions, Williams remarked, "Getting both Chris Tierney and Ian Cole should add some defensive depth for us. Goals may be hard for us to score a lot of this season, so improving our depth made sense. We can't afford to get into shoot-outs with other teams, we just don't have the guns yet. Tierney will be centering the fourth line and see some penalty killing time. Ian Cole will play with Faulk which should make for a decent second pairing."

 A question was asked about young phenom Auston Matthews, who has seemed very comfortable so far in the CCHL.

"What do you think about Matthews first few games?"

"I think he's living up to expectations. Three goals in three games is all anyone could ask of the young man. One thing that you guys don't see like we with the team do is his leadership. He's got a maturity about him and he's very likable. The guys just gravitate to him and enjoy being around him. He know's he's a special talent but he's not arrogant at all. So far, he's doing everything we ask of him and he's doing it the right way.

The Hammerheads have had fantastic support from the local community with all the season ticket packages being sold. The team has set aside approximately 750 game day tickets for the public, with most of them being SRO seats.

UPDATE: Halifax tied Calgary on a late 3rd period goal by Jason Chimera. Tyler Johnson added two assists and netminder Keith Kinkaid stopped 36 of 38 Chinook shots on net.

Musicmen edge Orrsmen, 4-2 in Home Opener...

Before a capacity crowd of 18,500, the CCHL Champion Dayton Musicmen opened their 17-18 home schedule with a 4-3 victory over the visiting Parry Sound Orrsmen.

Nate MacKinnon led the Dayton offense with his first two goals of the season. Sean Monahan added a goal and an assist and Dylan Larkin also scored.

"It was a pretty solid performance for us." said MacKinnon. "A lot of us younger guys seemed to have some space tonight. I think our speed gave Parry Sound some problems."

Dayton outshot the Orrsmen 34-32 and Musicmen netminder Brian Elliot earned his second win of the new year by stopping 29 of 32 shots.

"Every game I play seems to get me a little closer to where I need to be for this team. I know I had a brutal opened against the Falcons, but this was my fourth start in a row and I definitely feel better now than I did that first game." Fort Erie blasted the Musicmen 9-1 in the season opener.

Dylan Larkin gave the 'Men an early lead when he beat Parry Sound netminder Mike Condon, with Barkov in the box for a minor infraction, for a short handed goal. "Fedor saw me get behind their defense when he got the puck deep in our end. I don't know if they were caught trying to change their dmen or what, but his pass was perfect - I didn't have to break my stride at all. I had plenty of speed and their goalie bit hard on my first deke and then I just slid the puck into the net behind him."

Larkin's goal was Dayton's first short handed goal of the season.

Late in the first, Nate MacKinnon tipped in a wrist shot from Marc Methot to up their lead to 2-0.

Jack Eichel scored the Orrsmen's first goal of the game with just four seconds left in the opening period.

After a scoreless second period, Monahan scored Dayton's second short handed goal of the game, which was followed by Parry Sounds second tally of the game when Brett Connolly beat Elliot with a backhand shot over his left shoulder.  "Connolly's a skilled player and his backhand was something. I know I didn't give him much to shoot at, but he found that tiny sliver I did give him. Sweet goal..." said Elliot.

MacKinnon then scored his second goal of the game and the season on a deflection of a snap shot by Monahan at the 8:37 mark of the third, to give Dayton a 4-2 lead.

Sam Bennett then scored a freak goal after his dump-in from center ice took a crazy bounce off of the glass to the left of Brian Elliot. The puck ricocheted off the glass and took one quick bounce and then slid into the Musicmen's net before Elliot could get back to the crease and stop it.

"That kind of thing happens every now and then," said Elliot. "Hopefully that the last one of those for this season.

Dayton held on for the last 40 seconds of the regulation to win their first home game of the season.

The Musicmen improved to 2-2-0 on the season. Parry Sound fell to 1-3-0.

Three Stars: 

1st- MacKinnon
2nd-Monahan
3rd- Tyutin

Up next...

Dayton will host the winless Portland Owls on Monday evening at 7:00pm...

Matt Tennyson Joins Dayton

Matt Tennyson - Dayton's newest defenseman

Matt Tennyson was disappointed earlier this week at being placed on waivers by the Victoria Ronin.

"Look, I was drafted back in 2012. Traded a few times. Been owned by Thunder Bay, Murfreesboro, Springfield, Dayton, Victoria. It's 2015. I haven't exactly made my mark yet. I thought maybe I'd spend the season on the Free Agent list and not play. Which would suck." said Tennyson.

What the 27-year-old defenseman didn't anticipate was being claimed by the Dayton Musicmen.

"No, I didn't see that coming. I know Dayton is rebuilding and they've loaded up on high end forwards. Their young defensive prospects are a year or so away, so right now, they have some older guys and a couple guys like me, but who are a little more established than me."

Dayton has seven defensemen under contract, but all except Mark Stuart are on a one year contract.

"We expect to focus on defenseman and goaltenders in the 2018 CCHL Entry Draft," said Musicmen GM Bill Corfield. "Chabot and Sanheim may spend some time in the NHL this coming season. Dante Fabbro has a few more years at Boston University. Erik Gustafsson may see some time with the Hawks this season. We project to get one of the best dmen in the next draft. Possibly two, and then we'll assess where we stand at that point."

Corfield cited the current need on the Dayton blueline, and the claiming of Tennyson as a strategic move for this season, but also one that might pay off down the road.

"Most of our guys are pretty prone to injuries and we felt seven guys weren't going to be enough. Matt was appealing because of his affordability, his age, and his relative usefulness. He has his own injury issues of course, but it's another option for us. Sure, we're rebuilding - but we'd like to be competitive too."

Tennyson was happy to return to Ohio and was eager to get to meet his new team mates. "I think there's an opportunity to play in Dayton this season. I'll work hard and see what happens. I appreciate them giving me this chance."

Tennyson is expected to play tomorrow night when the Musicmen play the Orrsmen in their 2017-18 home opener at the Soundstage.

Fort Erie Acquires A Goalie...

Fort Erie, ON -- September 8, 2017

The Fort Erie Falcons returned home this morning and exiting the bus into a car was an unidentified figure. 

It was a scene of shock and awe as this mysterious figure left the bus into an awaiting car.  The spectators on hand to welcome the team home were at a loss as they didn't recognize this man in his mid 20's with nicely styled hair. 

He looked European and wore what appeared to be an Armani suit.  We managed to get a picture of this man as he got into his car. 

We attempted to reach team officials for comment but no comment was forthcoming.  We just had to find out who this mystery European was before TMZ could report it. 

Luckily, we were at the Fort Erie Gazette and Pizza (yes they are combined, you can't survive in this day in age just being a newspaper) had a relationship with the producers of the television show Cheaters. 

We reached out to the folks at Cheaters for their face recognition technology and were able to identify the person we saw that morning. 

It was none other than Sudbury Miners goaltender Philipp Grubauer in that Armani suit. 

We asked ourselves what Grubauer would be doing in Fort Erie and then we received a clue. 

It was a press release. 

The Falcons announced that they acquired Grubauer and Sudbury's fourth pick in 2018 for top prospect Anthony Beauvillier and a second round pick in 2019. 

It appears that GM Matt Young was at it again today just hours after expressing concern about the number of goals against this season. 

We were unable to reach Young or Grubauer for comment but I am sure there is more to come in this developing story. 

Fort Erie Trades Ian Cole to Halifax for Ollie Maatta...

Ollie Maatta's new home in the CCHL

Fort Erie - September 8/17


In another strange twist of events, the Fort Erie Falcons made a transaction on Thursday to acquire 23-year-old defenseman Olli Maatta from Halifax in exchange for Ian Cole and minor league center Laurent Dauphin. 

"Ian Cole wasn't happy with his ice time.  He felt he had been in the league too long to be playing behind Jaccob Slavin and rookie Zach Werenski.  He asked for a trade" said GM Matt Young. 

"I've said it quite a bit in my time here.  If you don't want to be here, we'll make sure you find a new home." 

In Maatta, the Falcons get a defensively solid player that has had been plagued by the injury bug throughout his career.  The team is hoping that given his age, he will be able to play a lot of healthy hockey in the years to come. 

"Olli has had some bad luck.  He's 23 and has a decent frame.  I think it's only a matter of time until the health thing goes his way" added Young. 

Maatta wasted no time in suiting up for the Falcons, playing in Fort Erie's 6-3 victory in Parry Sound on Thursday night. 

When asked what he thought about his debut and new team, Maatta seemed pretty impressed. 

"I didn't play my best tonight.  I was a minus one.  A lot of travel to get here today so I know I'll be better as I get more comfortable playing with Seabs (Brent Seabrook).  I do like the way we play the game though.  We had 64 shots tonight.  We played good" gushed Maatta. 

How did Maatta feel about being traded to FOR? You be the judge...

With three full days off until their next game, the team is focusing on the defensive side of the puck. 

While Fort Erie leads the league in goals with 27 (no other team has 20), the team has given up 14 on the year - amongst the worst in the league. 

"We just aren't going to win a lot of playoff rounds playing this fire wagon hockey.  We have to be better for Gibby" said Blake Wheeler of his team's defensive woes. 

Next up for the Falcons are the Wisborg Donuts on Day 11 of the season.  This will be Fort Erie's second home game and the team will be giving out free donuts for every goal they score against Wisborg's solid goaltending. 

Calgary Chinook flatten Wisborg Donuts 4-1

Crosby leads the CCHL in shots with 25.

CALGARY – Carey Price left the game in the last minute of the first period as the Calgary Chinook win their fourth straight home games to start the season. After the game, Carey Price was diagnosed with an upper body injury that put him to Day to Day. Wisborg Donuts goalie Nilsson was also injured in this game and replaced by Lehner in the middle of the second period.

Howard went on and made 18 saves to get the win for the Chinook. “It was great to have a reliable backup goalie that can win games for you. “ Said GM Eugene Yip. Howard was acquired in the offseason from the Dayton Musicmen for prospect Marcus Petterson.

Crosby, Niederreiter, Backlund and Letang scored for the Chinooks and Rakell has the only goal for the Donuts. “That was an unbelievable game by Backs.” Captain Crosby said. “Especially the shorthanded breakaway goal he scored in the second period.”

Despite the win tonight, there was a concern with the performance of left winger Johnny Gaudreau, who only have one point in the last four games playing on the first line with Sidney Crosby and Pastrnak. “I am not worried about his production; points will eventually come for a player like Johnny. I have no plan in tinkering with the lines just yet, “said GM Eugene Yip.

NOTES:
Sidney Crosby is leading the league in Shots with 25.
It was Wisborg Donuts first loss of the season.

UP NEXT:
Chinooks will visit the Halifax Hammerheads and Austin Matthews, who are also unbeaten with one win and two ties to start the season.