You're going to have to cut me some slack today because I normally don't make it habit to see the other side of midnight. If you noticed the 10:30pm time on the Denver Pioneers article yesterday, that's because I was up late to watch the only AIHL team that I'll cheer for in the Melbourne Mustangs. While the game had a 2pm start in the Victoria capital, it had an 11pm start time on Saturday night for those of us in the middle of North America. I was writing yesterday's article as I waited for the Mustangs to take the ice for the first time in 2024, and the end result was a lot of fun for the home side as they began their Goodall Cup defence!
The Mustangs hosted the 1-2-0 Brisbane Lightning on Sunday after the Lightning fell to the Melbourne Ice by a 5-2 score on Saturday. Former Bisons head coach Mike Sirant's new team was looking to bounce back by taking down the defending champions, but they'd need a big effort from the squad as they played their second game in as many nights. Former Bisons defender Mitchell Dyck was making a big impact in his AIHL rookie campaign with a strong start statistically, but the Lightning needed a sixty-minute effort from the entire roster.
The champs got on the board early when Chris Lawrence struck at 4:59 to record the Mustangs' first goal of the season, and this one might have been a little sweeter for the 37 year-old because it's the first goal he's scored as a dad! Congratulations, Chris, but I'm going to warn everyone that we're not done with Lawrence just yet. As it stood, the Mustangs took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission in a game where mistakes were leading to chances.
The second period saw the teams alternate in terms of who scored. Melbourne's Thomas Flack made it 2-0 at the 5:11 mark before Brisbane's Anthony Barnes scored his first of the season on the power-play to cut the deficit in half at 8:57. The Mustangs would restore the two-goal cushion with Chris Lawrence's second goal of the game - this one while shorthanded - at 10:10, but the Lightning would respond with a Mitchell Dyck's third goal of the season at 16:32 to make it 3-2. Lawrence, though, was en fuego in this game as he buried his hat trick goal at 19:29 to make it 4-2 for the Mustangs after 40 minutes!
Before we get to the third period, I have a question: is throwing one's hat onto the ice surface following a hat trick being scored just a North American thing in ice hockey? I didn't see one hat hit the ice for Lawrence's hatty on early Sunday morning, so maybe they don't do that in Australia? If someone has answers, let me know!
Melbourne might have salted this one away early as Dean Klomp added a power-play goal just 63 seconds into the final frame, and Matt Knox made it a 6-2 game at 1:48 when he scored his first AIHL goal in his career. Knox would add his second AIHL goal at 10:56 to make it a 7-2 game, but the Lightning's Sam Hodic chipped away with his power-play goal at 12:08 to make it 7-3. Anthony Barnes added his second goal of the game with 3:19 to play, but it was too little and too late as the Mustangs opened their Goodall Cup defence with a 7-4 win over the Brisbane Lightning! Sebastian Woodlands picked up the win with 11 saves on 15 shots while Nicholas Novysedlak suffered the loss after stopped 32 of 39 shots he faced.
Was this the kind of game that will make coaches happy? No, but there are enough things that the Mustangs did right that they should be able to build off this win heading into next Saturday's clash with the Perth Thunder (5pm Aussie time/2am CT). Getting a big game out of Lawrence, Scott Timmins, Dean Klomp, and Ty Wishart is a good sign for the top players skating for Melbourne this season as the foursome combined for four goals and seven assists. The Mustangs will need that production if they hope to repeat as champions.
Brisbane will return home after taking two beatings from the Melbourne AIHL squads. Being outscored 12-4 in the two games played at the O'Brien Icehouse means there's lots of video for the coaches to review, but it's never good starting the season 1-3-0 while allowing five-or-more goals in all four games.
It was a good first game for the Melbourne Mustangs skating as AIHL champions for the first time since 2015, and we'll see if they can send the fans home in Melbourne with back-to-back wins next weekend when they host the 3-1-0 Perth Thunder in what should be an intense, uptempo game between two solid teams! Will I be awake for it? It's not looking good, but I'll have to see if I can sneak in a nap on Friday or something to make that work!
I'll be honest in telling you that I didn't think the University of Denver was going to be victorious. I knew a little bit about the Pioneers' roster based on the fact that they have ten Canadians, four Californians, and two Europeans skating for them this season, but they didn't have the big names that the other three schools seemed to boast as they entered the Frozen Four weekend. Perhaps, though, that was their strength because this Denver team played four lines with the same consistent effort and had a goaltender who simply went supernova while making stops in his crease. In the end, the Pioneers showed that it didn't really matter what names were on the roster as long as the school's name appeared on the trophy.
Calgary-born netminder Matt Davis might have rewrote the NCAA Frozen Four goaltending books with his performance. The former Edge School and AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints netminder spent one season with the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL before landing in Denver where he's been nothing short of spectacular statistically with a 34-7-3 record over three seasons with a 2.19 GAA and a .919 save percentage. In his first full season as a start this year, the junior goaltender went 23-5-3 with a 2.34 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
What he did in the Frozen Four makes those stats look like a lazy beer league game. In four games, Davis stopped 139 of 142 shots he faced for a .979 save percentage, and was the first goaltender to shut out Boston College this season with Denver's magical 2-0 win today. And he showed off some of that magic with saves like this.
ESPN's John Buccigross may have said it best when he exclaimed that "Matt Davis is out of his mind" after watching him deny Ryan Leonard of what looked like a guaranteed power-play goal. That was a ridiculous save, and it's one of the reasons that the Denver Pioneers are the NCAA Men's Hockey Champions today.
In the four games that Denver played in the NCAA Tournament, they never scored more than two goals in any game. Tristan Broz was the hero in the 2-1 overtime win over Massachusetts, Sam Harris scored the game-winner in Denver's 2-1 win over Cornell, Broz was once again the hero as he scored his second overtime winner in Denver's 2-1 overtime win over Boston University, and Jared Wright had the opening goal and game-winner for Denver in their 2-0 win over Boston College in the championship final. In total, 13 players recorded points on the eight goals the Pioneers scored.
Head coach David Carle built his team well, and he'll only lose forward Connor Caponi and defence McKade Webster, Denver's captain, through graduation this year. With virtually his entire roster returning for next season assuming there are no players who transfer out, there's a strong belief that Denver may be poised for back-to-back championships following their NCAA-record tenth national championship. Freshman defender Zeev Buium will be drafted in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft this season, but it seems almost assured that he'll return for one more season with the Pioneers.
Take nothing away from Boston College's run to the final as they beat some very good teams to reach the final game. Sometimes, good teams run into hot goaltenders, and it was pretty clear from the stats and the highlight above that the Eagles run into a goalie who was on a completely different level in this tournament. With the likes of Will Smith, Cutter Gauthier, and the aforementioned Leonard looking at NHL careers once they leave Boston College, there will be other big games in which they'll play. Today, though, the Pioneers were the better team for sixty minutes when it mattered.
Congratulations go out to the Denver Pioneers on their incredible run to the NCAA National Men's Hockey Championship! While there may be a target on your backs next year after winning this title, everyone wants a shot at the champs. That's part of being the best, and to the victors, go the spoils!
If there's one thing I never tire of seeing, it's goals scored by guys who usually prevent them. We were treated to another goaltender goal tonight in the AHL, marking the fourth time it's happened this season. We'll get to those three other netminders who have done it, but tonight's goal happened in Hartford where the Springfield Falcons and the Hartford Wolf Pack were both fighting for their playoff lives. Neither of those teams has clinched a spot in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs, but Hartford's Louis Domingue helped his team in a big way tonight.
Domingue is a 32 year-old journeyman goaltender who was drafted in the fifth-round at 138th-overall in 2010 by the Arizona Coyotes. Since making his debut in 2014-15 with the Coyotes, Domingue has made appearances for six other NHL teams while spending most of last three seasons in the AHL. That's not to say that Domingue hasn't played meaningful games as he searched for opportunities. One may remember his play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs a few years ago when the Pittsburgh Penguins ran into goalie injury trouble.
In July 2022, Domingue signed with the New York Rangers where he was the main goaltender for Hartford as he awaited opportunities behind Igor Shesterkin and Jaroslav Halak. Shesterkin wasn't going anywhere in the offseason in 2023, but the Rangers acquired Jonathan Quick who made Domingue's path to the NHL a little more difficult once again. As such, Domingue has played one game in two seasons for the Blueshirts, but he made the most of it as he won the game over the Wild, has a 1.00 GAA, and a .962 save percentage after stopping 25 of 26 shots he faced in his Rangers era thus far.
The good news is that Domingue has been solid for the Wolf Pack at the AHL level where he's 36-20-12 in 71 games over two seasons, and his 14-8-4 record this season should likely have earned him more starts. He did get the start tonight, though, and the Wolf Pack and their fans were likely happy about that after he went and did this.
As I mentioned above, Domingue helped his team in a big way tonight as that insurance marker that he scored gave the Wolf Pack the 5-3 victory over the Thunderbirds, clinching a playoff spot for Hartford with the victory! For those asking, this is just the second time since 2014-15 that the Wolf Pack have qualified for the playoffs, so it was a rather big night for the AHL franchise this evening!
Domingue joins the likes of Strauss Mann, Alex Nedeljkovic, and Jaxson Stauber as the fourth goaltender to score in the AHL this season, and one has to wonder if there's something in the water at the AHL level. We know Domingue enjoys spicy pork and broccoli before starts as his pregame meal which the other three netminders don't share, so four goals in one season at the AHL level is a pretty incredible feat! Well done, AHL netminders!
Once more, here's the updated list of AHL goalies scorers.
Darcy Wakaluk, Rochester – Dec. 5, 1987 at Utica
Paul Cohen, Springfield – Mar. 28, 1992 vs. Rochester
Robb Stauber, Rochester – Oct. 9, 1995 at Prince Edward Island
Christian Bronsard, Syracuse – Oct. 30, 1999 at Rochester
Jean-Francois Labbe, Hartford – Feb. 5, 2000 at Quebec
Chris Mason, Milwaukee – Oct. 15, 2001 at Utah
Antero Niittymaki, Philadelphia – Apr. 11, 2004 at Hershey*
Seamus Kotyk, Milwaukee – Apr. 17, 2005 at San Antonio
Drew MacIntyre, Manitoba – Feb. 20, 2008 at Chicago*
Chris Holt, Binghamton – Mar. 19, 2010 vs. Rochester
Reto Berra, Lake Erie – Jan. 16, 2015 at Chicago
Jonas Gustavsson, Bakersfield – Mar. 24, 2017 vs. San Diego
Alex Nedeljkovic, Charlotte – Mar. 10, 2018 vs. Hartford
Tristan Jarry, W-B/Scranton – Nov. 14, 2018 at Springfield
Maxime Lagace, Chicago - May 25, 2019 at San Diego**
Collin Delia, Rockford - Dec. 17, 2021 at Texas
Lukas Dostal, San Diego - Mar. 2, 2022 at Colorado
Jesper Wallstedt, Iowa - Nov. 12, 2022 at Chicago
Pyotr Kochetkov, Chicago - Feb. 3, 2023 vs. Manitoba
Strauss Mann, Laval - Oct. 18, 2023 vs. Rochester
Alex Nedeljkovic, W-B/Scranton – Nov. 17, 2023 at Providence
Jaxson Stauber, Rockford - Feb. 16, 2024 vs. Chicago
Louis Domingue, Hartford - April 12, 2024 vs. Springfield
NOTE: asterisked goals are OT goals. Double-asterisked goal is a playoff goal.
23 men have their names in the AHL record book for recording a goal while stopping pucks, and it's pretty crazy that more than a third of those names have been added since late-2021. As we know, goalies are improving their stickhandling skills every year, though, so maybe we shouldn't be so surprised. What once was an outlier for goalie skills is now a required necessity to play the game!
Congratulations to Louis Domingue on the goal and the win tonight, and to the Wolf Pack for finding their way back to the AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs after missing out far too often considering the history of the franchise! Maybe Domingue can notch a playoff goal too?
The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, has a busy show planned for tonight as we get you set for the greatest contest on radio today. Before we get to those details, though, there are a few hockey stories that our hosts will work through as there are details and information that require discussion, and there's a kickoff for the AIHL defending champions this weekend as the Melbourne Mustangs host the Brisbane Lightning in their first action of the season. We'll get into that before diving into all the necessary details for Survivor: NHL Playoffs tonight of The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
We can't really avoid talking about the story, so Teebz and Jason will look at the current Arizona Coyotes situation, how it relates to Salt Lake City, whether they move to Utah or not, and all the other details that need to be considered before the end of the season. As stated above, they'll preview the season opener for the Melbourne Mustangs on April 14 as the defending AIHL champions face Mike Sirant and the Brisbane Lightning, and the final half-hour will be entirely about everything you need to know to participate in Survivor: NHL Playoffs next Thursday! It's an episode that big on details and information tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!
I have had a few questions about Survivor: NHL Playoffs, and I want to stress that this contest is available to all listeners inside and outside of Winnipeg as we do use the mail to send prizes to winners, so make sure you're tuned in if you're listening outside of Winnipeg! You're more than welcome to participate in the contest!
If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The new UMFM website's online streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. It's a solid app.
If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason discuss relocating franchises, kicking off a new season, every last detail about a contest, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
It's that magical time of year once again. It's when the grass starts to turn green, the leaves start budding on trees, the ice and snow recede to places no one needs to think about until October, and the NHL begins its annual 16-team battle to determine which team will be crowned as the Stanley Cup champion. With the latter event about to settle into life for the next two months, The Hockey Show is preparing for another postseason of fun where 16 listeners get a shot at claiming the title of "champion"!
I've already received a few questions about whether or not Survivor: NHL Playoffs will return this season, and this post is a flag on the beach that says Survivor's NHL Island is open for business once again this year! As you may have heard on the radio show over the last couple of weeks, our take on a Survivor contest is returning to the airwaves again as we look to crown a winner, award prizes to worthy competitors, and bestow fame and glory on the final entrant standing as The Hockey Show's 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs survivor!
In reality, there's no island in a tropical climate nor a boat that will get you there, and our annual show budget of $0.00 says Jason and I will never broadcast from an island in the south Pacific. However, if you're aware of the Survivor pools that are run between friends or at the office, ours is based on the same idea where you pick a random name of one of the contestants, and that person on Survivor is your person for the run of the show. If he or she is voted off the island, the game for you is over. In our contest, though, we put our own twist on the game so it becomes much more hockey-centric.
This is where you come in as Jason and I will be seeking sixteen people to call The Hockey Show on April 18, 2024 where each of those callers will choose a number from 1 to 16. Each of those sixteen numbers will have a corresponding playoff team assigned to it randomly. Whatever number you've chosen will reveal your team for the playoffs, and that team becomes YOUR team in a similar random fashion to Survivor pools. All you have to do is be near your phone that evening between 5:30pm and 6:30pm Central Time, call us, and choose one of the numbers on the board to find out what playoff team you'll be rooting for this year!
If you need a real-world example of how this works, let's say that Jason were to call in and choose #6. We flip that card over to reveal that #6 has the New York Rangers under it. Officially, Jason's team is the Rangers until they're eliminated or they win, and card #6 is no longer available as a choice for the next callers. Jason will be cheering as a Rangers fan this spring until they're done playing.
Following Jason's call, let's say that I call in next and select #13 as my number, revealing the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas would become my team until they're eliminated or they win, and card #13 is no longer available as a choice for the next callers. Wash, rinse, repeat until there are no numbers and teams remaining.
If you think you're up for this, you'll need to have your radio tuned to The Hockey Show on April 18 and have your phone close to you. Before you commit, though, what we haven't told you yet is that there's a twist in all of this radio fun. And this twist is where things get crazy fun for everyone involved.
Just when you think you're out, you're still in the contest until "Tribal Council". You may be wondering how a radio show does "Tribal Council", but we already know your team was eliminated so you've technically been voted off Survivor's NHL Island. However, every episode of Survivor ends with the contestant voted off doing their exit interview, and that's precisely what you will do: you'll deliver an exit interview for your team! We'll call you, set up the quick two- or three-minute chat about your team, and then you're officially done with the contest. Easy-peasy, right?
Some of you may worry about being heard on the radio, but I assure you it's just like talking on the phone. In other words, don't think we're going to make it sound weird or anything. But knowing that this is going to happen, what might you say? You're free to talk about how you're disappointed that a specific player didn't show up in the playoffs or how you never thought there would be an upset this early or how you're just lucky that your chosen team made the playoffs. Or you can be like Jacob and talk about your team embarrassed you.
While the CBS version of Survivor promises a big cash prize and whole bunch of prizes from sponsors - both of which The Hockey Show doesn't have - we will be offering up some prizing that aligns with our lack of budget. There will be some smaller prizes handed out as "challenge prizes" much like the network reality show does, and those challenges are as follows:
First shutout recorded in the playoffs.
First hat trick recorded in the playoffs.
First goaltender point recorded in the playoffs.
First team eliminated from the playoffs.
First to advance from the second round to the third round.
First team to score seven goals in one game in the playoffs.
First upset of the playoffs.
The first team that accomplishes any of these challenge goals will earn their Survivor player a corresponding prize! The prizes have yet to be collected, but we've done hockey books, gift cards, and other assorted smaller prizes in the past, so expect much of the same this year. Any prizes earned through challenges will be handed out while supplies and challenges last and in the order they were completed! Needless to say, teams can earn more than one prize in this challenge part of the contest, so choose wisely when it comes to the randomly-distributed teams! Or just choose your favorite number. Either works!
Just like the TV show, we do offer prizes for the finalists! The grand prize winner who captures the Survivor crown will take home their choice of an NHL jersey plus a few additional prizes! The finalist will get jersey not chosen by the winner as a runner-up prize, so you're going home with a prize as long as your team makes it through three rounds which is pretty awesome when all you had to do is call us!
As a new wrinkle to this year's contest, The Hockey Show will also be asking if you plan on supporting UMFM's Pledge-O-Rama event that runs between April 19th at 6:30pm until 8:00pm on April 26th. For anyone who enters the Survivor: NHL Playoffs contest AND donates to Pledge-O-Rama, we'll put you into an additional draw for even more prizes! You help us, we'll reward you - it's that simple. Read the linked article above about all the Pledge-O-Rama details and get your pledge into UMFM for a chance to win even more shwag!
I should also be upfront and inform you that we have some requirements that need to be met before you can participate. The good news is we won't need a medical team available like CBS does for their version of Survivor, but we do have a few must-have REQUIREMENTS for anyone to participate. They include:
You must call into the show on Thursday, April 18 between 5:30pm and whenever we fill all the spots in the contest. If all 16 spots aren't filled within the hour, Jason and I will get creative to fill the empty spots. Don't complain - you had an hour to make one phone call!
You must have a phone number and an email address. If you're calling us, I'm pretty sure you have at least one of these already. If you have neither, are you even alive?
A desire to watch your chosen team's progress in the NHL Playoffs. You don't need to follow them religiously, but it's better to know something if/when your team is eliminated.
Beyond that, this is a fun contest meant for laughter with a few rewards for those who get lucky. It's not to be taken seriously in any way, and it's a nice way for us to reward our loyal listeners with some free gear. If this has enticed you to listen for the first time or come back to the show after not listening, welcome to the show and here's hoping you get into the contest! Just remember, though, that if your team gets bounced, we're calling you for that exit interview. If that scares you in any way, work through that fear!
Be ready, folks, because this contest always is fun for everyone involved. Like CBS' Survivor, only one person can be crowned as "survivor" in this contest, and we're ready to kick things off on April 18! Here's hoping you'll call in for the best radio contest in hockey!
Posts
