Val Matteotti Eagles at Christmas Break with 7-9-2 Record
After last weekends 1-1 record, the Val Matteotti Pee Wee AA Eagles sit with a 7-9-2 record, good for 3rd place in the South Division of the SCAHL.
The Eagles started the weekend off with a 5-o shutout over the Taber Golden Suns on Friday night. Lethbridge scored at the 8:11 mark when Grayson Constable scored on the powerplay on a setup by Sam Paskuski. The lead was extended to 3-0 by the end of the second period. Scoring in the second for the Eagles was Constable and Tyler Anderson. Adian Peacock and Turner Ohno assisted on Anderson’s goal. The Eagles made it 4-0 when Kason Furukawa scored on a shot from the point. With 4:32 left in the third Adian Peacock scored on a pass out front by Anderson to make it the 5-0 final. Also assisting on the play was Colton Wuerfel. Matt Lukacs was in net and faced 25 shots to earn the shutout for the Eagles.
The second game saw the Eagles fall to the Bow Valley Timberwolves 17-3. Scoring for Lethbridge was Constable, Anderson and Quinn Gundlock. Assists went to Anderson and Paskuski on the last goal. Matt Lukacs and Brendon Morden shared the goaltending duties and faced 56 shots in total.
Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles Play Two Exhibition Games on Weekend
The Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles played two exhibition games over the past weekend against the Bow Valley Flames from Calgary.
Saturday saw the Eagles lose by a 4-3 score. Lethbridge scored the lone goal of the first period twelve minutes in when Grayson Constable took a shot that caught the far top corner on the Flames net. Setting up the play from the defensive zone was Aidan Peacock. Bow Valley stormed back in the second scoring two early goals on the powerplay and a late goal while the teams were playing 4 on 4. With 6:40 left in the third Constable put the puck through the goalies legs to pull the Eagles back to within one. Blake Kleiner assisted on the play. The Flames regained the two goal lead with 2:21 left but the Eagles did score a late goal with the extra attacker and while on the powerplay when Constable completed the hat trick with only 1 second left on the clock. Assists went to Tyler Anderson and Sam Paskuski. The shots in the game were even at 32 apiece. In net for the Eagles was Matt Lukacs.
The second game started out with a scoreless first period. By midway through the second frame the Bow Valley Flames had taken a 2-0 lead. The Eagles tied the game with two goals across a five minute span. Opening the scoring for Lethbridge was Colton Wuerfel who put the puck in on the short side on a play set up by Anderson. Kleiner tied the game at 2-2 on the powerplay with assists to Isiah Day Chief and Quinn Gundlock. Calgary was able to regain a 3-2 lead before the period was out. The Flames were able to add two more powerplay markers in the third to take a 5-2 win. In net for the Eagles was Brendon Morden who faced 28 shots. The Eagles managed 22 shots on the Bow Valley net.
Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles go 1-2 over Last Weekends Matches
The Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles finished off their three game weekend with a 4-3 win over the Taber Golden Suns on Sunday in Taber. The Ealges had dropped the first game of the home and home series with Taber 5-4 and lost the Remembrance Day match against the Lethbridge Pee Wee AA Hurricanes 6-3.
The Sunday match saw the Eagles get their first win against Taber this season. Lethbridge’s Sam Paskuski opened the scoring half way through the first period when he moved out from the corner and tucked the puck in on the far post. Assisting on the play was Quinn Gundlock. The two teams played 18 minutes of hockey before Taber was able to even the score at 1-1 at the 10:18 mark of the second period. With only 45 seconds left in the second, Sam Paskuski notched a power play marker with an in tight deak on the Taber goalie. After the Eagles went up 3-1 on the powerplay five minutes into the third, Taber quickly replied with their own goal less than one minute later to again pull to within one. The Eagle’s Matt Lukacs robbed Taber two minutes later with a great glove grab on a shot marked for the top glove hand corner. Taber was able to evenutally tie the score at 3-3 on the power play with six minutes left in the third. With Lethbridge pouring on the pressure towards the end of the game, Tyler Anderson was able to tuck the backhand upstairs over the Taber goaltender with only 24 seconds left in the game to give the Eagles the 4-3 win. Assisting on the goal was Kyle Bloor. Matt Lukacs’ faced 38 shots on net, while the Eagles managed 39 shots against the Golden Suns.
The Saturday afternoon game again Taber saw no scoring until late in the period when Sam Paskuski punched in a loose puck while the Eagles were on the two-man advantage. Assists on the play went to Isiah DayChief and Blake Kleiner. Taber was able to tie the score 1-1 before the period was out. Tyler Anderson’s shot from the top of the circle caught the top of the net two minutes into the second on a play setup by Grayson Constable to again give the Eagles a one goal lead. Taber replied only to see the Eagle’s Anderson tuck in a rebound on a shot by Constable setup by Paskuski. Taber was not able to capitalize on a breakaway midway through the period as Brendon Morden stayed with the Taber shooter who tried a deak in tight. Lethbridge responded with Anderson’s third goal of the game on a play set up by Blake Kleiner. Taber was able to score three unanswered goals with one later in the second and two early on in the third to take the 5-4 win. Brendon Morden was in net for the Eagles and faced 29 shots. Taber’s goalies faced 39 Lethbridge shots.
The Remembrance Day game saw the Eagles play the Lethbridge Hurricanes. In the first period the two teams exchanged goals. Scoring on the powerplay for the Eagles was Sam Paskuski who tucked in the rebound on some fine work by Grayson Constable in the offensive zone. Kyle Bloor started off the second for the Eagles with a backhand through the pads of the Hurricanes goalie. Assists on the play went to Colton Weurfel and Quinn Gundlock. At the 12:00 mark of the second Tyler Anderson tucked the puck in by the post with support from Paskuski and Kleiner. The Hurricanes were able to tie the score at 3-3 before the second period was out. Three more goals by the Hurricanes in the third led them to the 6-3 win and the Eagles first loss to the Hurricanes this season. The Eagles only managed 21 shots on net while the Hurricanes directed 34 shots at the Eagle’s Matt Lukacs.
Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles Lose Lone Weekend Match
The Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles travelled to Red Deer on Saturday and lost 10-4 to the Red Deer TBS on their lone weekend game. The Eagles came out flat in the first period and dug themselves into a 7-1 hole by the end of the first. Scoring the lone first period goal for the Eagles was Grayson Constable who put the puck into the net on a rebound set up by Tyler Anderson. Sam Puskuski got the second assist by setting up the play from behind the net. The Eagles came out in the second with a good effort outshooting Red Deer 13-5 but Red Deer managed the only goal of the frame. The third saw the Eagles come out and outscore Red Deer but it was not enough to overcome the early deficeit. Lethbridge scored at the 18:41 mark of the third when Anderson brought the puck from in back of the net and jammed in his own rebound. Constable helped set up the play with some good work in the Red Deer zone. After Red Deer scored a short-handed goal Lethbridge immediately scored a powerplay goal 11 seconds later when Constable took the puck into the Red Deer zone and took a shot that found the far side of the net on the Red Deer goalie. Less than four minutes later Quinn Gundlock punched the puck into the open side on a play set up by Brody Hansen and Riley Trempner. Red Deer rounded out the scoring with six minutes left. Brendon Morden and Matt Lukacs were in net for the Eagles.
Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagle Split Weekend Games
The Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagle’s started off the weekend with a loss to the Venom in Medicine Hat on Friday night but rebounded with a win on Sunday against the undefeated Airdrie Lightning.
On Friday the Eagles fell 11-7 to the Venom in a game that saw Lethbridge battle back at various points throughout the game. Medicine Hat took an early lead and added a short-handed goal midway through the first. Before the period was over Lethbridge tied the score at 2-2. Scoring for Lethbridge with three minutes left was Carter Graham who tucked the puck in on the far post on a pass put out from behind the net by Sam Paskuski. Riley Trempner also assisted on the play. The tying goal came from Grayson Constable on the powerplay when he tucked in a pass from the side of the net by Blake Kleiner. Over the first nine minutes of the second the Venom were able to score three goals to take a 5-2 lead. Lethbridge again closed the gap to within one when they scored two quick goals with 5:11 and 4:18 left in the second. Constable completed the natural hatrick by potting both goals. The third Eagle’s goal were scored on a tic-tac-toe play set up by Turner Ohno and Sam Paskuski. The fourth on a play set up by Tyler Anderson. Before the period was out Medicine Hat was again able to extend the lead to 6-4. The Eagle’s Tyler Anderson opened the scoring in the third on a play set up by Constable and Paskuski. Medicine Hat’s seventh goal was again matched by Lethbridge when Constable scored after some fine work in the offensive zone by Paskuski and Anderson. The Venon build up a 10-6 lead on three goals in the middle of the third. With 6:29 left in the third Constable scored his fifth goal of the game on a shot that beat the Venom goalie after deflecting off a Medicine Hat defenceman. The Venom rounded out the scoring with just over a minute left to take the 11-7 win. Lethbridge managed 33 shots on the Venom net, while the Venom had 41 shots against Brendon Morden in the Eagle’s net.
The second game of the weekend saw the Eagles beat the undefeated Airdrie Lightning. Lethbridge opened up the scoring just over two minutes into the first. This lead held up until close to the middle of the first frame when Airdrie tied it up on the powerplay. Airdrie took a 2-1 lead into the break scoring with just 21 seconds left. Lethbridge’s Brody Hansen tied the score at the 13:37 mark of the second on a play set up by Riley Trempner and Carter Graham. A powerplay goal by the Eagles three minutes later gave them the 3-2 lead. After Airdrie scored with five minutes left in the second, the Eagles quickly responded on a pass up through the middle from Tyler Anderson to Grayson Constable who took the puck into the Lightning zone and beat the goalie with a wrist shot to the top corner of the net. The third period saw Lethbridge extend the lead to 6-3 on two goals by Anderson. The first one was set up by Blake Kleiner and the second on the powerplay was set up by Constable. Airdrie closed out the scoring with a powerplay goal with 6:42 left in the third. The Eagles had 36 shots on the Lightning net while the Eagles Matt Lukacs faced 51 shots in the win.
Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles Drop to .500
The Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles earned a lone point in a weekend home and home series against the Medicine Hat Venom.
The Eagles started the weekend with a 3-3 tie on home ice. Medicine Hat scored the lone goal in the first period just four minutes into the game. They extended the lead to 2-0 while shorthanded before the Eagles made it 2-1 while on a two man advantage. Blake Kleiner took the pass from Kason Furukawa on the opposite point, skated in and put a low hard shot past the Medicine Hat goalie. Also assisting on the play was Grayson Constable. Before the second was over Medicine Hat scored a second short handed goal to again regain a two goal lead. Lethbridge stormed back in the third with two goals 25 seconds apart in the ninth minute. Scoring the second goal for the Eagles was Constable who picked the corner up high after receiving a nice pass across from Quinn Gunlock who had taken the puck off the boards and walked in on a two on one with Constable. The tying goal was scored by Sam Paskuski who one-timed a pass into the back of the Medicine Hat net. Assists went to Brody Hansen and Tyler Anderson. Matt Lukacs faced 42 shots in the Lethbridge net to help earn the tie.
The second game saw the Eagles lose 7-1 on the road trip to Medicine Hat. Before Lethbridge scored in the middle of the second period Medicine Hat had built up a 4-0 lead. Lethbridge’s Sam Paskuski finished off a nice pass across the slot from Tyler Anderson while on a 5 on 3 powerplay. The second assist went to Blake Kleiner. Medicine Hat finished out the scoring with two more in the second and a lone goal at 21 seconds into the third period. The Eagles Brendon Morden faced 29 shots on net.
Lethbridge Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles Reach the First Quarter Point of their Schedule
The Lethbridge Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles tied one and lost one over the weekend seeing them complete the first quarter of the regular season schedule with a 4-3-1 record to put them in a tie for second place in the South Division of the South Central Alberta Hockey League.
Saturdays game saw the Eagles tie the Medicine Hat Sports Connection Venom. The first period looked like it was going to remain scoreless until Blake Kleiner took a feed from Brody Hansen and put a slapshot past the Venom goalie while the Eagles were on the powerplay with a the two man advantage. Medicine Hat evened the score just over one minute into the second period. At the 14:05 mark of the second while on another two man advantage the Eagles Grayson Constable converted on a play set up by Tyler Anderson and Kleiner. Medicine Hat again came back to tie the game at 2-2 before the period was out. Early in the third Constable scored his second of the game during a scramble in front of the net. The play was set up back in the defensive zone with some great work by Isiah Day Chief. Medicine Hat closed out the scoring with the tieing goal with 13:39 remaining in the third. The game saw the Eagles put 47 shots on the Medicine Hat net. Matt Lukacs faced 35 shots in the Eagles net.
Friday night’s game agaist the Foothills Bisons saw the Bisons jump out to a 1-0 lead 3 minutes into the first period. Lethbridge quickly responded when Grayson Constable scored on a pass from Tyler Anderson. The Bison’s scored three unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead before Anderson scored a powerplay goal to cut the lead to 4-2. Isiah Day Chief had an assist on the goal. Before the period was out the Bison’s again extended the lead to three taking a 5-2 lead into the dressing room. Foothills made it 6-2 before Sam Paskuski scored to cut the lead in half. Two more goals by the Bison’s made it 8-3 going into the third. The Eagles stormed back with four goals in the first 12 minutes of the third. Starting the scoring off in the third was Brody Hansen on a set up by Carter Graham and Eric Fournier. Grayson Constable scored with assists to Kason Furukawa and Anderson. Klye Bloor scored unassisted and Constable scored his hatrick goal on the powerplay with assists to Anderson and Paskuski. With the score 8-7 the Eagles pulled their goalie only to see the Bison’s score an open net powerplay goal to clinch the 9-7 victory. In net for the Eagles was Brendon Morden who faced 21 shots and Matt Lukacs who faced 24 shots. The Eagles managed 41 shots on the Foothills net.
Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles Improve Record to 4-2
The Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles won two and lost one over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Friday night saw the Eagles start the weekend off with a 7-4 victory over the Cranbrook Ice. Lethbridge got the scoring started early on with an unassisted goal by Tyler Anderson four minutes into the opening frame. Cranbrook quickly responded only to see Lethbridge again take a one goal lead on a play from Grayson Constable who put a pass out from the corner to Sam Paskuski who wasted no time putting it into the back of the Cranbrook net. Before the period was out the Eagles scored a powerplay marker when Anderson put in a rebound shot from the point by Blake Kleiner. Lethbridge extended the lead to 4-1 twenty seconds into the second period on a hard shot by Kleiner from the point. Anderson then scored two minutes later after tucking in a hard low shot put on net by Constable. Riley Trempner put Lethbridge up 6-1 at the 6:55 mark of the second on a nice pass across from Kleiner. Cranbrook got some momentum going with a goal of their own 14 seconds later but were unable to capitalize on their chances through the rest of period including a three on one and a breakaway that were turned aside by Brendon Morden who was in net for the Eagles. Colton Wuerfel set up the seventh Lethbridge goal scored on the powerplay by Anderson with three minutes left. The Ice finished the game with two more goals of their own to make it a 7-4 final.
The second game saw the Eagles fall 7-6 in a see-saw battle with the Taber Golden Suns. The Eagles Sam Paskuski tucked in the first of his four goals in the game when Grayson Constable put a pass across to Sam who moved to the backhand and tucked the puck up high over the Taber goalie. Taber scored two goals of their own before the first period was over. Lethbridge tied it up in the first minute of the second when Constable’s hard work in front of the net saw the puck squirt out to Paskuski who put the puck into the open side. Taber took a 4-2 lead before Paskuski scored again after jumping on a rebound set up on a shot from the point by Kleiner. With another Taber goal the home team took a 5-3 lead into the dressing room. Lethbridge tied it up with Paskuski’s goal at 14:39 set up by Constable and Isiah Day Chief and Anderson’s goal at 13:30 set up by Paskuski. The Eagle’s Brendon Morden made several key saves to try to keep the score a tie but Taber managed to take the lead with seven minutes left. Lethbridge was able to tie it up again but Taber scored the winning goal with 4:42 left in the third period. Brendon Morden faced 42 shots in the Eagles net.
The third game of the weekend saw the Eagles play the Lethbridge Hurricanes at the Henderson rink on Thanksgiving Day. After a scoreless first period the Hurricanes took the lead on a goal less than two minutes into the second period. At the midway point of the second Blake Kleiner evened the score on a slapshot from the low point that made its way through traffic when the Eagles were on a 5 on 3 powerplay. At 15:44 of the third Riley Trempner pounded home a pass out from the corner from Carter Graham who was fed the puck by Brody Hansen earlier in the play. With several key saves through the third by the Eagle’s and Hurricane’s goalies it seemed the game would end in a 2-1 victory, but the Hurricanes were able to score a goal with 54 seconds left to even the score at 2-2. In the dying seconds of the period the Eagles were able to get possession of the puck in the Hurricanes zone and Kleiner took a shot from the point that was stopped in front of the net. In the scrammble that insued the puck was put in the net by Sam Paskuski giving the Eagles the 3-2 win. Matt Lukacs faced 28 shots in the Eagles net.
Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles Drop One to Red Deer Parkland
Last weekend the Pee Wee AA Eagles were defeated by Red Deer Parkland 6-3. Red Deer got off to a quick 2-0 lead on two powerplay goals before the Eagles responded at the 13:42 mark of the first period on a goal by Kyle Bloor set up by Tyler Anderson. Lethbridge tied it up before the period was over on a powerplay of their own when Blake Kleiner took the puck in from centre ice and tucked it in up high over the Red Deer goalie’s shoulder. The second period started out with a goal by Red Deer to give them a 3-2 lead but the Eagles again were able to tie the game less than two minutes later when Grayson Constable scored on the rebound shot fired at the Red Deer net by Sam Paskuski. Midway through the second Red Deer pulled ahead 4-3. Matt Lukacs made a big save on a play in tight late in the second to keep the score 4-3 going into the third period. Red Deer scored two more goals in the third period to make the score a 6-3 final and give them a perfect 4-0 record to start out the season.
Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles Start off Season 2-0
Last weekend the Pee Wee AA Val Matteotti Eagles started off the season with victories over the Cranbrook Ice and the Lethbridge Pee Wee AA Hurricanes. The first game saw the Eagles post a 8-6 victory over Cranbrook. Colton Weurfel opened the scoring with less than two minutes into the game capitalizing on a shot from the side of the net. Assists went to Kyle Bloor and Kason Furukawa. After Cranbrook scored a short-handed goal the Eagles regained the lead on a goal by Riley Trempner from a scramble in front of the net. Brody Hansen and Tyler Anderson assisted on the Trempner goal. Before the period was out Cranbrook scored three unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead into the dressing room. At the 3:35 mark of the second period Grayson Constable put a shot towards the net where Sam Paskuski took the puck and passed it across to Anderson who tucked it into the open net. Less than one minute later the Eagles tied the game when Brody Hansen scored on a shot from the point by Eric Fournier set-up by Carter Graham who won the faceoff to the left of the Cranbrook goal. Before the period was out Lethbridge took the lead on a wrap around goal by Bloor with an assist to Fournier. Within the first minute of the third, Lethbridge extended their lead to 6-4 on a goal by Anderson assisted by Paskuski and Constable. Cranbrook fought back to tie the game at 6-6 only to see the Eagles regain the lead for good on a shot from the deep slot by Bloor set-up by Anderson and Paskuski. Lethbridge rounded out the scoring in the last minute of play when Anderson completed the hatrick picking the top corner of the Cranbrook net. An assist went to Paskuski. Brendon Morden was in net for the Eagles victory facing 35 shots on net.
The second game saw the Val Matteotti Eagles defeat the Lethbridge Pee Wee AA Hurricanes in an exciting hard fought game. The Hurricanes jumped into an early 1-0 lead just 29 seconds into the opening frame. They added to the lead with another goal halfway through the first. The Eagles pulled back to within one when Grayson Constable slammed in a rebound on a shot by Sam Paskuski. The play was setup on the back end by Blake Kleiner. Constable scored his second of the game from the slot on a play set up by hard work by Carter Graham and Paskuski in the corner. Cue the exciting finish! While going in on a breakway with less than three minutes left in the game, Paskuski was hauled down setting up a penalty shot. Paskuski came in and scored up high on a deak move to score the eventual game winning goal as the Hurricanes were unable to capitalize on several chances they had in the dying minutes. Matt Lukacs was in net for the Eagles victory.
