Yukon Rush S67 Coverage Vol. 2 , The Awakening

[Seabass 593]

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                     Yukon Rush S67 Coverage Vol 2. , The Awakening

 

This is going to be a weekly thing now as I've decided to keep going with a weekly coverage of the Yukon Rush team. These articles will basically just follow the team's games and offer some insight on how the team is feeling morale wise going through the various ups and downs of a season.  My coverage usually features actual quotes taken from various members of the team and management, as I don't like feeding words into other people mouths just for article content. 

 

In last week's article, vol.1 I talked about this week's two games against the Minnesota Storm and how I expected that we were going to see a fairly defensive type of hockey displayed in those two games.  I also explained how I thought Minnesota had the edge going in, but boy did the boys made my eat my word there as they ended up winning both those games against the Storm. The games were real tight though as they were both decided by one goal. The first game, game #98 started off with another clutch goal by the Girth God, his second after being previously released by GM Josh earlier on in the season. The game featured a two point performance by Seabass Perrin who was given the first star of the game and a game winning goal by Erik Draven who earned the 2nd star. The game was real tight, so tight that they matched each others shots on net totals at 20 shots. It was in the end decided by Erik Draven's powerplay goal at the tail end of the third after a.

 

The second of the two games, game #109 was won by the same score of 3-2  but this time it was won by shootout. This game featured a 2 point performance by both the Storm's Kefka Palazzo and the Rush's Brendan Plunkett who continues his PPG pace this season. This game also contained the long awaited arrival of Lance Flower's first goal of the season. This one had to be decided by a shootout winner by no other than Erik Draven. Draven proved to be the critical piece to both wins against Minnesota, I caught up with him after the game to ask him his thoughts after such a performance. 

 

It's pretty simple really, I'm here to do a job and every night I'm expected to deliver. I try to elevate my game against the tougher opponents, maybe I'm getting that puck luck when I need it. Our team needs to continue to beat the good teams in order to get in the playoffs. We have a excellent chance to prove something this year.  

-Erik Draven 

 

It sure was nice to see the team defeat a top team like the storm however, they had those wins mixed in with a few losses against other teams like the 4-3 loss in game #99 against the Houston Bulls 

and the 1-0 loss in game 110 against the San Diego Marlins. Against both teams the Rush played well and kept the game tight. Against Houston the Rush fell after a late goal by David Willcox with 2 minutes left on the clock in the third. That was Willcox's 2nd goal of the game and third point of the night, and such a performance earned him the first star of the game. Against San Diego it was all about goaltending as both goalies dueled it out all game and kept the nets empty throughout the game. The game ended by a shootout winner by the Marlins' Diamond Duster in the fith shootout round. As expected both goaltenders, Bruce Grimaldi and A Red Guy got both the first and second stars respectively. 

 

The team then went on a tear with 4 straight wins against the VHLM worse teams, where they outscored their opponents 16 to 5 and outshot their opponents 109 to 43. Those 4 games included 3 games straight against the Las Vegas Aces and a game against the Mississauga Hounds. In the 4 wins the Rush's top line of Brendan Plukett, Frans Eller and Justin Rushmore combined for 18 points. With Eller getting 8 points (2 goals + 6 assists) and Plunkett getting 7 points (4 goals + 3 assists) the team had almost two players who were playing at 2 Points per game pace. Tony Bolonee who made his debut after getting picked up by the Rush scored his first point of the season after setting up Frans Eller for a easy goal in the 2nd period of the game against the Hounds.

 

The team then faced tougher competition after their few easy games. Sadly the team crumbled once there was some good hockey to be played as they ended up losing 3-1 against the third ranked team, the Ottawa Lynx. The Lynx ended the team's 4 game winning streak but they ended up bouncing back from the loss and finished off the week with two more wins. This time the victims were the Saskatoon Wild and the Halifax 21st as the Rush beat the Wild 4-1 and Halifax 2-0. A Red Guy doesn't get enough recognition from me but please note here that A Red Guy has only let in a average of 1.5 goals per game in the eleven games played this week. He's been winning games and is proving to be very good at keeping his team within one goal of the opposition in the event that they are trailing in a game. 

 

In the end the team had a record of 9-2 during this week's games and if the Rush keep up the current play in the next 10 games I'd say they would solidify their playoff contender position and reputation around the league. Now as I conclude this week's vol. 2 I would like to introduce a new addition to my weekly coverage.  At the end of every volume i'll award a weekly MVP for the Rush where I judge who's been the most instrumental player for the team that given week. 

 

WEEKLY MVP

This weeks MVP was a close one between Draven and Eller but I have to go with Frans Eller here. Eller this week led the team with 13 points and is proving that he can make everyone around him better as he notches 10 assists. He's hot and lets hope he remains red hot as next week contains a tougher schedule.

 

Now that's a wrap for this week's coverage, i'll have vol 3. out next week so stay tuned!

 

WORD COUNT : 1089 

[Seabass 593]

will claim my first half of this PT for the week ending August 4th.

[Jbeezy76 396]

@Sebster03 that was a great article ! Thanks for the precise breakdown for our team. We all appreciate it and good luck to you and your journey! Yukon is moving on up

[Seabass 593]

I will claim the 2nd halfof this PT for the week ending Aug 11th