Reno Pond Hockey played the Grrowlers in their last game. It was game five of the RIAL D-League Winter 2022/23 season. The game took place on Wednesday, January, 25th, 2023 at 9:15PM. The game was at Reno Ice.
Reno Pond Hockey was coming off of a 5-4 win against Mid-Ice Crisis. That win tied Reno Pond Hockey’s record for wins in a row at three. Reno Pond Hockey had three wins in a row in their first season and last season. Reno Pond Hockey was 3-1-0. Reno pond Hockey was in 2nd place in the standings. The Grrrowlers were coming off a 1-9 loss to the Nevada Police Foundation. They have had a record of 1-3-0. They were in last place in the standings. The all-time record between Reno Pond Hockey and the Grrrowlers was 2-0-0 heading into the game. The last game between Reno Pond Hockey and the Grrowlers was on Sunday July, 24th, 2022. Reno Pond Hockey won that game 6-2.
Check out the game preview here.
Reno Pond Hockey scored the game’s opening goal. It came 6 minutes into the game. #88 Jesse Viner took the puck from the defensive zone. He went one on one with the defender. He took a shot from the right of the goalie at the top of the faceoff circle. His shot went right between the goalie’s legs and in.
Reno Pond Hockey added to their lead about a minute later. #23 Joshua Schaap got the puck out of the defensive zone. He passed it up to #9 Tristan McKnight. Tristan took another shot from the right of the goalie. Like the first goal, it went through the goalie’s legs and into the back of the net.
With 12 minutes to go in the first period, the Grrowlers would score. On an offensive zone faceoff, they got the puck back to their defender. He took a shot. The shot was deflected to one of their players. He was open in the slot. His shot found the back of the net. That goal made the score 2-1 with Reno Pond Hockey still leading.
About two minutes later Reno Pond Hockey would regain their two-goal lead. #20 Garrett Deering would get a pass from #29 Erich Schulz in the neutral zone. Garrett would take the puck up the win. He took another shot from the right side of the goalie that found its way in.
The Grrrowlers scored again with 8 minutes to go in the period. The puck was passed from the point to the left side of the goalie. The puck was passed to the back door where they had an open man. Their open man was able to easily score. The first period ended with Reno Pond Hockey holding onto a 3-2 lead.
Right off the faceoff to start the second period, Reno Pond Hockey scored. #23 Joshua Schaap would get the puck off the faceoff. He took it into the offensive zone. He got around one of the defending players. He took a shot from the right of the goalie and scored.
Reno Pond Hockey scored again with 13 minutes to go in the second period. #45 Brian Janas had the puck in the corner of the offensive zone. He passed it to #29 Erich Schulz at the blue line. Erich took a shot. Then #28 (C) Zac Seidemann settled down the rebound and scored.
Two minutes later the Grrrowlers would score. One of their players was able to get around a defender. He took a shot. The initial shot was saved but they had a player in front of the net to bury the rebound. The second period would end 5-3 with Reno Pond Hockey still holding their lead.
After a blocked shot in the defensive zone, #9 Tristan McKnight would pass the puck to #23 Joshua Schaap in the neutral zone. On the rush, Joshua would pass the puck to Tristan. Tristan would tip the puck toward the net. The goalie got a piece of it but it got behind him where Tristan tapped it in. With that goal, Reno Pond Hockey had a 6-3 lead.
The Grrrowlers would score with 6 minutes to go in the period. They would get the puck back to their defense after an offensive zone draw. His shot went off of two Reno Pond Hockey players to find the back of the net.
With under 3 minutes to go Reno Pond Hockey would score their last goal of the game. #9 Tristan McKnight would recover the puck in the offensive zone. He would pass it to #23 Joshua Schaap in the slot. His shot would find the back of the net.
With 1:25 remaining in the game, a Grrrowlers shot from the point would find the back of the net. That would be the last goal of the game. The game ended in a 7-5 Reno Pond Hockey victory.
Reno Pond Hockey was in control of this game for the majority of it. It was a back-and-forth game. There was a lot of scoring. Neither team was really stopping the other team from scoring until the third period. It was definitely a game about who had the better offense. This is now the longest winning streak in Reno Pond Hockey RIAL history. It broke the previous three game record. This is also the first RIAL game where Reno Pond Hockey has scored more than 6 goals since September 26th, 2021 in a 10-4 win over Q&D Construction. It was a solid win and a good way to finish off the first half of the season.
Reno Pond Hockey’s first goal was scored by #88 Jesse Viner. It was unassisted. Goal two was scored by #9 Tristan McKnight. It was assisted by #23 Joshua Schaap. The third goal was scored by #20 Garrett Deering. It was assisted by #29 Erich Schulz. The fourth goal was scored by #23 Joshua Schaap. It was assisted by #9 Tristan McKnight. The fifth goal was scored by #28 (C) Zac Seidemann. It was assisted by #29 Erich Schulz and #45 Brian Janas. the sixth goal was scored by #9 Tristan McKnight. It was assisted by #23 Joshua Schaap. The Seventh goal was scored by #23 Joshua Schaap. It was assisted by #9 Tristan McKnight.
Goals – #88 Jesse Viner, #9 Tristan McKnight (2), #20 Garrett Deering, #23 Joshua Schaap (2), #28 (C) Zac Seidemann,
Assists – #23 Joshua Schaap (2), #29 Erich Schulz (2), #45 Brian Janas, #9 Tristan McKnight (2)
Stats were not published on the league website
Reno Pond Hockey is in second place. They are one point or one shootout loss from tying for first place. They could be in first place with a win this week. If they win and The Guardians lose this week then Reno Pond Hockey will be in first place.
Reno Pond Hockey is in a playoff spot. They only need two more wins to secure a playoff spot. If they lose two or more games and lose one game in a shootout they could be out of the playoffs. I don’t see them missing the playoffs as likely though as they might be able to squeeze in with one win in their five remaining games. If the playoffs started today they would play Mid-Ice Crisis in the semifinals. The other semifinal game would be The Guardians vs the Nevada Police Foundation. No D-League team has secured a playoff spot yet. No D-League team has been eliminated from playoff contention yet.
Reno Pond Hockey at Jurassic Pucks | RIAL
9:15pm
Location: Reno Ice
Feb.
1st
Zac Electrifly 