Reno Pond Hockey played the Grrrowlers in their last game. It was game seven of the RIAL D-League Winter 2022/23 season. The game took place on Monday, February, 6th, 2023 at 10:15PM. The game was at Reno Ice.
Reno Pond Hockey was coming off of a 7-1 win against the Jurassic Pucks. Reno Pond Hockey had a record of 5-1-0. Reno Pond Hockey had not lost a game yet in 2023. They were on a 5 game winning streak which was the longest winning streak in Reno Pond Hockey history. Reno pond Hockey was in 2nd place. The Grrrowlers were coming off of a 3-6 loss to the Guardians. They had a record of 1-6-0. They were on a four game losing streak. They were in 6th place. Reno Pond Hockey had never lost to the Grrrowlers having an all Time record of 3-0-0 going into this game. The last game between Reno Pond Hockey and the Grrrowlers was on January, 25th, 2023. Reno Pond Hockey won that game 7-5.
Check out the game preview here.
Reno Pond Hockey scored the game’s opening goal about halfway through the first period. The Grrrowlers were entering the offensive zone. #35 Greg Scott knocked the puck loose. #25 Ethan Crisp tipped the puck to #12 Kevin Lee. He went unchallenged into the offensive zone. He would take a shot that would beat the goalie.
At some point in the following minutes, Reno Pond Hockey made it a two-goal lead. Live Barn did not capture the goal. I do not know who scored it. The first period ended with Reno Pond Hockey holding onto a 2-0 lead.
Early into the second period Reno Pond Hockey would score their third goal of the night. #4 Matthew Stewart would bring the puck into the offensive zone and take a quick shot as the defender was stepping up to challenge him. The goalie saved the shot. #88 Jesse Viner got the rebound while losing his defender. His shot would then be saved. #3 Don Huene was left wide open in the slot. he would burry the rebound.
Reno Pond Hockey would score their final goal of the night about halfway through the second period. The Grrrowlers would go to clear the puck. #72 Mitch costa would keep the puck in. He took a one-timer that went between the goalie’s legs and in. That gave Reno Pond Hockey a 4-0 lead.
The Grrrowlers would finally score toward the end of the second period. They won an offensive zone faceoff on the powerplay. The defender took a shot that went in. It may have been tipped. It’s hard to tell on the replay. The score was 4-1 with Reno Pond Hockey still in front going into the third period.
The Grrrowlers would find the back of the net under 30 seconds into the third period. The Grrrowlers player was able to get around his defender. He went around the goalie. His shot just barely squeezed in above the goalie’s glove. The final score was a 4-2 Reno Pond Hockey victory.
In the first period, Reno Pond Hockey had the majority of the possession and chances. Most of the Grrrowlers offensive zone time was the puck being taken away, passes being intercepted, or quick shots going wide. The second period was more of the same. The Grrowlers were able to score on the powerplay. That kind of gave them some momentum going into the third period but it was not enough. Reno Pond Hockey wasn’t burying the puck as much as they have been lately. That is largly due to them switching up the shifts a little bit. As the game went on they weren’t pushing as hard. They were kind of comfortable with how things were going. They had plenty of good chances where they didn’t find the back of the net but in the end they came away with a win.
The officiating was kind of odd for this one. There were a lot of calls in this game compared to other games this season. A lot of soft or incidental calls were being made that we haven’t seen a lot of this season. There was also not a lot of consistency. One of the officials seemed tired and like he just wanted to get this over with. The other official seemed new to this and was asking the other official a lot of questions. The newer official seemed to be the one making a lot of the penalty calls. He made the call that led to the Grrrowlers goal. He made the call at the end of the game that gave #72 Mitch Costa his third penalty of the game. In this league three minor penalties leads to game misconduct which sees a player get thrown out of the current game and suspended for the next game. Games like these are interesting when no one knows when the official is going to call a penalty. When the majority of the calls are also against us it creates a situation where players second guess going for the puck, challaging opposing players, or going for rebounds. In turn that doesn’t allow Reno Pond Hockey to play to their full potential. In the end it doesn’t really matter. Games like this are going to happen and we came up on the winning end.
This is Reno Pond Hockey’s sixth win in a row. This is the first game in a while where they didn’t score in the third period. That doesn’t really matter though. This is the fourth game in a row where they have scored four or more goals. In five games this season they have scored three or more goals. This is the first game since January 6th where they have not scored five or more goals. It is safe to say they are on a hot streak right now.
Reno Pond Hockey’s first goal was scored by #12 Kevin Lee. It was assisted by #25 Ethan Crisp and #35 Greg Scott. I do not know who scored the second goal. The third goal was scored by #3 Don Huene. It was assisted by #88 Jesse Viner and #4 Matthew Stewart. The fourth goal was scored by #72 Mitch Costa. It was unassisted.
Goals – #12 Kevin Lee, #3 Don Huene, #72 Mitch costa
Assists – #25 Ethan Crisp, #35 Greg Scott, #88 Jesse Viner, #4 Matthew Stewart
Stats were not published on the league website
Reno Pond Hockey is now in first place. They have 12 points right now. They can get up to a total of 18 points at the end of the season if they win their remaining three regular season games. If they do that they win the regular season title. However, if they lose even one game they might not get it. A lot of their regular season title hopes are riding on their second game with The Guardians. But for now they are in first place.
Reno Pond Hockey has secured a playoff spot with this win. Who Reno Pond Hockey will play is currently unknown. They will play on March 6th or 7th. Of course who and when they play depends on where everyone finishes in the standings. If the playoffs started today Reno Pond Hockey would play the Jurassic Pucks in the semifinal for a chance to play The Guardians or Mid-Ice Crisis in the championship.
Reno Pond Hockey vs Nevada Police Foundation | RIAL
9:00pm
Location: Reno Ice
Feb.
11th
Zac Electrifly 