East Division: Let the Playoffs Begin
by Alex Crowe
Photo Credit: Ryan Lopano
New Jersey 1 @ Long Beach 2 (OT) - Brendan Dalton was the playoff hero for the Long Beach Sharks Thursday afternoon, potting the overtime winner in the No. 1 seeded Sharks’ 2-1 postseason victory over the No. 4 seeded New Jersey Titans in Game 1 of the East Division Semifinal.
Dalton was all the offense Long Beach needed in the game, as he netted the only goal for the Sharks in regulation as well.
The goaltenders played a large role in the tightly-contested playoff game going to overtime. New Jersey's Tony Shaw made 47 saves on 49 shots while his Long Beach counterpart Nicklas Walker turned 32 of 33 shots away.
The top-seeded Sharks grab a 1-0 series lead with the win and need just one more victory to advance to the East Division Final.
Dalton broke the ice midway through the opening period with his first goal of the game and the postseason. His goal was the lone offense of the period from either side to send the Sharks to the middle 20 minutes leading 1-0.
It took just under 35 minutes, but the Titans finally got on the board thanks to Jackson Dougherty’s first goal of the playoffs. His tally evened the score at one goal apiece heading to the third period.
Both sides’ defense and goaltender did not flinch in the third period despite chances on both ends. Shaw was particularly strong in the high-stakes third period, stopping all 14 shots he faced.
Overtime lasted only 3:20 as Dalton finally got another puck past Shaw for the game-winning goal. His second marker of the postseason and the game cemented Long Beach’s 2-1 win and 1-0 series advantage.
Buzz 4 @ New Hampshire 8 - An explosive first period and a stellar performance from Jacob Landry helped the No. 2 seeded New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings take Game 1 of the East Division Semifinals by a final score of 8-4 over the Buzz.
New Hampshire started its playoff run on fire, potting four goals in the first period alone and eight tallies total over 60 minutes. Landry and Tommy Titone led the way for the Jr. Mountain Kings, combining for nine points – a hat-trick plus two assists for Landry and two goals and two assists for Titone.
The Jr. Mountain Kings grab a 1-0 series lead with the win and are on the cusp of advancing to the East Division Final.
New Hampshire came out of the gate hot, getting four goals from four different goal scorers in the opening period. Landry (first), Titone (first), Sedrick Swygert Jr (first) and Kyle Bouvier (first) got the Jr. Mountain Kings off to a 4-0 lead after 20 minutes.
The goal-scoring onslaught continued into the second period. Brady Plant (first) and Landry (second) both scored before five minutes passed to extend the lead to 6-0.
The Buzz finally halted the downpour of New Hampshire goals thanks to Jaylen Nurse. His first goal of the postseason only cut the deficit to 6-1 heading to the third period.
The Buzz found life in the third period as Noah Gallo (first) and Andrew Jazwin (first) both scored before the 10-minute mark to cut the New Hampshire lead to 6-3.
Landry (third) put an end to the comeback bid just under two minutes later, completing the hat-trick to extend the lead to 7-3.
Jazwin (second) and Titone (second) traded goals in the final nine minutes of the game to finalize the 8-4 score and 1-0 series lead for New Hampshire.
