It’s time for another Three Stars of the Week which is brought to you by Paull Funeral Home & Crematorium. Every Monday we will be awarding three players who had a big week and giving them stars. We will be doing this week-to-week with points being collected throughout the season. The top three will players will be recognized and presented an award during our final home game of the season.
The Swan Valley Stampeders found their grove last week, winning both their games against the OCN Blizzard. Two games – two totally different ways to win and that’s what junior hockey is all about.
With the COVID-19 restrictions still ongoing, the MJHL regular season schedule was set up in four-game blocks to help protect everyone involved. That being said, the Stampeders and the Blizzard finished off their four-game mini-series last week with games in The Pas and Swan River.
It was a break-out week for a pair of rookie Stampeder players. Defenceman Adam Rasigl and Goaltender Dylan Black had an exceptional run and lead their team to a pair of wins. Dylan Black stopped 22/24 shots he faced Tuesday night in a 3-2 win and stopped 40/40 plus two shooters in the shootout to claim his first MJHL Shutout. Adam Rajsigl picked up a pair of goals and an assist in the Pas Tuesday night and scored the shootout winner Friday night in Swan River.
We talked about the team needing a bit more time to gel in last week’s edition of the Three Stars of the Week. Over the course of the last two games, the team is certainly doing that. The penalty kill had been outstanding while the Power Play is getting better but still needs to find a way to score. It’s not for a lack of shots on goal either, The Stamps’ sent 86 shots on net over the course of the past two games. Comparing that to the first two games, Swan directed 63 on net, an average of 11.5 more shots per game. A great sign that the team has their confidence back and that their power play is nearing a break-out moment.
With that amount of shots on goal, scoring will eventually come but is still something Swan needs to continue to work on.
The Stampeders now shift their focus to the Waywayseecappo Wolverines – a team that has scored 21 goals in four games. To compare, Swan Valley has only scored 12.
The “Three Stars of the Week” is brought to you by Paull Funeral Home & Crematorium, and will be awarded week-to-week with points being collected throughout the season. The top three will players will be recognized at the end of the season.
Three stars point system is as follows:
1st Star = 3 points
2nd Star = 2 points
3rd Star = 1 point
Check back every Monday for the Paull Funeral Home & Crematorium, Three Stars of the week.
THREE STARS (Sept. 19 – Sept. 26)
3rd Star
Myles Mason continues to grow in a Stampeder uniform. The 18-year-old from Vancouver, BC picked up his first goal of the year last Tuesday in a 3-2 win. The 5’11” 170 lbs. speedy forward’s goal held up to be the game-winner Tuesday night in The Pas.
2nd Star
Dylan Black had himself an outstanding week, back-stopping his team to a pair of wins against the OCN Blizzard. The 19-year-old Surrey, BC native posted a .917 SV% Tuesday night in a 3-2 win. He followed that up with a perfect game on home ice, stopping all 40 shots he faced, plus two additional shooters in the shootout. The 6’1” 194 lbs goaltender picked up his first career MJHL shutout in a 1-0 win against the Blizzard Friday, Sept. 24 on home ice. Black now sits seventh in the league with a .927 SV% and a 2.20 GAA.
1st Star
Adam Rajsigl had a massive breakout week for the Black, White, Blue and Copper. The Tecumseh, ON native scored back-to-back goals, less than a minute apart, and added an assist on the game-winner Tuesday night in a 3-2 win against OCN. The 18-year-old followed that up we an impressive defensive game Friday night in front of the Stampeder faithful. On top of that, the 5’10” 165 lbs defenceman may have scored the goal of the year (so far) in the shootout to win the game for the Stampeders. He now sits atop the scoring leaders amongst his teammates. All of that makes him the first star of the week.
Honourable mentions this week go to Jackson Betcher (1A), Jamie Valentino (1A), Noah Fladager (1A) and Brad Fortin (1A).
The Stampeders will move forward with their schedule and meet up with a new team this week, the Waywayseecappo Wolverines. The first game gets underway Thursday, Sept. 30 from the Waywayseecappo Arena Complex with a return game in Swan River Saturday, Oct. 2nd.
Note** – Saturday, Oct. 2 game in Swan River is all 80’s music night. We will continue to play oldies until we run out. Tickets are available online at stampedershockey.com, at Patty’s Sports Excellence or at the door.
STANDINGS (Point Leaders)
3 – Jackson Betcher
2 – Carter Cockburn
1 – Noah Fladager