Saturday Morning Hockey Turns Out Great

It’s 10AM on a Saturday morning on the wet coast. No big deal - happens at least once a week around here this time of year.

What is a big deal, is the Nucks have to play an, apparently NHL-sanctioned, hockey game at 10 in the morning. In Brooklyn. I couldn’t make this stuff up. Only the sadists of sleepy scheduling at NHL Supreme Command could.

However, not everyone in the game thread is unhappy about watching with groggy eyes. Nor is everyone in the game thread living in the 10AM PST moment - some are from the future.

extremely nice

to watch a game at prime time in Europe. And what a sweet one. Bring me more of that please. — el presidente 19

Nucks win their 5th straight. Would be their 48th straight, but for the ides of Winterpeg.

Oh well... Nucks win in the morning is just as good as a win at night. Pretty much.

1st Period

It’s never too early to score the 1st goal. Unlike me, this time zone doesn’t scare Millsie. Or the rest of the Nucks. Huggy Bear enchants the Brooklyn Peewees with a little nursery rhyme on skates - which sets up this sweet Greissy goal.

Millsie 20 goals = worth the 1st rounder

Think Juolevi — ‘82

We were thinking more like Gord Kluzak, but oh well...

It’s 1-0 Nucks! Game thread is going crazy. And so would the ROG. If this was a Saturday night game.

It’s not and it’s not even lunch time yet and the Nucks have already won the game.

Or have they? The Marky road SO dream is crushed along with my one paragraph recap. Dammit.

Isles score on a weakly defended play by Tyler and Fantenburg. But, it’s a freakin’ Saturday morning game, so we aren’t going to slag them, since Myers was awesome last game.

It’s a tie. On the road. In Brooklyn. Could be worse.

Could still be waiting for the lunch menu to arrive.

The road Nucks outscore the home peewees and outshoot them 5-11.

do we get massively outshot every game?

this feels like a disturbing trend — radivel

Not e v e r y game. Just most road games. And many home games. That’s not so much.

2nd Period

Lunch is still not served, so we have to digest more early Nucks hockey.

To aid the sluggish digestion, despite the hunger for more white-Nuckled wins, Huggy keeps enchanting the puck deflecting elves of Brooklyn.

Wow! Quinn is in the Calder lead! Pretty much.

2-1 Nucks! Insurmountable 1 goal road lead.

Pretty much.

But why take the chance. With Motte out 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury (ouch!), it’s time for the Schaller shooter to make good. And does.

4th line is banging bodies and rebounds, like it’s free lunch Saturday for everyone.

3-1 Nucks lead! That’s insurmountable. For sure.

Until it’s not.

A combo of nice Isles peewee dekes and poor coverage from Myers and Fantenburg and it’s back to the insurmountable 1 goal lead.

Not that we’re going to slag - it’s a freakin’ Saturday morning game and Myers was awesome last game.

Less awesome is the Myers-Fantenberg pairing

That’s two goals against for that pairing, and Myers was very soft on the check for the first goal

On the other hand, Stecher has been a little ball of hate, which is nice to see — copey

Just like the 1st period, the Nucks are carrying the play and lead. Have outshot the Brooklyn tweeners 13-9 and lunch is on the menu. Finally.

3rd Period

The one goal lead firmly held. Through intermission. The Nucks just have to put on their Tippet top hats and stinge their way to victory.

It’s looks and sounds harder than it is.

The Nucks of 2020 have been very good at protecting the lead. Even 1 goal leads. At NM Flashback Central, however, secure lead protection in the 3rd is like Westy’s Rum Ration Therapy. Security is only achieved when the empties are redeemed.

Yet, for 19 minutes and 30 seconds the Nucks perform the improbable feat of securing the one goal victory.

Until the luck of bounces ties the game. Which is really weird. Because Green had deployed our Empty Net Specialists. 4-2 regulation win certainty. Ruined.

Fine. It’s still early. Barely afternoonish. Nucks can play for another minute.

OT

Or... just another 42 seconds. Roughly a NY minute.

So much Quinning! (And Pete keeps his points streak)

Another road game. Another win. Wow!

The 2 Johns broadcast a game from breakfast through lunch. Professionals.

GAME STATS (gotta get up pretty early for these)

PLAYER STATS (Huggy Stats are Caldering us)