Written by You know you might be playing an early morning hockey game when you play the game, finish, and then look outside to see that it’s still not fully light out. Well, the Flames showed up to play the first semi-final game against the Monarchs at 7am. The 2010 Flames advanced to the finals with a 3-0 win over the Monarchs.
The Presque Isle Wildcats (#2) beat the Bridgewater Bandits (#3), 4-1 in the second semi-final. The 2010 Flames took care of business in their semi-final with a 3-0 win over the Monarchs. Both finalists beat a team for the second time in the tournament to get to the finals. Presque Isle and the Manchester Flames will meet for the first time, in the finals.
The opening period was dominated by the Flames but neither team could put a puck in the net. In the second period the Flames got on the board when Zach Lessard scored from the slot after Logan McCain kept the play alive along the boards. Moments later, Lessard struck again in front of the net. Garrett Warren tipped a loose puck over to Lessard who fired a shot into the back of the net. The Flames stopped moving their feet for a while after that, which is where Travis Ingalls and Will Rosenbeck stepped up their game to keep the Monarchs off of the scoreboard. The Flames led, 2-0 after two periods.
In the third period, the Flames picked up their pace but so did the Monarchs. Manchester really controlled the play and forced the Monarchs to defend their own end of the ice instead of mounting offensive attacks. Finally, the Flames added a third goal when Teddy Beal slid a shot into the net on a feed from Cam Desruisseaux that was set up earlier by an outlet pass from Logan McCain. After the Flames went up, 3-0, they just kept coming with offensive pressure. The Monarchs never even had the chance to pull their goalie down the stretch.
Enjoy a few pictures. Click on them to open them up and zoom in.
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- Probably my three favorite flags. We are fortunate to live where we do and to enjoy the freedoms we have.
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- Alex rips a shot from the right wing in the semi-final against the Monarchs.
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- Travis slides to his right to make a save for the Flames.
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- Soucy got a clean breakaway after a great play from the Flames in the D zone, but this shot sailed wide right.
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- Coach Nick gets the team fired up after the first period of play in the Semi-Final.
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- Lessard gets a shot away at the Winter Classic. He netted a pair of goals in the Flames win.
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- Will was everywhere that he needed to be in the shutout win.
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- Teddy falls to his knees as he tipped the puck into the net.
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- The ref points at the net and the Flames lead, 3-0.
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- The 2010 Flames kept working the offensive zone throughout the final period.
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- The Monarchs goaltenders kept the game close all morning, with saves like this one.
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- Even in the last seconds of the game, the Flames were playing their game and keeping the pressure up.
Team scoring: Game 3: Saturday night at Tri-Town Arena.
Monarchs: 0-0-0 = 0
Flames: 0-2-1 = 3
Flames scoring: Lessard from McCain, Lessard from Warren, Beal from Desruisseaux and McCain.
Travis Ingalls and Will Rosenbeck combined to pitch a shutout against the Monarchs in the first semi-final at the Winter Classic.
The Flames (#1) won the first semi-final of the morning against the Monarchs (#4) and advanced to the Finals against Presque Isle (#2) at 12:20pm.