 |
Can't beat the Kipper Noah Borer (HV) Some hockey experts would say that the 2 biggest surprises of the beginning of the season are the Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators. Both teams started of their season going 1-2. The two teams battled it out on Thursday night at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa hoping to make their record an even 2-2. The two teams battled it out with plenty of scoring chances, great hits, and some superior goaltending. The two starting goalies were Miikka Kiprusoff, and Ray Emery. Kiprusoff from Finland made 33 shots for the shut-out and Ray Emery made 27 saves. This was Ray Emery's first start this season, and was in place for a struggling Martin Gerber. Gerber started the first three games of the season with a 1-2 record while letting in 11 goals. The game started off with Ottawa Senators 2nd year defensman Andrej Meszaros rushing down the ice blasting one past Miikka Kiprusoff, but unfortunatly for the Ottawa Senators it only hit the post. In the 2nd period sophmore defenseman Dion Phaneuf lay a clean hit on Denis Hamel that made him soar through the air. That was not the only physical hit this game. This game was very fast-paced and very hard hitting. It looked like a playoff game in October with each team trying so hard not to lose. In the 3rd period Flames captain Jarome Iginla broke the deadlock and scored the first and only goal of the game in front of 18,404 very unhappy fans. The Ottawa Senators have been the biggest surprise this season and continue to be with a record of 1-3 and a power play of 1 for25. Ottawa Senator's coach Bryan Murray put the line of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatly, Jason Spezza line back together to see how it would work and revitalize the team. With a result, they did have a few more scoring chances, but they just couldn't put anything past the goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. By the end of the game both teams were playing desperate hockey. When all was said and done Flames captain Jarome Iginla said "it was a good atmosphere tonight to play in a Canadian building in Ottawa" he also said this about the game "we know that Ottawa was in a similar situation as us and very hungry, it was back and forth, both goalies played awesome". When Iginla was asked about his goal he said "I was very fortunate that it landed right on my stick, and it was nice to see it slide in". When Ray Emery was asked what he thought about the game he responded by saying "we had some odd-man rushes, and just couldn't beat them, and they got kind of a funny one at the end". Dion Phaneuf said that "the first few games are in the past, and we are taking it one game at a time, that started tonight in Ottawa and moves onto Toronto tomorrow."
Both teams move on to play other Canadian based teams on Saturday night. The Flames continue their Canadian swing with a game in Toronto while Montreal's home opener pits them against Ottawa.
|
