Green 6, Grey 3

TALKING POINTS

Here’s some thoughts from today’s Green vs. Grey intrasquad game, which concluded Everett’s training camp:

– Ivan Nikolishin scored what ended up being the game winner on the power play midway through the third period to make it 4-2. The goal came on what looked suspiciously like Everett’s regular season power play set-up from last season. Usually in the Green vs. Grey game there’s no chalkboard work, and when a team gets a power play the next five guys up just head onto the ice and improvise. But Green got one power play the whole game and sent out five veterans with experience running the Tips’ PP. It worked, and the goal stemmed the tide as Grey tried to come back from a 3-0 deficit.

– Speaking of penalties, there weren’t any as just two were called the entire game. None were called through the game’s first 48 minutes. I guess you could say the referee was letting them play. But Kevin Constantine turned the Tips into the least-penalized team in the league last season, and this may just be a product of that.

– Logan Aasman was cursed last season, as he couldn’t buy a goal. He went 35 scoreless games before getting his first, and he finished with just two. There were moments when it became painful to watch. But if training camp is any indication, the curse may be over. He scored five goals during scrimmages, then potted two more in the Green vs. Grey game. The second one was impressive as he performed some nifty stick work through traffic before putting the puck into the top corner.

– Another veteran who had a nice camp was Remi Laurencelle. Laurencelle was acquired last season from Lethbridge, and at the time general manager Garry Davidson said the move was made with this season more in mind than last season. Davidson was hoping Laurencelle could rediscover the scoring form he displayed in midget hockey. This week we saw evidence of that, and he added a goal and an assist in the Green vs. Grey game.

– I was told that if today’s game went to overtime the teams would play three-on-three instead of four-on-four, so I was kind of rooting for Grey to tie it. That would have been fun to watch.

– Based on the rosters for this game there shouldn’t be much in the way of surprises when the roster is trimmed in anticipation of practices beginning in earnest this week. Indeed, it’s possible the Tips roster will be a little light when next weekend’s Holiday Inn Preseason Classic rolls around. Everett plays three games in three nights, and the Tips will need to sign players to avoid forcing many to skate in all three games.

BOX SCORE

Green 6, Grey 3

Grey 0 1 2—3

Green 2 1 3—6

First Period—1, Green, Nikolishin 1 (Bajkov), 1:21. 2, Green, Sutter 1 (Stadnyk, Nikolishin), 19:54. Penalties—none.

Second Period—3, Green, Low 1 (Dewar, MacDonald), 3:57. 4, Grey, Aasman 1 (Sandhu, Bergquist), 14:12. Penalties—none.

Third Period—5, Grey, Aasman 2 (Skrumeda, Sandhu), 1:32. 6, Green, Nikolishin 2 (Davis, Cochrane), 11:59 (pp). 7, Grey, Sandhu 1 (Aasman, Bergquist), 13:30. 8, Green, Laurencelle 1 (Stadnyk, Mallonee), 17:09. 9, Green, Wegleitner 1 (Laurencelle), 19:17 (en). Penalties—Warner, Green (holding), 8:21; Stockl, Grey (interference), 10:51.

Shots on goal—Grey 11-10-12—34. Green 12-17-18—47. Power-play opportunities—Grey 0 of 1. Green 1 of 1.

Goalies—Grey, Rasmussen (22 shots, 19 saves), Amundrud 0-1 (24 shots, 22 saves). Green, Lotz (15 shots, 15 saves), Mario Petit 1-0 (19 shots, 16 saves).