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Post by Ryan on Sept 16, 2013 19:17:11 GMT -5
The Vermont Beasts returned to action tonight after a full season off. The NLHS Farm League is back from NLHS4 and the pre-season kicked off today.
The Beasts took on the expansion Air Force and handled them with ease in a 5-1 victory. The Beasts iced their best lineup in the opener. The first two periods were a warm up session with each team scoring once before the Beasts exploded for four goals in the third to bury the new guys.
The Philadelphia Legion can be very happy with their young core in Burlington as several young stars contributed. Goals came from Taylor Beck, Gabriel Bourque, Colin Wilson, Nick Spaling and Patric Hornqvist. Overall the team has 10 different players with points and none had more than two. Goalie Jhonas Enroth went the distance and stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced.
The two teams meet again Wednesday.
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Post by International Hockey Club on Sept 16, 2013 19:20:57 GMT -5
Useless, non-NLHS fact: The Burlington Free Press is actually a magazine-format newspaper
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Post by Ryan on Sept 18, 2013 20:33:53 GMT -5
In today's return game with Abbotsford, the Beasts suffered a letdown in a 3-2 loss.
The bright spot today was Colin Wilson with a goal and assist in 18:42 of ice time. Wilson is trying to impress the big club, he expected that his summer improvements would make him a shoe in, yet he finds himself still stuck in the farm system. If he continues to score this well in the regular season, it may be impossible to keep him buried in the minors.
Jhonas Enroth was not as impressive today, showing why he's not quite ready for the big time. Some seasoning in the farm league this season could go a long way toward getting him ready for long term success.
Next up is the Jasper Trappers visiting on Friday.
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Post by Ryan on Sept 20, 2013 19:53:23 GMT -5
Beasts Offense Explodes For Eight
The Jasper Trappers visited Burlington tonight for the first time and the biggest difference between the pro and farm leagues was revealed. That would be depth on the farm team. The Trappers had no answers for the more experienced Beasts who double up the new guys 8-4.
Once again it was Colin Wilson leading the way with two goals and an assist while linemate Taylor Beck racked up four points with a goal and three assists. The first line contributed as well, Sergei Kostitsyn matched Wilson's output and Patric Hornqvist added a goal and assist. Not a single player had a negative rating and the team was not whistled for any penalties tonight.
The downside to the match was the defense allowing 55 shots through to the net. Jhonas Enroth was up to the task, stopping 51 of the attempts, but may need a night off after so much action early in the pre-season. Some defensive changes may be in order as well after top pairing Greg Zanon and Mike Weaver logged 27 minutes each in ice time.
We can expect a different look from the team when they head to Jasper for another meeting on Sunday.
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Post by International Hockey Club on Nov 5, 2013 17:25:35 GMT -5
Beasts Purchased M's to keep NLHSF in townBy: Logan FitzPatrick Guest Columnist from Saint John Telegraph-Journal BURLINGTON, VT - While the Vermont Beasts took on the Saint John Knights at the Gutt today in a game won 5-3 by Saint John, there was some off-ice business to be dealt. It's been a known fact that the Legion are relocating their farm team to Nashville, Tennessee, which would normally leave the Vermont market empty. Enter Moncton Mariners general manager Justin Fox. Ever since the news broke that the Legion moved their team, Fox went to the Gutterson management immediately, trying to sort out news on a lease, parking, and potential schedule qualms with the University of Vermont Catamounts. Fox said that he could use the pro plus college combo to the Gutt's advantage, with a hockey doubleheader featuring one of the teams in the afternoon and then the other at night. Ultimately, the Mariners finalized a purchase of the Beasts after discussions with the Legion. The team's roster will change next season to the one we saw win in a road game last night, but the moniker and logo will remain the same. "It is my pleasure to announce that the Vermont Beasts will stay right here in Burlington where they belong," said Fox at a news conference. Fox plans on attending UVM for the next four years and is an avid Catamount fan, recently attending the UVM/Penn State game in Philadelphia last weekend. There is one former Catamount on the Knights-soon-to-be-Beasts roster. When asked about returning to his old college town, Viktor Stalberg was ecstatic, saying: "It's very exciting to be able to return to a place where I spent three of the best years of my life. Justin Fox wasn't kidding when he said that Burlington makes outsiders fall in love with the place, with himself being one of them. It's a great town, perfect size, in a beautiful location. The hockey fans here are amazing and I'm glad to be returning here." The Knights franchise will relocate to Nashville instead.
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Post by Ryan on Dec 2, 2013 14:15:56 GMT -5
5 farm teams are at the top of the standings with 33 points (tied for 2nd)
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Post by Ryan on Dec 18, 2013 13:10:01 GMT -5
The veteran legend Jaromir Jagr may not be happy with being relegated to the farm league these days, but he hasn't let that have any affect on his play. Now with 9 games for the Beasts, Jagr is sitting at 12 points with 6 goals and 6 assists. It's quite a difference to see him starring in a scoring role once again instead of floundering around on the fourth line with the Legion.
His new winger Craig Smith couldn't be happier as he brought the house down with is first career hat trick in a 6-2 win over the Patriots. Steve Begin also scored, he has quietly hit 20 goals for the season in 32 games, definitely one of the best offseason pickups in the farm league.
Shot blocking defender Greg Zanon improves to +26 on the season and his young partner Brett Bellemore is sitting on +20, quite a defensive duo.
The Beasts will carry their five game winning streak to St Johns to battle the Knights on Friday. The two squads may be the most friendly in the league as the Beasts will be handing over their team identity to the Knights at the conclusion of the NLHS4 season, and then relocating to Nashville under the Knights nickname. A bizarre situation anywhere else, but considered only slightly odd in the world of NLHS.
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Post by Ryan on Dec 20, 2013 13:41:57 GMT -5
Tough 2-1 loss against the Knights today. Jagr continues to score, notching the lone Beasts goal. But it was Gustav Nyquist with two markers for the Knights that sealed the deal and Keith Kinkaid frustrated the Beast shooters stopping 38 out of 39.
A bigger disappointment for Vermont is the loss of top defender Brett Bellemore for the next week with a knee injury. That will present a big challenge next week when the Beasts welcome the Bisons to town.
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Post by Ryan on Dec 24, 2013 22:06:55 GMT -5
A Beast of a performance
The Bisons were in Burlington today to take on the Beasts and put up a great effort, the final score was 6-4 for Vermont and the shot total was 43-42 also in favor of the Beasts. But it was the individual performances that really set the Beasts apart today.
Three players each had a three point effort today, ed by the extremely hot Jaromir Jagr who scored two goals and an assist. Joining him with a goal and two assists was Ryane Clowe, and with three assists the young Craig Smith.
The big surprise of the day was the first career start for the often scratched Carter Hutton. Feeling cheerful with the Christmas Spirit, coach Terry Murray decided to give Hutton a gift in the form of some actual playing time. Who knew that he would turn in 38 saves and his first victory.
That is great news for Vermont who is expected to be without Jhonas Enroth for a small stretch as he will be performing a series of starts in Philadelphia. The club could go with Evgeni Nabokov who has performed very well in relief duty, or there is a chance that Justin Peters will be sent down to help out.
We will find out on Friday when Beasts make their way across the country to take on the suddenly competitive Salmon Kings.
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Post by Ryan on Jan 26, 2014 8:37:39 GMT -5
In the past month, the Beasts have fallen from first place with their poor play since goalie Jhonas Enroth was called up to the big leagues. The team has also been battling injuries on the blueline as their top unit of Brett Bellemore and Greg Zanon has been banged up and out of action for much of this month.
The team has a record of 6-7-2 in the last 15 games, although that featured a four game losing streak from game 36-39 in which the team managed just five total goals. During this past month the coaching staff featured a goal rotation between Evgeni Nabokov, Justin Peters and Carter Hutton to see if any of the three would come up with a hot streak. The answer is Evgeni Nabokov who has now started 11 straight with a 5-4-2 record in that stretch. Just enough to keep the team respectable in the absence of Enroth.
Jaromir Jagr continues to excel in the farm league, he is up two 34 points in 25 games and has really helped to propel Craig Smith in his first full season as Smith has hit the 20 goal mark and is quickly closing in on the point-per-game pace.
Heading into game 50, there is only a four point difference between first and sixth in the Eastern Conference so we can still expect any team to take over the lead at any point as the potential playoff matchups are changing every day. There is a more sizable seven point gap over the seventh place Winter Hawks.
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Post by Ryan on Jan 27, 2014 17:06:52 GMT -5
Game 50, the Beasts prove that they have no intention of giving up the first spot easily. Jaromir Jagr scored the hat trick and added an assist as the Beasts crushed the Crackpipes 8-3. Daniel Paille also had a four point night with a whopping four assists. Other Beasts goals were scored by Brandon Yip, Chris Mueller, Craig Smith and two from Steve Begin. Evgeni Nabokov also stopped a penalty shot attempt Dylan Olsen.
Game 51, another big win today. Jaromir Jagr scored another hat trick and the Beasts put up eight goals again in an 8-5 win over the Clippers. Jagr was even better today with two assists for five points, joined this time by Craig Smith with a goal and four assists. Other Beast scorers were Chris Mueller, Daniel Paille, Roman Josi and Wojtek Wolski. The Beasts remain in second place however as the Harfangs are riding a five game win streak and stay two points ahead for the moment.
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Post by Ryan on Feb 2, 2014 9:41:49 GMT -5
Game 52, the Beasts clipped cape Breton 5-3 in this one. The team allowed the Clippers a single goal in each period but had goals by Colin Fraser and Daniel Paille to tie it in the second and then three more from Scott Hannan, Paille and Nick Spaling in the third to win. The victory keeps the Beasts on pace with the Harfangs.
Game 53, a close one but it counts. Today the Beasts took on the young Thunderbirds and barely escaped with a 3-2 shootout win. For the Beasts is was veterans Mike Weaver and Daniel Paille who scored the goals. Those tallies were matched for Seattle by two youngsters Valeri Nichushkin and Nathan MacKinnon. In the shootout, veteran Evgeni Nabokov didn't allow a single score while two more old guys Jaromir Jagr and Steve Begin lit the lamp to send the Beasts to their fourth straight victory. The team remains two points behind the Harfangs who have won seven in a row.
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