As I looked at the schedule for this weekend, the HSE A vs Westfield game was screaming "Game of the Week." I’m going to give you my predictions and everything you need to know about that game but first, let’s recap my pick for last week’s Game of the Week, the Indy Fuel at the Fort Wayne Komets.
I’d like to be able to tell you that this was an old-time hockey game that lived up to the frequent calls as the “battle for I-69.”
Unfortunately, I can’t.
There were no scrappy comebacks or raucous fights. There was just a rather boring non-event with a final score of 6-2. I had high hopes for this game, especially as the Fuel were coming off a solid performance the night before against the Oilers. But they could never catch up with the Komets who just kept getting stronger, finishing with a 3-goal third period. Mike Cazzola had a hat trick for the Komets and now has 44 points on the season. The Fuel’s lone all-star, Alex Wideman, was unusually quiet, with only 1 shot and a plus/minus of -2 to show for his efforts.
For those of you keeping track at home, I am now 3-2-1 on the season.
So let's take a look at the Game of the Week for the week of January 16th, 2017.
The HSE A team travels all the way over to sunny Westfield, to visit the Shamrocks at the Arctic Zone on Saturday at 10:15 PM. This was an easy choice for Game of the Week, with HSE A coming in at #8 on the INHockey.net rankings and Westfield right behind at #9. As of last Thursday (the INHockey.net rankings come out each Thursday), HSE A had a record of 17-11-2 and Westfield’s record was 16-9-3. Both teams have played similar competition with similar results. If the Game of the Week had theme music, this is where it would kick in…
If you like offense, this one should be right up your alley…seriously. Westfield is led by two standout skaters, Connor Murphy (32 goals, 25 assists) and Austin Todd (28 goals, 16 assists). They’ll square off against HSE A’s Matt Sawyer (38 goals, 25 assists), Jacob Kessinger (23 goals, 12 assists) and Luke Owen (15 goals, 29 assists). If these guys are planning on bringing their ‘A’ games, the goaltenders will be in for a long day. In fact, the teams have already met twice this season, splitting the games and scoring a combined 24 goals.
As I said before, both teams have very similar records, having wins over top ranked teams like Columbus (#5) and Zionsville (#2) as well as tough losses against teams they should have beaten.
So, who wins this weekend?
Well, Hockey Faithful, it’s going to come down to whichever goalie makes the most saves. I’m assuming Sean Fulp (.757 SV%) will be in net for Westfield and Caleb Harris (.827 SV%) will be in net for HSE A. Harris has the better save percentage but if Fulp comes in hot, this game is a toss-up. At the end of the day and in my heart of hearts, I’m a numbers guy. Based on what I see in the numbers, I’m calling for HSE A to get the win, 6-4.
There you have it. HSE A is my team this week. You heard it here first!
But wait, there’s more! I really need to get some theme music.
Bonus Game:
I saw this game on the schedule and it would be an absolute tragedy if I didn’t mention the Lakeshore/St.Joe Warriors facing off against the Saint Joseph Indians for the first time this season. These two teams are also back to back in the INHockey.net rankings, sitting at #15 and #16 respectively. This game probably won’t have the offensive fireworks we expect in the Game of the Week, but it should be a great game, nonetheless. If you happen to be in South Bend on Thursday night, this one has 7:15 PM puck drop at Compton Family Ice Arena.
Be on the lookout for Tyler Kleva, who has 31 points in 19 games for Saint Joseph and Reider Burgeson, who has 50 points in 23 games for Lakeshore/St. Joe.
I won't give you an official prediction here, but pay attention to Lakeshore/St.Joe. They are better than their record shows.
Now, get yourself to a rink and watch some hockey!
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