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Whalers/Rush Split Hard Hitting Weekend Series

By Whaler Nation, 12/05/17, 3:30PM EST

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Saturday Elite 5-3 WIN

After being swept by the Rush before the Thanksgiving break, the Whalers had revenge on their minds Saturday night.  Things didn’t look good early, as Charlotte rushed out to a 2-0 lead after the opening period with a 21-5 edge in shots.  In the middle frame, the Whalers fought back, outshooting Charlotte 20-8 in the frame, scoring twice to tie the game 2-2 before Charlotte regained a 3-2 lead at the intermission.  In the final frame, the Whalers continued to push the pace, scoring 3 times in the final period to take the 5-3 win.

Jacob Kaplan scored twice, while Gary Eastlack, Noah Kramer, and Adam Campbell each had one.  Eastlack notched 2 helpers, while Noah Kramer, Ty Brandt, Caelan Bolanowski, Cody Wilson, and Ryan Lorenz each had 1.  Jason Horn made 39 saves in net for the win.

The Rush held a 42-35 edge in shots.  Hampton Roads went 1 for 4 on the power play while Charlotte went 3 for 6.

Saturday Premier 3-2 WIN

On Saturday, the battle of the last 2 USPHL champions lived up to expectations, as the 2 clubs slugged it out in another hard fought battle on Eddie Ufret Memorial night in front of a packed house.  After a scoreless 1st period, the Whalers got on the board at 3:42 of the 2nd to take a 1-0 lead.  The Whalers would extend the lead to 2-0 at 8:25 to go up 2-0, then the Rush would respond late at 16:13 to make it 2-1 after 40.  In the final frame, the Whalers scored again at 4:25 to jump ahead 3-1 and the game would remain that way until the 15:52 mark when Charlotte capitalized with the net empty to make it 3-2.  The Whalers would withstand a late Rush flurry and Sean Dickson shut the door on a 3-2 win.

Jonas Edwards, Brandon Osmundson, and Joe DiGiulio each scored for the Whalers. John Moncovich had 2 assist while Osmundson and Edwards each had 1.  Sean Dickson made 38 saves in the net for the win.

Charlotte held a 40-20 shot advantage.  The Rush finished 0 for 5 on the power play while the Whalers were 0 for 4.

Sunday Elite 5-3 Loss

On Sunday, the Whalers failed to carry over momentum from Saturdays win, as the Rush came out flying.  Charlotte took an early 1-0 lead before the Whalers answered just over a minute later to tie it 1-1.  Late in the period, the Rush would notch a power play goal to take a 2-1 lead into the break.  Early in period 2, the Whalers knotted things at 2-2 just :46 seconds in.  Charlotte would answer at 7:15 to regain the lead 3-2 and tack on another with a power play goal with just 1:20 left in the frame to take a 4-2 lead into the final 20.  Things would stay status quo in the final period until Charlotte scored with just 1:24 to go to extend the lead to 5-2, the Whalers would answer 14 seconds later to make it 5-3, but it was too late, as the Whalers fell 5-3.

Gary Eastlack scored twice while Tanner Davis scored once.  Jacob Kaplan had 2 assists, Ryan Lorenz, Charles DuBose and Tyler Dienna had 1.  Jason Horn took the loss in goal with 48 saves.

Charlotte held a dominating 53-23 edge in shots.  The Rush finished 2 for 7 on the power play while the Whalers were 0 for 4.

Sunday Elite 5-2 Loss

In game 2, everything that went right for the Whalers on Saturday, was nonexistent on Sunday.  After seeing their 10 game winning streak and 18 game point streak snapped on Saturday, the Rush came out firing on Sunday, notching 4 goals in the opening frame to take a 4-0 lead into the intermission.  After a scoreless middle frame, the Whalers finally got on the board at 6:02 of the 3rd to cut the lead to 4-1.  Charlotte regained the 4 goal lead at 10:36 on the power play and the Whalers struck back at 16:35, but it was too little, too late as the Whalers fell 5-2.

Jaxon Rutkowski scored his first as a Whalers and Nikita Anistratenko scored his first goal in 6 games.  Riley Wagner, Zach Zalar, and Nikita Anistratenko each had 1 assist.  Sean Dickson took the loss, allowing 4 goals on 17 shots in the opening period, Zach Alvarado made 21 saves on 22 shots in relief.

Charlotte held a 39-22 edge in shots.  Charlotte went 2 for 10 on the power play while the Whalers went 0 for 9.

What's on Tap?

The Whalers will head back on the road for 6 games before the Christmas break, starting this weekend with a 2 game set in Atlanta against the Knights.

Whalers Elite (18-4-2, 38 points, 2nd)

Knights Elite (14-12-0, 28 points, 5th)

Whalers Premier (16-7-1, 33 points, 3rd)

Knights Premier (12-12-2, 26 points, 5th)

Saturday December 9th, 2017

Elite: 5:30pm

Premier: 8:00pm

Sunday December 10th, 2017

Elite: 8:30am

Premier: 11:00am

All games will be played at the Marietta Ice Center and can be seen live online on HockeyTV.

News and Notes

The Whalers added 1998 defenseman Jaxon Rutkowski from Rome, NY.  The 5'10, 180lbs defenseman in a Utica College commit.

Premier defenseman Brendan Borg served his 2 game suspension for his fight in Charlotte, and will return to the line-up this weekend.

Whalers Elite goaltender Everett Yasinski committed to Iowa State University for the 2018-2019 season.


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