Hockey Central
SCIHL Division 3 - Week 16 Semi-Finals Game Summaries
Friday, 17 March 2023
Breakout game
The first semi-final had first-place Asiaxpat versus fourth-place Unicorns who only secured their spot by beating HoiHoi in the last regular season game last week. The Unicorns came in the playoffs with the lowest goals for against the high-octane offense from the WWF line who have been dominate all year.
Following script, the first 6 minutes of the game were almost completely played in the Unicorns zone as Asiaxpat’s offense dominated control of the puck and the Unicorns desperately defending against the strong cycle game of Asiaxpat.
Against the play, Shane Weir won the puck behind the net and fed Art Tam coming in from the point for a one-timer into the short side. However, the lead was short-lived as they WWF line continued to dominate play and finally were rewarded when Jim Wong finished a rebound after a Michael Wong attempt on net was stopped by Bernard Lam. A few minutes later, the WWF line struck again, this time David Finifter finishing the play giving Asiaxpat a 2-1 lead at the
end of the first.
The 2nd period was a bit more open as the Unicorns pressed for an equalizer, which came on the only powerplay they had. Andrew Rueger scoring his first high to the top corner, only to have Michael Wong regain the lead just over a minute later. 3-2 Asiaxpat after 2.
In the 3rd period, the Unicorns struck early as Rueger scored his second of the night as he deflected the puck just inside the far post tying the game again just a minute in. 4 minutes later, Rueger completed his hattrick and gave the Unicorns the lead again, after Sally Lau stole the puck, chipped it to Tracy Wong behind the net, who found Rueger in the high slot putting one into the top corner past a screened Kiera Mok.
Asiaxpat then had a glorious opportunity to tie it up as the Unicorns got into penalty trouble. 2 quick penalties gave Asiaxpat a 5 on 3 powerplay for over a minute as the Unicorns desperately held on to their lead with Bernard Lam making some key saves to keep them ahead. A few minutes after killing the penalty, Shane Weir won the puck behind the Asiaxpat net and with a power move, snuck one by the short side giving the Unicorns a crucial insurance goal.
As the clock wound down, Asiaxpat pulled their goalie, but it was the
Unicorns Captain, Andrew Rueger who sealed the win with an empty net goal for this 4th goal of the game. Rueger scored almost 1/2 the goals he had in the entire regular season in the first playoff game.
Kiera Mok faced 29 shots while Bernard Lam faced 31 shots.
The upset win puts the Unicorns in the Gold medal game against the winner of Homely Sportswear and Taboo Devils.
Burger Joy’s Three Stars:
1. Bernard Lam (Unicorns)
2. Andrew Rueger(Unicorns)
3. Shane Weir (Unicorns)
Back to our regular scheduled program
After losing first overall in the last game of the season to Asiaxpat, Homely Sportswear were looking to shore up their game with league-scoring leader Donald Chow back in the lineup. Taboo was looking to follow in the footsteps of the Unicorns to pull off an upset and book their place in the finals.
After a slow start, Taboo allowed the league’s top scorer, Donald Chow, to walking down Main Street unmarked, who fired one by Edward Lee to open the scoring. 30 seconds later, Homely’s Warren Ang doubled their lead on an unassisted goal. Taboo’s Kenny Chiu responded near the end of the first as he chipped one over the blocker side of Anthony Fiscella to get Taboo on the board. 2-1 after 1.
Early in the 2nd, Taboo tied it up on the powerplay after Leon Mo broke thru and made no mistake. The teams would trade chances until late in the 2nd, when Rick Chu scored on Homely’s only powerplay regaining the lead. Shortly after, Justin Kuok added another unassisted for Homely, closing out the 2nd, 4-2 for Homely.
In the 3rd, Sam Wong finished a scramble in front to make it 5-3, and while Taboo had a couple powerplays to even it up, Homely’s Kuok scored his second of the evening short handed to round out the scoring and any potential comeback from Taboo.
Edward Lee faced 29 shots while Anthony Fiscella faced 30.
Homely will now face the Unicorns in the Gold medal game, while Taboo plays Asiaxpat for Bronze.
Burger Joy’s Three Stars:
1. Justin Kuok (Homely Sportswear)
2. Gavino Ng (Homely Sportswear)
3. Leon Mo (Taboo Devils)
Farewell Izzy
Lion Rock’s Izumida Koji was looking to close out his stellar year with a win before returning back to Japan. HoiHoi who just missed the playoffs last week to the Unicorns were looking to bounce back this game.
HoiHoi opened the scoring as Captain Rob Chiu fired a slap shot past Izzy on the stick side after Lion Rock’s defense allowed Chiu to walk in, then deflected the ensuing shot. In the same shift, Lion Rock’s Justin Wong (LPP) quickly replied on the ensuing faceoff. A couple of shifts later, Wong scored again on his next shift, only for Chiu to reply from the ensuing faceoff in a similar fashion. 2-2 after 1 period.
Lion rock’s John Wade (LPP) scored with 5 minutes remaining in the 2nd to give Lion Rock the lead, and John Ng then scored with only 6 seconds remaining in the 2nd beating the buzzer to give Lion Rock a 4-2 lead after 2.
HoiHoi then opened the 3rd with a patented Hamish Pang rush closing the gap to 1. However, Wade scored his second of the night with 4 minutes left for an insurance marker which Lion Rock needed as Justin Hau scored for HoiHoi in the last minute to round out the scoring. The insurance goal helped ensuring Izzy’s sendoff game with a win.
Izumida Koji faced 29 shots while Carson Leung (LPP) faced 27 on the night.
Burger Joy’s Three Stars:
1. Izumida Koji (Lion Rock Hockey)
2. John Ng (Lion Rock Hockey)
3. Robert Chiu (HoiHoi Pancake House)
Remember to find us on:
1. Facebook - SCIHL League (submit a friend’s request)
2. Twitter - @OfficialSCIHL
3. iPhone & Android App - "SCIHL" (pull down the screen a few seconds for updates)
For the latest scores, statistics, and game schedule.
4. Instagram - www.SCIHL.com
5. Website - www.SCIHL.com
Breakout game
The first semi-final had first-place Asiaxpat versus fourth-place Unicorns who only secured their spot by beating HoiHoi in the last regular season game last week. The Unicorns came in the playoffs with the lowest goals for against the high-octane offense from the WWF line who have been dominate all year.
Following script, the first 6 minutes of the game were almost completely played in the Unicorns zone as Asiaxpat’s offense dominated control of the puck and the Unicorns desperately defending against the strong cycle game of Asiaxpat.
Against the play, Shane Weir won the puck behind the net and fed Art Tam coming in from the point for a one-timer into the short side. However, the lead was short-lived as they WWF line continued to dominate play and finally were rewarded when Jim Wong finished a rebound after a Michael Wong attempt on net was stopped by Bernard Lam. A few minutes later, the WWF line struck again, this time David Finifter finishing the play giving Asiaxpat a 2-1 lead at the
end of the first.
The 2nd period was a bit more open as the Unicorns pressed for an equalizer, which came on the only powerplay they had. Andrew Rueger scoring his first high to the top corner, only to have Michael Wong regain the lead just over a minute later. 3-2 Asiaxpat after 2.
In the 3rd period, the Unicorns struck early as Rueger scored his second of the night as he deflected the puck just inside the far post tying the game again just a minute in. 4 minutes later, Rueger completed his hattrick and gave the Unicorns the lead again, after Sally Lau stole the puck, chipped it to Tracy Wong behind the net, who found Rueger in the high slot putting one into the top corner past a screened Kiera Mok.
Asiaxpat then had a glorious opportunity to tie it up as the Unicorns got into penalty trouble. 2 quick penalties gave Asiaxpat a 5 on 3 powerplay for over a minute as the Unicorns desperately held on to their lead with Bernard Lam making some key saves to keep them ahead. A few minutes after killing the penalty, Shane Weir won the puck behind the Asiaxpat net and with a power move, snuck one by the short side giving the Unicorns a crucial insurance goal.
As the clock wound down, Asiaxpat pulled their goalie, but it was the
Unicorns Captain, Andrew Rueger who sealed the win with an empty net goal for this 4th goal of the game. Rueger scored almost 1/2 the goals he had in the entire regular season in the first playoff game.
Kiera Mok faced 29 shots while Bernard Lam faced 31 shots.
The upset win puts the Unicorns in the Gold medal game against the winner of Homely Sportswear and Taboo Devils.
Burger Joy’s Three Stars:
1. Bernard Lam (Unicorns)
2. Andrew Rueger(Unicorns)
3. Shane Weir (Unicorns)
Back to our regular scheduled program
After losing first overall in the last game of the season to Asiaxpat, Homely Sportswear were looking to shore up their game with league-scoring leader Donald Chow back in the lineup. Taboo was looking to follow in the footsteps of the Unicorns to pull off an upset and book their place in the finals.
After a slow start, Taboo allowed the league’s top scorer, Donald Chow, to walking down Main Street unmarked, who fired one by Edward Lee to open the scoring. 30 seconds later, Homely’s Warren Ang doubled their lead on an unassisted goal. Taboo’s Kenny Chiu responded near the end of the first as he chipped one over the blocker side of Anthony Fiscella to get Taboo on the board. 2-1 after 1.
Early in the 2nd, Taboo tied it up on the powerplay after Leon Mo broke thru and made no mistake. The teams would trade chances until late in the 2nd, when Rick Chu scored on Homely’s only powerplay regaining the lead. Shortly after, Justin Kuok added another unassisted for Homely, closing out the 2nd, 4-2 for Homely.
In the 3rd, Sam Wong finished a scramble in front to make it 5-3, and while Taboo had a couple powerplays to even it up, Homely’s Kuok scored his second of the evening short handed to round out the scoring and any potential comeback from Taboo.
Edward Lee faced 29 shots while Anthony Fiscella faced 30.
Homely will now face the Unicorns in the Gold medal game, while Taboo plays Asiaxpat for Bronze.
Burger Joy’s Three Stars:
1. Justin Kuok (Homely Sportswear)
2. Gavino Ng (Homely Sportswear)
3. Leon Mo (Taboo Devils)
Farewell Izzy
Lion Rock’s Izumida Koji was looking to close out his stellar year with a win before returning back to Japan. HoiHoi who just missed the playoffs last week to the Unicorns were looking to bounce back this game.
HoiHoi opened the scoring as Captain Rob Chiu fired a slap shot past Izzy on the stick side after Lion Rock’s defense allowed Chiu to walk in, then deflected the ensuing shot. In the same shift, Lion Rock’s Justin Wong (LPP) quickly replied on the ensuing faceoff. A couple of shifts later, Wong scored again on his next shift, only for Chiu to reply from the ensuing faceoff in a similar fashion. 2-2 after 1 period.
Lion rock’s John Wade (LPP) scored with 5 minutes remaining in the 2nd to give Lion Rock the lead, and John Ng then scored with only 6 seconds remaining in the 2nd beating the buzzer to give Lion Rock a 4-2 lead after 2.
HoiHoi then opened the 3rd with a patented Hamish Pang rush closing the gap to 1. However, Wade scored his second of the night with 4 minutes left for an insurance marker which Lion Rock needed as Justin Hau scored for HoiHoi in the last minute to round out the scoring. The insurance goal helped ensuring Izzy’s sendoff game with a win.
Izumida Koji faced 29 shots while Carson Leung (LPP) faced 27 on the night.
Burger Joy’s Three Stars:
1. Izumida Koji (Lion Rock Hockey)
2. John Ng (Lion Rock Hockey)
3. Robert Chiu (HoiHoi Pancake House)
Remember to find us on:
1. Facebook - SCIHL League (submit a friend’s request)
2. Twitter - @OfficialSCIHL
3. iPhone & Android App - "SCIHL" (pull down the screen a few seconds for updates)
For the latest scores, statistics, and game schedule.
4. Instagram - www.SCIHL.com
5. Website - www.SCIHL.com