Flame Out: Canucks Young Stars Fall to Flames 4-3 In OT
7 years ago
The Canucks closed out the 2016 Young Stars Classic in a spirited affair against their Western Canadian rivals, the Calgary Flames. Calgary had been the team to beat this weekend, featuring the most well-rounded roster of the tournament.
The Flames came on strong, and Vancouver struggled against their attack for most of the game. Luckily, a few timely goals from Michael Carcone, Jordan Subban, and Yan-Pavel LaPlante, as well as the inspired play of goaltenders Thatcher Demko and Michael Garteig was enough to push the game to extra time.
Karma caught up with them eventually, however, when Ashton Sautner blew a tire at Calgary’s blue line. Ryan Lomberg was left all alone on the breakaway and he made no mistake, sealing the game 4-3 in overtime.
Goals, saves, hits, fights and even a penalty shot… the final game of Young Stars had a little bit of everything. pic.twitter.com/bsHMLtw8rN— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 20, 2016
QUICK HITS
- Don’t let the score fool you, this was not a good performance by the Canucks youngsters. They struggled to get out of their own zone for most of the night, and couldn’t get much zone time at the Flames’ end when they did. If not for Thatcher Demko, the game could have been out of hand by early in the second period. Demko also stopped Mark Jankowski on a penalty shot, looking thoroughly unconcerned as he knocked away Jankowski’s wrister with an easy pad save. Jordan Subban was an adventure tonight, to say the least. He was making crisp passes for most of the night, but missed the mark on a feed to MacKenze Stewart at his own blue line. Stewart bobbled the puck, and it ended up on Lomberg’s stick, who put it past Demko to tie the game at 1. Subban also took a pair of undisciplined penalties that could have come back to bite him very hard. Subban’s night wasn’t all bad, however. He looked dynamic at times, and scored a beautiful goal straight out of the penalty box off a nice feed from Michael Carcone.
- Speaking of Carcone, he was the Canucks’ best forward tonight, using his speed to draw a tripping penalty, and picking up two points on the night.
- Carl Neill got the assist on Carcone’s goal, and I thought he quietly had a good game tonight after a fairly unremarkable performance in his first game. Neill’s passes were all connecting and he set up a couple of rebounds for his teammates on the power play. He struggled at times with his in-zone defensive play, but overall, I liked what I saw from the young defender.
- Cole Candella was certainly not what I expected. Despite being among the OHL’s top defensemen in terms of points-per-game, he didn’t get many opportunities to showcase his offensive instincts. He looked nervous and confused for most of the game, and his skating looked labored. Perhaps he struggled with the tournament’s lack of structure, but even still, I was hoping for more from him.
- Marc-Olivier Roy was a standout in the first two games, but it was another Quebecer, Yan-Pavel LaPlante, that stole the show tonight. LaPlante completed the illustrious Gordie Howe hat-trick, fighting Ryan Lomberg (who was all over the ice tonight), and tipping in a shot from Roy in the second period.
- This concludes our coverage of the 2016 Young Stars Classic. It was a tremendously fun experience for all involved. Jim Benning has said that most of the players at this tournament will get an invite to main camp, so we’ll keep you updated as that situation unfolds. I’d imagine Marc-Olivier Roy in particular has earned himself a long look, and may be able to compete for a spot on the Comets’ roster this fall.
Out of the box and onto the scoresheet. Hear from a mic’d up @jordansubban as he scores. #YoungStars pic.twitter.com/v3GGNoV3H4— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 19, 2016
#Canucks GM Jim Benning talks about prospects and roster, the Young Stars Classic and the upcoming training camp. pic.twitter.com/ArySaxv5AS— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 20, 2016
