Sunday, September 21, 2008

Training Camp + More Markström

With two days and two scrimmages behind the Cats, defense has outweighed the offense. In the first day, Tanner Glass and Brady Calla scored the only two goals in the sixty minute scrimmage, while today, goals have come from Ville Peltonen, David Booth and Jassen Cullimore. Anthony Stewart added a late empty-net goal.

Tomorrow, the Panthers are scheduled only to have a morning practice and an off-ice workout, and then on Tuesday, they're off to Calgary, finally, for the first game of the pre-season.

Nathan Horton has played center both days with Cory Stillman and Rostislav Olesz on the wings. Booth and Weiss were kept together as two-thirds of the top line for the blue team with Zednik playing right wing. The two teams split the two games, each ultimately scoring three goals (2-0 white, 3-1 blue).

In Sweden, Jacob Markström led Brynäs against HV71 in a game that just ended a few minutes ago. HV71 had scored 11 goals in their two games coming into this evening (morning, here) but they got off to a rough start tonight, taking four minor penalties in the first period and being outshot by Brynäs 9-8.

The game, played in front of 6,893, was scoreless until close to eight minutes in to the second period when Brynäs put one home and took the lead. They would score again on their next shot, though it didn't come for another 3-and-a-half minutes. HV71 left the period with only four shots on goal, Markström having only faced twelve through two periods.

HV71 came out flying to start the third, throwing two shots on net in the opening minute and picking up a goal at 1:15 of the period. Markström fought off five shots in the next 90 seconds before Brynäs took a tripping penalty. Two more shots were turned aside by Markström on the following power play and thirty seconds after it had expired, Brynäs was shorthanded once again. Within six minutes of the third period, shots were 11-0 HV71.

The pace slowed a bit when HV71's Andreas Falk was called for cross checking at 7:54, but the home team's domination of the period did not -- Brynäs did not pick up a shot on goal in the third until the sixteen-minute mark. As time wound down and desperation set in, HV71 threw everything that they had at Markström, firing three shots on target in eighteen seconds before watching Brynäs' Jonathan Granström put the icing on the cake with an empty netter.

Brynäs held on to win the game, 3-1. Markström made 27 saves on 28 shots -- 16 of which came in the final frame.

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