13 September 2008

Traverse, Game 1: ATL 1 - TBL 0


1 - 0

Paul Postma scored the lone goal in this one, at 14:56 of the first, with assists coming from Matt Lyall and Spencer Machacek. Read Brad Holland's review of the game for more details:
On the other side, literally – we jump from rink to rink to watch both games – Angelo Esposito, Zach Bogosian, Riley Holzapfel, Arturs Kulda and Matt Siddall made up one heck of a dangerous five-man powerplay unit versus the Tampa Bay prospects.

In fact, Esposito may have been the best skater on either side, and I heard a few hockey personalities in the stands mentioning that they’d never seen him so aggressive. Perhaps the young forward has his eyes set dead on the Atlanta Thrashers’ lineup for 2008-09. If so, he helped his case today.

The real story though, was the goaltending battle between Dustin Tokarski, the Lightning’s fifth-round pick from this year, and Chris Carrozzi, the Thrashers sixth-round pick from this year.

Carrozzi earned the win with the shutout with a 26-save effort, while Tokarski, in his first “official” game since winning the Memorial Cup in June, made 20 saves in a losing effort.
Red emphasis being mine, but holy crap a dangerous power play?! *blink* Yes please!!

Also of note, Bogo is keeping a blog on the tournament! Be sure to check out his posts, and bookmark the blog. I totally love this kid. From today's post:
But everything that’s gone on, it’s been fun. You grow up your whole life watching the NHL and now you get a sniff of what it’s like and that’s fun. It’s everything you could ask for. It’s a dream come true, but I’m not on the team yet. I’m trying to work hard to make the team, because that’s a goal I’ve set for myself.

Don Waddell has said it numerous times that he was going to give me an opportunity. Not too many 18 year old kids have an opportunity to play in the NHL, so that’s all I can ask for is an opportunity, and hopefully I make the most of it.


And also also of note... check out these penalties! Musta been a revolving door in the sin bin today.

Period 1
Thrashers - Rylan Kaip - (Hooking), 2 min, 1:30
Lightning - Lucas Bloodoff - (Holding), 2 min, 4:06
Thrashers - Rylan Kaip - (Interference), 2 min, 10:07
Lightning - Luca Cunti - (Hooking), 2 min, 15:23
Lightning - James Wright - (Slashing), 2 min, 17:55
Lightning - Mitch Fadden - (Too Many Men), 2 min, 19:59

Period 2
Thrashers - Chad Denny - (Hooking), 2 min, 4:32
Lightning - Mark Barberiio - (Hooking), 2 min, 4:53
Thrashers - Matt Siddall - (Holding), 2 min, 9:59
Lightning - Mitch Fadden - (Tripping), 2 min, 14:08
Thrashers - Riley Holzapfel - (Holding), 2 min, 17:57

Period 3
Lightning - Kyle De Coste - (Interference), 2 min, 0:56
Thrashers - Scott Marchesi - (Tripping), 2 min, 3:33
Thrashers - Carter Bancks - (Tripping), 2 min, 5:03
Lightning - Scott Jakson - (Tripping), 2 min, 8:29
Thrashers - Arturs Kulda - (Holding), 2 min, 16:42

And lastly, a reminder that the game will be shown tomorrow night @ 8pm EST on NHL Network. But if you miss it, they'll show it again at 0200, then again at 0400.

NHL.com posted blurbs about Bogo and Espo:

Zach Bogosian, No. 3, 2008
Bogosian, who signed his entry level contract earlier this month, had a marvelous developmental camp from July 8-13. Atlanta coach John Anderson has said that Bogosian's skill set and instincts are better than advertised. Thrashers GM Don Waddell told the team's Web site: "Here you have an 18-year-old player who is going to be a future star in this League. We'll let his play dictate how quickly he comes along." This past season, Bogosian ranked second among defensemen in the Ontario Hockey League with 50 assists and was the only defenseman in the league to lead his team, the Peterborough Petes, in points with 61 in 60 games. In 127 career games with Peterborough, Bogosian posted 18 goals, 94 points and 135 penalty minutes with a plus-2 rating. "I'm out to be the best all-around defenseman possible," Bogosian said. "I like to take care of defense first and then chip in offensively when needed. But really, I just want to be a good team player, capable of sticking up for teammates and myself while trying to help out the team in any way."

Angelo Esposito, No. 20, 2007
Esposito, who also signed a multi-year contract with the Thrashers this summer, appeared in 56 games with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season and finished third on the team with 69 points (30 goals, 39 assists). He was second on the Remparts in playoff scoring with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 11 games. Esposito also received the Mike Bossy Trophy as the best professional prospect in the QMJHL in 2006-07. "We're being positive and patient with his development," said Dan Marr, the Thrashers' director of amateur scouting and player development. "He just needs to get physically stronger to become that good point producer in the NHL. I feel he has put a lot of pressure on his shoulders and he just needs to play his game and be the best he can be. He must understand that he doesn't need to carry the team but play a part in the team."

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