Second Star
Curtis Dickson, Calgary Roughnecks
5 goals, 4 assists
It’s kind of funny, but Dickson’s spectacular no-look, back-to-the-net, between-the-legs goal may actually have distracted from just how good he was overall in Saturday’s game. He scored driving to the net. He scored on step-back rockets. He set up teammates with nifty passes. But that crazy goal, and the way he executed it with such panache, overshadowed all of that. As did the comeback by Vancouver to win in overtime, which deservedly got plenty of attention. Make no mistake, though, Dickson was sensational in the game and may well have been first star had Smith not had two games either one of which would have made hi a contender for top honours.
Honourable Mentions
Logan Schuss (Vancouver): 1g. 7a. Fourth straight game with 8 or more points. Remarkable run…Johnny Powless (Georgia): 3g, 3a. It’s not deja vu. The lefties traded for each other are just earning their way into the column week after week…Josh Sanderson (Toronto): 1g, 6a. Shooter now has 10 assists in his two games back with the Rock and they’re six seconds from being 2-0 in those games. Apparently his absence was making that much difference…Matt Vinc (Rochester): 47/57, .825 save percentage. Vinc was pulled in his previous game and got taken out for a breather Friday as well, but when he returned he was masterful and the main reason the Knighthawks were able to stay as close to Saskatchewan as they did…Corey Small(Vancouver): 3g, 2a. Quiet for much of the evening, Small scored a pair of goals to tie the game up in the fourth quarter then notched the overtime winner. Nice finish…Reilly O’Connor (Calgary): 2g, 4a. With Dane Dobbie injured, O’Connor stepped up big time and played by far his best game, showing Calgary fans why the team took him seventh overall…Anthony Malcom (Buffalo): 5g, 3a. Another high-pick rookie who was taking a while to get comfortable in the pro game, Malcom had a strong weekend despite Buffalo’s pair of losses…Zach Higgins (Georgia): 29/36, .806 save percentage. Oddly, Higgins had the exact same stats as Angus Goodleaf posted last week to wind up in this exact spot among the honourable mentions. Higgins completely changed the momentum of Saturday’s game and allowed the Swarm to mount their comeback win…Mark Matthews & Ben McIntosh(Saskatchewan): 2g, 2a each. When you have two first-overall picks in three years, you expect them to make big contributions. Four points seems pretty quiet in a season with so many big scoring nights but they came against a tough defence in a defensive battle of a game between the teams that have won the last four Champions Cups. They were big contributions…Rhys Duch (Vancouver): 4g, 4a. You just kind of expect this type of production from Duch, which may make me treat him a little unfairly when selecting stars. He’s almost too consistent for his own good in terms of gaining attention…Jordan MacIntosh (Georgia): 1g, 3a, 20LB, 3CTO. Scored an incredible effort goal when he created a loose ball along the boards, won it from among a pair of Bandits and drove to the net through a hold to bury a goal…Graeme Hossack (Rochester): 10LB, 3CTO. Had almost half of Rochester’s 7 caused turnovers and took another step in his evolution as one of the best defenders in the game…Nick Rose (Toronto): 1g, 38/50, .760 save percentage. A .760 save percentage usually won’t get a goalie mentioned here, but Rose made some huge saves that helped the Rock break their 0-6 schneid. Throw in his goalie goal and you have quite a night for the keeper…Jordan Durston (Vancouver): 3g, 2a. What a week for rookie forwards. Durston continues to look more and more comfortable on the floor for Vancouver…Jesse King (Georgia): 3g, 4a. Yep, one more rookie forward. King is crucial to what Georgia does, perhaps playing a bigger role than any other rookie forward from last year’s draft…Ryan Dilks (Saskatchewan): 1a, 6LB, 5CTO. Dilks leads the league in caused turnovers handily with 27, seven more than second-place Greg Downing. He may finally be getting the recognition he has deserved for a while as one of the best defenders around.
To find out who were the First and Third Stars of Week 8, click here.
Second Star
Curtis Dickson, Calgary Roughnecks
5 goals, 4 assists
It’s kind of funny, but Dickson’s spectacular no-look, back-to-the-net, between-the-legs goal may actually have distracted from just how good he was overall in Saturday’s game. He scored driving to the net. He scored on step-back rockets. He set up teammates with nifty passes. But that crazy goal, and the way he executed it with such panache, overshadowed all of that. As did the comeback by Vancouver to win in overtime, which deservedly got plenty of attention. Make no mistake, though, Dickson was sensational in the game and may well have been first star had Smith not had two games either one of which would have made hi a contender for top honours.
Honourable Mentions
Logan Schuss (Vancouver): 1g. 7a. Fourth straight game with 8 or more points. Remarkable run…Johnny Powless (Georgia): 3g, 3a. It’s not deja vu. The lefties traded for each other are just earning their way into the column week after week…Josh Sanderson (Toronto): 1g, 6a. Shooter now has 10 assists in his two games back with the Rock and they’re six seconds from being 2-0 in those games. Apparently his absence was making that much difference…Matt Vinc (Rochester): 47/57, .825 save percentage. Vinc was pulled in his previous game and got taken out for a breather Friday as well, but when he returned he was masterful and the main reason the Knighthawks were able to stay as close to Saskatchewan as they did…Corey Small(Vancouver): 3g, 2a. Quiet for much of the evening, Small scored a pair of goals to tie the game up in the fourth quarter then notched the overtime winner. Nice finish…Reilly O’Connor (Calgary): 2g, 4a. With Dane Dobbie injured, O’Connor stepped up big time and played by far his best game, showing Calgary fans why the team took him seventh overall…Anthony Malcom (Buffalo): 5g, 3a. Another high-pick rookie who was taking a while to get comfortable in the pro game, Malcom had a strong weekend despite Buffalo’s pair of losses…Zach Higgins (Georgia): 29/36, .806 save percentage. Oddly, Higgins had the exact same stats as Angus Goodleaf posted last week to wind up in this exact spot among the honourable mentions. Higgins completely changed the momentum of Saturday’s game and allowed the Swarm to mount their comeback win…Mark Matthews & Ben McIntosh(Saskatchewan): 2g, 2a each. When you have two first-overall picks in three years, you expect them to make big contributions. Four points seems pretty quiet in a season with so many big scoring nights but they came against a tough defence in a defensive battle of a game between the teams that have won the last four Champions Cups. They were big contributions…Rhys Duch (Vancouver): 4g, 4a. You just kind of expect this type of production from Duch, which may make me treat him a little unfairly when selecting stars. He’s almost too consistent for his own good in terms of gaining attention…Jordan MacIntosh (Georgia): 1g, 3a, 20LB, 3CTO. Scored an incredible effort goal when he created a loose ball along the boards, won it from among a pair of Bandits and drove to the net through a hold to bury a goal…Graeme Hossack (Rochester): 10LB, 3CTO. Had almost half of Rochester’s 7 caused turnovers and took another step in his evolution as one of the best defenders in the game…Nick Rose (Toronto): 1g, 38/50, .760 save percentage. A .760 save percentage usually won’t get a goalie mentioned here, but Rose made some huge saves that helped the Rock break their 0-6 schneid. Throw in his goalie goal and you have quite a night for the keeper…Jordan Durston (Vancouver): 3g, 2a. What a week for rookie forwards. Durston continues to look more and more comfortable on the floor for Vancouver…Jesse King (Georgia): 3g, 4a. Yep, one more rookie forward. King is crucial to what Georgia does, perhaps playing a bigger role than any other rookie forward from last year’s draft…Ryan Dilks (Saskatchewan): 1a, 6LB, 5CTO. Dilks leads the league in caused turnovers handily with 27, seven more than second-place Greg Downing. He may finally be getting the recognition he has deserved for a while as one of the best defenders around.
To find out who were the First and Third Stars of Week 8, click here.
