Day 55-56: Weekend Trip Gains Split

Former Sockeye Martin Gerber practices before downing his old club 2-1.




Iqaluit, NU (CP)

A pair of weekend games saw the Rovers earn a 2-1 home victory over a hard-charging Sockeyes team, while dropping a 4-3 decision in Saskatoon to the ever-dangerous Funboys.

The Sockeyes rolled into Iqaluit riding a four game winning streak, a run which started after a 3-3 draw with the Rovers during their last meeting. After a scoreless first period in which the Rovers outshot the Sockeyes 16-7, Saku Koivu broke through late in the second with the first goal of the game. South Edmonton held that lead through two periods until midway through the third when Jeff Halpern was sprung on a shorthanded breakaway by Sean Hill. Halpern roofed his shot glove-side on Evgeni Nabokov to tie the game at 1-1. The Rovers ended regulation having outshot the Sockeyes 35-25.

In OT, Martin Gerber was whistled for a questionable slash on Sockeyes forward Brendan Morrow. Morrow was pushed heavily into Gerber, who retaliated with chop to Morrow's calf. The Rovers, however, would pick up their netminder as Nils Ekman took a pass from Jeff Halpern in the neutral zone and skated in to beat Nabokov with a wrister from the high slot, giving Baffin Isle the 2-1 OT victory. "I'm just glad that the guys overcame my mistake", Gerber said after the game. "I was very surprised and disappointed to get penalized on that play. I took a hard hit and let my frustration get the better of me. I didn't want to let the guys down".

"You knew this game meant a lot to Marty, it being his former team", Ekman said. "I'm just glad I could get him the win. He was awesome again for us". The win was a big one for Baffin, as they kept pace with the Capones, who earlier in the day had downed the Roadkill 4-2, and pulled four points clear of the Sockeyes. "It was a four-point game, no doubt about it", Stringer said after the win. "You have to win those when they come up on your schedule. They're playing very well right now, so we have to hold them off as best we can. Hopefully we take this strong play into Saskatoon tomorrow".



Andrew Ference talks to reporters after scoring the winning goal. "We needed that one.. big time".







Saskatoon, SK (CP)

That night the Rovers flew to Saskatoon to tangle with the Funboys. Martin Baldwin's group has been up and down all season, but just when an over-anxious critic is ready to write them off, they rise again. A win over the third-place Rovers was something they were looking for to keep within hailing distance of the fourth-place Sockeyes.

The Funboys drew first blood at the halfway point of the first as former Rover Eric Desjardins's point shot found its way through a maze of legs to beat Martin Gerber for a 1-0 lead. Then, three minutes later, an Alexander Frolov sighting was reported. Frolov took a lead pass from Chris Pronger and with a burst of speed around the outside of all-star defender Scott Niedermayer, swooped in from the left on Funboys 'tender Michael Leighton and beat him with a nasty stop deke back around Leighton's right pad. The goal was just Frolov's second of the season, and he emphatically slammed the glass in celebration after tying the affair at 1-1. "That was a highlight reel marker, and one we see from Alex everyday in practice", Stringer said of the Frolov tally. "I just hope he can build on it in the coming games".

Kris Draper and Peter Schaefer exchanged quick goals at the midpoint of the second period, and Jeff Halpern scored in his second straight game in the opening minute of the third period to give the Rovers a 3-2 lead. However, it was not meant to be as Pavel Datsyuk scored in the eighth minute and then Andrew Ference beat Gerber from the slot as the trailer on a long 3 on 2 rush. "That was a defensive breakdown right there. There was no support coming back from our forwards and Ference was able to drift into the slot and take the pass with nobody on him. That can't happen against good teams", Stringer said of the winning goal.

The win drew the Funboys to within four points of South Edmonton for fourth place, while the Rovers failed to break their second-place tie with the Capones, who now have two games in hand on the Rovers. Baffin now has two days off before their next pair of games, a home date with the Roadkill and a road contest against the Spectres.