WSHL West Divsion Standings – Updated

#1 Fresno Monsters 20-11-2

#3 San Diego Sabers 19-11-1

#3 Las Vegas Thunderbirds 16-14-1

#4 Ontario Avalanche 14-17-1

#5 Valencia Flyers 3-26-2

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Thursday, January 23, 2019

Fresno – The WSHL Las Vegas Thunderbirds staggered and beat the Fresno Monsters – who have only lost two home games this season at the Gateway Ice Center – by 2-1 here on Thursday night. T-Birds goalie Jesper Ahlberg started and was in the net in the closing moments of this massive win. He had 35 saves. Hometown skater Joe Terrana scored in this game. Mikhail Gerasin got the game-winner for Las Vegas. It was an astounding shock win as Las Vegas had lost five straight, the last two by shutout.

Vegas goalie Jesper Ahlberg is from Sweden. He earlier played this season with the USPHL Premier Florida Eels. In his 4 games with the Las Vegas Thunderbirds Jesper has a save percentage of 95.7%…Game Two of this weekend series is tonight – Friday – at the Gateway Ice Center.

Live Flash Final Score

At Gateway Ice Center, Fresno

WSHL Las Vegas Thunderbirds 2

WSHL Fresno Monsters 1

—

TBirds goal – Joe Terrana from John Mcdonald, Mikhail Gerasin

TBirds goal – Mikhail Gerasin from Austen Kerridge, Bradley Stewart

TBirds goalie – Jesper Ahlberg

Shots on Goal – TBirds 29-26

Here are UNLV’s top goal scorers going into the Utah University game in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

UNLV

Goals

13 – Paxton Malone

12 – Kane Toriumi

9 – Jake Saxe

7 – Hunter Muzzillo

6 – D’Andre John

6 – Jared Turcotte

6 – Kirk Underwood

5 – Jared Erickson

4 – Brendan Manning

4 – Eric Williams – premier defenseman

Source – ACHA D1 Official Statistics

Special to Vegas Hockey

Erik Atchison of Las Vegas scored his 6th goal of the season for the WHL Spokane Chiefs in a 6-2 win the Regina Pats on Military Appreciation Night at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The crowd was a big one – 8035.

Erik’s younger hockey brother Fuzzy Atchison had a five-goal weekend  – including 2 OT game winners – for the AAA Arizona Bobcats 13u.  Fuzzy had three goals against the Colorado Rampage, then an OT game-winner vs AA Arizona Jr Coyotes 05 and an OT game-winner vs the AA Valencia Flyers 05.

Fuzzy’s 33 goals this season are the most by any Las Vegas player away from home this season.

We are on the the hunt for writers – first-time writers ok – here on Vegashockey.net

Years ago when we were in high school a newspaper editor named Wes Denman of the Pennsville Progress weekly newspaper in South Jersey gave me the opportunity to write about hometown high school sports — and because of his kindness and caring – we wrote very long stories – we wrote there two years and then moved on to larger newspaper sports departments.

Bethany Dysdale, who covers the UNLV Rebels hockey team, is an excellent example right here of a first-time writer who has become an award-winning writer here on Vegas Hockey.

If you want to give it a try, contact me leesamuels07@aol.com

This is a Flashback Story...

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November 16-17, 2002

Santa Fe Stations Ice Arena

AAA SAN JOSE JR SHARKS 18U INVADE SANTA FE STATIONS ICE ARENA

By Lee Samuels

Las Vegas – One of Las Vegas’ most fierce rivals, the AAA San Jose Jr Sharks 18u, are on the ice here in town this weekend. The Sharks are coached by Brandy Semchuk, a 1990 draft pick of the NHL Los Angeles Kings.

Semchuk, from Calgary, has put together powerful, hard-skating midget-level teams in San Jose. This season the Sharks are off to a solid 10-5-3 start including 9-1, 7-2 wins over the Oakland Bears last weekend.

In September, the AAA Las Vegas Outlaws took on San Jose and blasted to a 4-1 lead. The Sharks rallied to tie and Las Vegas scored with 1:16 left to win 5-4. It was a very important game, the first round of the famous Washington Totems Tournament in Seattle.

Las Vegas, 19-6-4 and ranked #18 in the nation by Midgetaaa.com, is coached by Rob Pallin of Minnesota. He is in this third season and Las Vegas is coming off a 60-11-3 season which included a AA 18u Pacific Regional gold medal and a 3-1-0 record at the U.S. Nationals.

Last winter, Las Vegas smashed 30 team records.

Tonight’s Official Lineup card

AAA LAS VEGAS OUTLAWS

Head Coach Rob Pallin

#4 – Josh Shiode

#5 – Justin Johnson

#6 – David Lewandowski

#7 – Scott Chisholm – tough enforcer from Utah

#8 – Nate Rein

#9 – Eddie Samuels

#10 – Cody Moran

#11 – J.C. Caron

#12 – Eric Bowman

#16 – John Jasek – Josh always wore jersey #16 during his hockey career

#17 – Travis Roseberry

#18 – Spike Neely –  Spike, Travis and JC Caron were on the Triple Threat Line here in 1999-2000 season – in that era this was one of the greatest lines in the West.

#24 – T.J. Craig

#27 – Alex Redmond – later known as Alex ‘Blackjack’ Redmond in junior hockey

#30 – Zach Whisman

#31 – Cody Fulwiler

#83 – Eddie Del Grosso – one of the greatest – if not the greatest – defensemen ever in Las Vegas

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Following that season the entire Red Line of Josh Jasek, Adam Naglich and Eddie Samuels was collectively signed by the BCHL Victoria Salsa – the only time in Vegas hockey history an entire line was signed by a junior team…

Years later Spike Neely at Eddie Del Grosso’s wedding reception said “..coach Rob made us believe we were better players than what we really were. When we went over the wall for a game we knew we going to win.”

The Hockey Sister – Jessica Jasek – played rock music during the games mentioned in this story. She was the first in hockey history in Las Vegas to play music at home games at the Santa Fe Stations Ice Arena. 

When the Santa Fe Stations Ice Arena shut down, the overhead scoreboard, rinkboards and a Zamboni was sent over to the SoBe Ice Arena. The original scoreboard and rinkboards are still at the SoBe on North Rancho Drive…

Coach Rob Pallin is currently the head coach of HC TWK innsbruck which plays in the Austrian League.

ACHA D1 Scoreboard

Syracuse 6, Colorado State 3

Stony Brook 4, Michigan Dearborn 3

Lawrence 9, Buffalo 3

Indiana Pennsylvania 8, Towson 2

ACHA D2

Big Mountain Classic

Utah State 8, Denver 1

Dakota College at Bottineau 2, NAU 1 OT

Boise State 5, Northern Colorado 3

Williston 11, Grand Canyon 2

Tournament Games continue today

Special to Vegas Hockey

Gates Mills, Ohio – Ash Printzen of Las Vegas scored the first goal of the game for AAA Meijer Western Michigan Girls 19u in a 3-0 win over the Gilmour Academy girls here at the Academy Ice Center.

In game two of the weekend here Ash and AAA Meijer Western Michigan won 2-0. Ash is a premier skater – one of the best ever in Las Vegas – in ice hockey and in AAU level roller hockey in major worldwide tournaments. She has been the Vegas Hockey Girls Player of the Year many times.

Special to Vegas Hockey

Edmonton – Big goal scorer Austin Moline of Las Vegas and the AAA L.A. Jr Kings team 2005 had three goals and an assist this weekend during the John Reid Memorial Hockey Tournament. Austin has 17 goals this season. 

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Final Score

WSHL 

Isoplex, Escondido, California

San Diego Sabers 2, Las Vegas Thunderbirds 0

Shots on Goal – San Diego 46-26

Thunderbirds goalie – Jesper Ahlberg

NAPHL 

Blaine, Minnesota

Sunday

AA 16u

Final Score

AA Vegas Jr Golden Knights 5, AA Texas Jr Brahmas 0

Las Vegas scoring

LV – Anthony Mazza from Anthony Jurcic, John Purdy

LV – Anthony Jurcic from Ian Williams

LV – Heath Mensch from Caden Berninger

LV – Anthony Jurcic from Anthony Mazza

LV – Anthony Mazza from John Purdy, Anthony Jurcic

LV goalie – Zackary Ortolano