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Impact Players: Anderson, McAnanama, Olivieri April 27, 2025 | ||
Posted by: Bob Howard Credit: Binghamton Hockey.net | ||
April 27, 2025 - by Taylor Welch - BinghamtonHockey.net Ando! Ando! Ando! One of the great plays he had tonight was after McAnanama made a pad save, Drew Welcsh sent the puck from behind the net out in front of the net minder, where Anderson took that opportunity to skate the puck out of the zone, where he would be taken down to his knees but never lost control of the puck, managed to get back to his feet, have the pressure of 3 Prowlers on him, and still get the puck down for a scoring opportunity against Reid Cooper. Jesse Anderson might take the title for scrappiest guy on the team; he is not afraid to jump right into the mix and stick up for his teammates. Anderson brought the physicality and momentum to keep the pressure from Saturday's game going. He played a great game defensively, covering the blue line and protecting McAnanama. He had better puck control on his knees than the Prowlers were able to have the whole game. The Agawam Phenomenon has done it again! Connor McAnanama has shut out the Port Huron Prowlers for the second night in a row, ending the series and sending the Binghamton Black Bears to the Commissioner's Cup Playoffs to face the Carolina Thunderbirds for the second year in a row. McAnanama is 4-1-0 with a 0.81 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage in the playoffs thus far. He has been an unstoppable force all season long but has been a whole new animal in the playoffs. He is not afraid to come out of the crease and play the puck, do poke checks, or even chirp the players. One thing the opposing players don't understand is no matter what, you can't rattle our net minder or get in his head. If the Black Bears didn't make it hard enough to reach our net minder McAnanama, shut them down at every front. He saved all 33 shots on goal, the most of which came in the third period when the Prowlers head coach would pull the goalie with 4 minutes left on the clock and the Black Bears were on a penalty kill for a high-sticking call against Olivieri, which means it was a 4 on 6 for 2 of the last 4 minutes, and the Prowlers were trying everything to get in the game, but Connor McAnanama would do what he does best by standing his ground and covering the goal post to post. The Don Father strikes again, sending a message and "planting the flag." Don Olivieri had 2 goals and 2 assists in tonight's game, totaling 8 points in the playoffs, which he is tied with Alex Storjohann of the Columbus River Dragons. Olivieri once again proved how valuable he is as a veteran on this team, showcasing his skill set from years of experience in higher leagues. I've mentioned it before, but it blows my mind every time how he can slap one from the blue line and be on target. I think he is also the only player on the ice who could give Rahul Sharma a run for who smiles more. I can only imagine how the opposing players feel after trying to land a hit on Olivieri only to see him grinning ear to ear afterward. Only 23 seconds after the Gavin Yates goal, Bobby Price would send a pass to Olivieri, who would go out on a breakaway and score. Olivieri would end not only the night but the series with an empty net goal that would send tempers flying and end the game with several penalties. Some view a slap shot into an empty net as disrespectful or an unwritten rule violation; however, there are many different ways to look at this. Ben Brockway drove his stick into center ice at the end of the Danbury series. Was this payback? The Prowlers spent the whole series chirping at the guys. Was that his way to shut them up? Or was this just the way he wanted to end the series and go out with a bang? Whatever your stance is on empty-net slap shots, the fans chanted that they wanted 6, and Olivieri delivered.
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