Game played on 10/5/2024.
General Game Notes: In a tightly contested game that featured exciting back-and-forth scoring, the Madison Capitols mounted a strong third-period comeback to push the game into overtime. However, the Tri-City Storm ultimately secured the win on home ice, with Nolan Roed emerging as the hero by netting the overtime-winning goal. Scout: Ben Marshall
Aiden Long (LW, L, 6’2″, 200, Madison Capitols, 03/13/2005, Cornell)
Grade: B+
Comments: Long is a powerful foward who showed the tools tonight to be dependable in his own end and also capable in the offensive end. He was able to show tonight that his game is all about his instincts in the offensive zone combined with the ability to finish. He has the skills from close and mid-range to be a threat at the net. He recognizes space well and takes advantage of even the slightest mistakes by the opposing defenses, he will take a guy one on one if their gap is not where it is supposed to be. He has noticeably good vision with the puck and as a playmaker, being able to draw in pressure before dishing the puck to an open teammate.
Colton Jamieson (D, L, 6’0″, 199, Madison Capitols, 11/28/2004, St. Thomas)
Grade: B
Comments: Jamieson likes to pinch to keep the play on offense, and manages a tight gap well with his quick backwards skating and quiet footwork. He does not need a lot of crossovers to get moving and match the pace of the forward attacking on him. He has a tough time defending against bigger players, though, and seems to get beat when they want to use their size to win space. He was able to show tongiht that he is a valuable puck mover, multiple times tonight he made multiple forecheckers miss, whether that was with his feet and beating players with passes. He is able to deconstruct forechecks quickly while getting up ice.
Diego Johnson (LW, R, 5’11”, 165, Madison Capitols, 09/07/2006, Wisconsin)
Grade: B+
Comments: Johnson is a scrappy player who plays a relentless style of hockey when he does not have the puck. Scored a nice goal out muscling guys at the net and winning battles. Johnson started this goal below the goal line and finshed it at the crease, he plays a hard game with and without the puck. With only six minutes left in the game, down a goal, this was an important goal and showed why he was on the ice in the first place. Johnson not only won battles to get this goal but batted it out of mid air to show off his dexterity a little bit. At times Johnson tries to be a little bit too aggressive in threading passes through tighter areas. In particular, he tries backhand saucer passes more often than necessary, which got him into trouble a few times.
Carson Pilgrim (C, R, 5’11”, 176, Tri City Storm, 02/20/2006, North Dakota)
Grade: B+
Comments: Pilgrim gets into traffic and finds himself a way out with his head up and usually with the puck. He was able to pick up three assists tonight controlling the flow of play and finding the open man. Two of his assists he drew multiple opponents to him, then found teammates that were already attacking scoring areas. His heads up transition of the puck shows that he reads and sees the game at a faster pace. All three of his assists tonight were primary assists including the overtime winning goal.
Carmelo Crandell (C, R, 5’11”, 165, Tri City Storm, 03/02/2005, Arizona State)
Grade: B
Comments: Crandell scored a nice goal with a little bit of the same flare as his teammate, Briere. After picking the puck up along the wall, Crandell was able to toe drag past a defenders, moving the goalie off his angles, and picked lower corner beating the goalie pretty clean. Crandell was not only able to showcase his hands on this play but he did this all under pressure. With an opponent climbing on his back, Crandell showed that ability to be sturdy when attacking the net, when some players would have looked for a penalty call, Crandell stayed his ground and capitalized on an induvidual opportunity.
Rhys Wallin (C, L, 6’3″, 172, Tri City Storm, 08/03/2005, UMass Amherst)
Grade: B-
Comments: Wallin capitalized on a bad bounce for the Capitols and buried one in tight past the goalie. After a failed clear from the Capitols defenseman, Wallin was sent in on a mini two on one where he opted to take the shot and blasted one past the goalie lower glove. Wallin uses his bigger size to gain momentum in a lot of different ways, wether it is playing physical along the wall, absorbing contact making plays, or shooting the puck, he can get some power behind these aspects of his game. Wallin could be more sound defensively and use this size in his own end. He wants to play offense of course, but lacked at times in his own end to shut down and end plays.
Cameron Briere (C, L, 5’10”, 153, Tri City Storm, 11/05/2005, Nebraska Omaha)
Grade: B+
Comments: One minute into the second period, Briere was finally able to open the scoring. He was able to pick the puck up and attack down hill but before he put the puck in the back of the net, he made two or three guys look at foolish as they could. With a smooth toe pull around two guys, he danced his way to a forehand backhand goal that had me watching it a couple more times. Briere is a smaller winger with a great set of hands, he stickhandles the puck close to his body making it hard for defenseman to get their stick in and poke the puck away. He has a solid first couple steps that allows himself to separate from the pack and attack open ice.
Nolan Roed (C, L, 5’11”, 186, Tri City Storm, 10/25/2005, St. Cloud)
Grade: B+
Comments: Roed was the hero in tonights game scoring the overtime winner. It was a smart goal where he carried the puck from his own end to the high slot, dropped it late for his teammate coming in as the second wave, stopped at the net where a rebound was sitting for him to end the game. Roed has great vision and showed more than just on his overtime goal, he has the patients along the wall to wait out guys, watch them fly by, then connect a cross ice pass to start the rush. He has a calming presence on the puck most of the time, and his patients buys himself the extra time to make plays in the offensive zone.
Rylan Bonkowski (D, R, 5’11”, 172, Tri City Storm, 04/26/2006)
Grade: B+
Comments: Bonkowski was able to show tonight that he is an active defenseman who loves to transport pucks, he has the ability to create entries and exits with his feet and using his smooth skating stride and balanced posture to side step pressure and push tempo through the neutral zone with his speed. He is also a confident in zone attacker who looks to jump into space and use his shot. Defensively, his game can be physical but usually it involves around and active stick and ability close gaps quickly. He did a good job tonight at using the net the evade pressure. When pucks were dumped in, he quickly gained the net allowing himself to control not only the forechecker but the play as well.
Artemi Nizameyev (LW, R, 5’9″, 168, Tri City Storm, 11/20/2005)
Grade: C+
Comments: Nizameyev was able to show that he can be physical and capable along the boards, even in terms of manipulation, he recognizes the angle of defenders coming at him and knows how to beat them and escape with some extra fakes. He needed to be a little more disciplined, whether with his decisions with the puck, his choices off of it, or even his tolerance for the extra slash and cross check behind the play or after the whistle. His forward skating stride is a little too compact and will need to lengthen out for the rest of his game to be as elusive as he is along the wall.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images