Ken Kindborn and Harrison Oztemel dominated their games on the final weekend of 2018 SHL action, allowing their respective teams, the Novotel Spitfires and AWARE, to add another notch in their win columns.

In the evening’s first contest, Kindborn was the Rolling Stone Pizza player-of-the-game for his four-point performance, as he led Novotel to a 6-4 victory over TRUE, the fourth time the Spitfires had beaten TRUE this year.

Ken scored a har-trick and set up the winner by sub Tar Jirachai. He was a difference maker, as every time he touched the puck something good happened for Novotel. As one veteran SHL said, “Without Kindborn, the Spitfires lose this game.” Kindborn had missed the last two games with a shoulder injury.

Bass Wilailux and Ernest Bauer also scored for Novotel. Tan Limpinphet and Jesse Starosta each scored two goals for TRUE, who fought hard in a losing cause.

Novotel’s Yves Gaboriault turned in a very solid performance, playing his first game of the season, stopping 23 of the 27 shots he faced while Juiz Lertitsiri, subbing for an injured Lance Parker, and also making his first start of the season stopped 23 of the 29 pucks fired his way guarding the TRUE net.

In game two, Oztemel led AWARE to their ninth straight win, a 6-2 victory over Hertz, who they defeated for the fourth straight time this season. Mangkorn Sukwiboon and Justin St Denis scored for Hertz, who didn’t get on the board until late in the second period after AWARE had built up at 6-0 lead on four goals by Harrison and two by Juhani Ijas, who also contributed two assists on the night.

The question on everyone’s mind now is, can anyone beat AWARE?

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Oztemel was the obvious choice as the Rolling Stone Pizza player-of-the-game as his four-goal performance gave him twelve goals on the season, well on the way to repeating his feat as the SHL’s top goal scorer though Corry Day will have something to say about that as we head down the stretch.

Gabor Toth subbed for AWARE regular keeper Patrick Leduc and made a triumphant return to the team he tended goal for at the beginning of the 2017-2018 season stopping 26 of the missiles fired at him by Hertz while Hertz keeper Dream Ungkulpattanasuk stopped 18 of the 24 projectiles pointed his way by AWARE.

Despite missing the last two games, Novotel’s Corry Day still leads the SHL’s scoring race with 18 points (10G, 8A); AWARE’s Harrison Oztemel four-goal game has jumped him into second spot overall (12G, 5A); Novotel’s Michael White is in third spot with 15 points (5G, 10A); AWARE’s Juhani Ijas, the coach of the Thai national team is in fourth spot with 14 points (7 G, 7As) while his assistant coach on the national team Ken Kindborn jumped into fifth spot with 12 points (6G, 6A).

The SHL returns in 2019 with its first games of the New Year played on Sunday January 13th as TRUE continues to look for its first win against Hertz at 8:30pm and Novotel tries to hand AWARE its first defeat of the season at 9:30pm. Admission is free and all games take place at the Rink, 7th floor, Central Grand Rama IX.

 

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