Category: Aware

Novotel stays unbeaten, KCG close behind

The Novotel Spitfires have a habit of winning games in the final minute of play: they have done it three times this year and they did it again last Sunday defeating Siam Mandalay with just ten seconds left in the game. Siam Mandalay jumped into a 2-0 lead on goals by Turner Johnson and captain Jordan Ashton and heading into the third period it looked like Novotel was headed for its first loss of the season.

Siam Mandalay’s Hideki Nagayama substituted for Patrick Fortsner.

But then Novotel’s Ken Kindborn woke up, scoring two goals on Siam Mandalay keeper Dream Ungkulpattanasuk, fooling him with two long shots, the latter with 2 & 1/2 minutes left in regulation time, Then just as it looked like we were headed to overtime, Mangkorn Sukwiboon hit Captain Mike Freeson with a nice pass as he skated into the offensive zone and sent a knuckle puck over the stunned left shoulder of Dream, clinching Novotel’s fifth straight win, allowing them to remain undefeated this season. All of Novotel’s last-minute goals have come from almost the exact same place, high in the faceoff circle of the left side of the attacking zone.

Siam Mandalay’s Tan Limpinphet breaks away as Novotel’s Ken Kindborn gives chase.

Turner Johnson took the Jerky Monster play of the week award for his nice backhand pass to Ashton, which set up Siam Mandalay’s second goal on a power play. Alex Phelps made a nice play himself setting up Johnson on Siam Mandalay’s first goal driving around the net and planting the puck on Johnson’s stick. Hideki Nagayama was subbing for Siam Mandalay who was missing Patrick Forstner, Ernesto Bauer and Darius Konotopetz. Novotel’s Ben Kleineschay won the Rolling Stone Pizza player-of-the-game of the second time this season, stopping in 27 of the 29 shots fired at him.

Aware’s Denis Omelka corrals the puck in his own end.

Game two was all KCG who improved its season record to 4-1 as they defeated Aware 5-1 keeping Aware winless this season. Winnie Luckanatinakorn got KCG on the board when he shot the puck past Lance Parker, who was making his first start for Aware, after coming over from Novotel last week. Time Phatigulsate and Andy Tse had assists on the first goal. The second KCG goal saw Jan Iskasson hit sub Michael White with a perfect pass as he one-timed into the net. On the 3rd KCG goal, Lance took himself out of the play thinking it was offside and Jari Eerkainen took advantage finding the back of the twine. Winnie Luckanatinakorn then scored his second of the night through Lance’s legs with Time assisting again. The last goal was a sweet wrap around by Jan, who scored in his third straight game and has his third straight multipoint game. Roman Larin scored Aware’s lone goal with David Boere assisting midway through the third period to break Leo Liao’s shutout. Liao took the Rolling Stone Pizza player-of-the-game stopping all but one of the 29 shots he faced.

KCG’s Jari Eeirkainen fires the puck as Aware’s Roger Promthong gives chase.

SHL action continues on Sunday November 22nd with Aware taking on Siam Mandalay at 9pm while Novotel faces off against KCG at 10pm for a game which is shaping up to be a thriller between the league’s two top teams. Novotel’s Ken Kindborn leagues the young season in scoring with 13 points followed teammate Mike Freeson at ten points and KCG’s Harrison Oztemel with nine points. Novotel’s Tomas Stastny and KCG’s Jesse Starosta are tied in fourth spot with eight points each.

SHL News Week 4

We had some surprising events and some not so surprising events this week.

In our first game of the week, at 9:00 pm, we had KCG vs Siam Mandalay. Dream Ungkulpattanasuk had a rough start, letting in four goals in the first 12 minutes of play. The goals were scored by Jan Isaksson, Winnie Luckanatinakorn, Jesse Starosta, and Phu Suwachirat. Siam Mandalay did finally get on the board when sub Hideki Nagayama launched a sweet back hand past KCG’s netminder, Leo Liao with just over three minutes left in the first period. After this, Dream Ungkulpattanasuk found his pace and prevented any more pucks entering the net until there was about a minute and a half left in the second period and Isaksson scored his second of the night. Turner Johnson did score for Siam Mandalay early in the third period, but it just wasn’t enough to revive Mandalay and the final score was 5-2 for KCG. The Rolling Stone Pizza Player of the Game went to Jan Isaksson for his two goals on the night.

In our second game, things started off with some fire works as there was some trouble between Aware’s captain, Justin St-Denis and Aware’s goalie, Gabor Toth. Things calmed down a little bit, and both teams had a really solid first period. Early in the second period, Major Ingkharratphithakon started things off for the Novotel Spitfires when he received a pass from Mangkorn Sukwiboon and found the back of the net. Novotel’s captain, Mike Freeson scored their second goal with the assists coming from Tomas Stastny and Ralf Dittmer. Early in the third period, Aware went on a power play and John Schachnovsky bounced a puck off of Spitfires goalie, Lance Parker to put Aware on the board. Freeson increased Novotel’s lead to two again when he stole the puck in the neutral zone and scored an unassisted goal. Aware tied things up by scoring two goals, one by rookie Roger Promthong and one by Roman Larin. Things looked like we were going to head into overtime when Ken Kindborn of Novotel fired one past Gabor Toth with 45 seconds left in the game to give them the win. The Rolling Stone Pizza Player of the Game went to Mike Freeson for his two goals on the night.

The Jerky Monster Play of the Week went to Roman Larin for his quick goal in the third period to tie the game up for Aware.

In the down time this week, we had some major changes in the league. Gabor Toth, goaltender for Aware decided it was time to step down, and the Novotel Spitfires gave up one of their goalies, Lance Parker, to replace Toth.

SHL News Week 3

This week we were expecting some really exciting games, and we weren’t disappointed.

In our first game we had the two undefeated teams going head to head, Novotel Spitfires vs KCG. The first period saw things really go back and forth with neither team really able to take advantage. Early in the second period, Novotel’s captain, Mike Freeson put the puck past Leo Liao. Things stayed stuck locked down at 1-0 until late in the second period, KCG took a high sticking penalty, which led to Scott Murray, of the Spitfires, scoring a power play goal to give them a 2-0 lead. Early in the third period, KCG finally get on the board with a goal by Jan Isaksson. With just over a minute left in the game, KCG pulled their netminder to give them an extra attacker and with one minute left in the game, KCG tied things up when Jari Eerikainen got one past Ben Kleineschay. Just ten seconds later, Ken Kindborn hit Mike Freeson who then found Tomas Stastny who buried the puck for the win. The rolling Stone Pizza Player of the Game went to Ben Kleineschay for his outstanding play between the pipes.

In our second game we had the bottom two teams, Siam Mandalay and Aware facing off against each other. Both teams did really well for the first two periods of the game, but with 12 seconds left in the second period, Patrick Forstner received a pass from Ernesto Bauer and slipped one past Aware’s goalie, Gabor Toth. Less than two minutes into the third period, Tan Limpinphet scored Siam Mandalay’s second of the night. A minute later, Aware’s captain, Justin St-Denis tried to rally his team and scored a goal to reduce Siam’s lead to one. Unfortunately for Aware, it just wasn’t enough and Yean Thanakroekkiat put Siam Mandalay’s third goal of the night past Toth for the win. The Rolling Stone Pizza Player of the Game went to Siam’s netminder who is returning from injury, Dream Ungkulpattanasuk.

Our Jerky Monster Play of the Week went to Mike Freeson for finding Tomas Stastny for the game winning goal in our first game.

Novotel tops KCG to remain undefeated

Photography by Tadamas Nagayama

The first game on Sunday November 1st saw the SHL’s two undefeated teams face off for the first time this season, and when it was all played out the Novotel Spitfires defeated KCG 3-2 in a thrilling match that was only decided with 47 seconds remaining on the clock. The first part of the game saw the teams feeling each other out like two prize fighters in a title bout as Novotel staked itself to a 2-0 lead.

Novotel captain Mike Freeson breaks in on KCG goalie Leo Liao.

Early in the second period, Ken Kindborn feed Novotel captain Mike Freeson with a beautiful mid-ice pass as Freeson streaked down the ice, and made no mistake drilling the puck past KCG keeper Leo Liao on a breakaway. Then on a powerplay, with a minute left in the second stanza, Mangkorn Sukwiboon fed veteran Scott Murray with a beautiful pass and Murray used the screen in front of Liao to bury Novotel’s second goal.

Four minutes into the third period Jan Isaksson went to work. Just out of quarantine, the Thai-Swedish star was playing in his first SHL game and definitely made his presence felt with his aggressive play and stickhandling display. Isaksson scored KCG’s first goal four minutes into the third and then set up Jari Eerkainen with 59 seconds on the clock to tie the score.

Novotel’s Tomas Stastny poised for a deflection in front of the KCG net

But 12 second later Mike Freeson fed Tomas Stastny flying down the left side and he buried his fifth goal of the season with a seeing–eye shot that left KCG keeper Leo Liao handcuffed. Spitfire goalie Ben Kleineschay won the Rolling Stone Pizza player-of-the-game earning his second win of the season, stopping 17 shots as the Spitfires remained undefeated. Freeson earned himself the Jerky Monster play of the week for his set-up pass. Christian Olofsson subbed for Novotel who were missing Christoph Anliker, Ralf Dittmer and an injured Andrew Ross.

In the second game, Siam Mandalay beat Aware 3-1. Dream Ungkulpattanasuk earned the win in his first start of the season, stopping 19 shots and earning the Rolling Stone Pizza player-of-the-game. Dream was hurt playing for the Big Bulls in the BIHL final and had been hobbling ever since. Gabor Toth made 12 saves in the Aware net as his squad lost their third straight. Don’t count this team out yet though as captain Justin St Denis has two SHL titles under its belt and the defense led by Thor Chartsuwan, Roman Larin and Denis Omelka is a force to be reckoned with. They also have speed up front with Masato Kitayama and SHL rookie phenom Roger Promthong.

Aware’s Brandon Vick prepares to face off against Siam Mandalay’s Patrick Forstner

Nonetheless, it was a big win for Siam Mandalay who had all their players in uniform for the first time this season. Patrick Forstner, Tan Limpinphet scored second-period goals to give Siam Mandalay a 2-0 lead heading into the second intermission. Aware captain St Denis brought his team close with his fourth goal of the young season 2 & ½ minutes into the third period, only to see Yean Thanakroekkiat reply for Siam Mandalay two minutes later making it a 3-1 final.

SHL action continues on Sunday November 8th with and Siam Mandalay taking on KCG at 9pm and Novotel facing off against Aware at 10pm. Novotel’s Ken Kindborn leagues the young season in scoring with 2 goals and 8 assists followed by KCG’s Jesse Starosta with seven points on two goals and five assists while Harrison Oztemel and Mike Freeson are tied for third spot with six points each.

Aware goalie Gabor Toth looks for the puck (under you) in a goalmouth scramble.

SHL Week 2 News

In our first game of the night, we had Aware vs KCG. Aware came out strong and were leading half way through the second period 2-0. Then KCG came back and scored 3 goals before the end of the period. Aware scored one more in the 3 period, but KCG continued with their domination and scored another 3 goals. The Rolling Stone Pizza Player of the Game went to KCG captain, Harrison Oztemel for getting a hat trick on the night.

In our second game of the night, we had Siam Mandalay facing off against the Novotel Spitfires. Novotel started things off with a goal by Stastny, and scored a second in the second period, but Siam Mandalay came back scoring two goals of their own in the second period to tie things up. The third period had Siam Mandalay scoring one goal to the Spitfires 2 goals, giving the Novotel Spitfires the win. The Rolling Stone Pizza Player of the Game went to Tomas Stastny for his hat trick in this one.

The Jerky Monster Play of the Week went to Roger Promthong for his amazing deke on Leio Liao.

The Prime Burger Offensive Player of the Month also went to Roger for his awesome start in the first two game.

The Prime Burger Defensive Player of the Month went to Ken Kindborn for his incredible plays this month.

The Prime Burger Goalie of the Month went to none other than Leo Liao who was solidly the best netminder all month.

KCG & Novotel remain undefeated in young SHL season

Photography by Tadamasa Nagayama

Week two action in the SHL saw KCG beat Aware 6-3 in the first match while the Novotel Spitfires defeated Siam Mandalay 4-3 in the evening’s second game, despite being outshot 34-21.

In game one, Thai-Japanese star Masato Kitiyama staked Aware to a 1-0 lead and then rookie Roger Promthong made it 2-0 for Aware netting an early candidate for goal-of-the-year when he undressed KCG keeper Leo Liao with a between the legs pullback move and then went top shelf over a stunned Liao. Aware struck back with three straight goals as KCG captain Harrison Oztemel netted a pair of goals and Thai rookie Time Phatigulsate a single.

Early in the third, Roger scored again, tying the game, but KCG answered once again with three straight goals as Oztemel added a hat-trick marker, Mel Dhiranusomkit scored his first of the year on a nice rush and Andy Tse put in an empty-netter to make it a 6-3 final. Oztemel was awarded the Rolling Stone Pizza player-of-the-game award for his hat-trick and game-winning goal.

KCG fired 29 shots on substitute Aware goalie Gabor Toth, while Aware shot 25 pucks at KCG keeper Liao.

In game two, Tomas Stastny, the son of former NHLer Anton Stastny, continued to impress scoring a hat-trick, including the game-winner on substitute goalie Greg Beatty, earning Rolling Stone Pizza player-of-the-game honors. Novotel was on cruise control leading 2-0 late into the second period when Siam Mandalay woke up and struck for three quick goals on Novotel keeper Lance Parker as SHL newcomer Mitch Morrison and defensive stalwart Alex Phelps scored within 40 seconds of each other, the latter on a nice wraparound goal.

Tan Limpinphet opened the third period with a goal to stake Siam Mandalay to a 3-2 lead. Then Thai National team captain Ken Kindborn went to work for Novotel first setting up Mangkorn Sukwiboon for the tying goal and then hitting Tomas Stastny for the game winner.

SHL games take place at the Imperial Samrong ice rink every Sunday night. Week three action will see the two undefeated squads (Novotel & KCG) face off at 9pm while the two winless teams (Aware & Siam Mandalay) square off at 10pm. Please check out the weekly SHL podcasts, helmed by Dom Dumais, and sponsored by the Big Chilli magazine at www.siamhockeyleague.com.

SHL Week 1 News

Dom and Zack talk about the events from the first week of games.

In the first game, we had the Novotel Spitfires, last year’s SHL Cup Champions, going head to head with Aware. It was a hard fought game between both teams, but Novotel pulled out the win in the third period to win it 7-4.

The Rolling Stone Pizza Player of the Game went to Ken Kindborn for his two goals and two assist.

In our second game of the night we had KCG facing off against Siam Mandalay. KCG took and early lead and continued to stay strong all night to defeat Siam Mandalay 4-1.

The Rolling Stone Pizza Player of the Game went to Jesse Starosta for his two goals and two assists.

The Jerky Monster play of the week went to Roger Promthong of Aware for his saucer pass to captain, Justin St-Denis who tapped it in for his second goal of the night.

SHL starts 5th season at Samrong

Photography by Tadamasa Nagayama

The Siam Hockey League has switched venues, as its games for the 2020-2021 season will be played at the Imperial Samrong arena on Olympic-size ice. The opening night of the season on October 11 saw the defending champion Novotel Spitfires take on Aware in the first match while Mandalay played KCG in game two.

Novotel’s Seb Verdy and Aware’s Jaren Folden fight for the puck.

Novotel with only two players returning from their champion squad (captain Mike Freeson and Jason Bitter) came out of the gate on fire and jumped into an early 3-0 first-period lead. Aware stormed back, however, and at the end of two stanzas of play the score stood 4-3 in Novotel’s favour. In the third period, Novotel dug in and emerged with a 7-4 victory as Novotel’s Ken Kindborn, the captain of the Thai national team, led the way earning the Rolling Stone Pizzza player-of-the-game award with two goals and two assists. Captain Mike Freeson chipped in with a goal and two helpers, and Tomas Stastny, the son of long-time NHL star Anton Stastny, made his SHL debut for Novotel and scored on a nice goal living up to his early billing.

Captain Justin St Denis led the way for Aware scoring a hat-trick and an assist in a losing cause and Thai rookie Roger Promthong chipped in with a goal and two assists in his first SHL contest (Roger won the prestigious Johnny Oduya scholarship to play in the SHL this season). Thai-American rookie Ben Kleineschay won his first SHL start in net for Novotel facing 27 shots while Russian keeper Gabor “Rasputin” Toth took the loss for AWARE facing 27 shots.

Mandalay’s Non Aekasemnarong heads up ice as KCG’s Winnie Luckanatinakorn givdes chase.

Game two saw national team stars Hideki Nagayama and Patrick Forstner substitute for Mandalay and KCG, respectively. But this game was never really in doubt as KCG jumped out to a 3-0 lead on two goals by Jesse Starosta and one by substitute Michael White before Mandalay’s Mitch Morrison finally scored and then KCG tallied once again with Winnie Luckanatinakorn to make it a 4-1 final in KCG’s favour. The game was marred by a fight between Thai stars Patrick Forstner and Yean Thannakrokiet, two players more known for their offensive prowess than their fisticuffs. Starosta with four points on the night (2G, 2A) was the Rolling Stone Pizza player-of-the game. KCG fired 25 shots on substitute Mandalay goalie Igor Sykora, while Mandalay shot 30 pucks at KCG keeper Leo Liao, who held Novotel to the SHL championship last year (SHL games are every Sunday night at 9 & 10pm at the Imperial Samrong arena).

2019-2020 SHL Champions

We had a change up in captains this year. We lost Patrik Lundback as the captain of Aware. Aware’s front office requested a trade of Justin St-Denis in the hopes of finally bringing the SHL Cup home. We also had Mike Wilson step down from being a captain. Stepping up, we had Harrison Oztemel becoming captain for the new team PEAK Biolabs, and Jordan Ashton becoming the captain for Hertz with Brad Wilson staying with the Novotel Spitfires.

For the first half of the season, Aware was doing the complete opposite of what they did last season, losing 7 of their first 9 games, but they continued to fight and won 5 more games, but this left them in last place of the season. Could captain, Justin St-Denis, pull off another upset to give himself a threepeat?

Hertz did really well in the first half of the season under new captain, Jordan Ashton, only losing 5 of the first 9 games, and they really turned things around in the second half of the season, taking first place at the end of the regular season.

Second new captain, Harrison Oztemel lead new team, PEAK Biolabs to a 5-4 record for the first half of the season and they continued with their dominant streak and took second place at the end of the regular season.

The Novotel Spitfires, led by long time captain Brad Wilson, started off with a 5-4 record, and continued strong and finished off the regular season with 18 points, only two points behind Hertz and PEAK Biolabs.

This season, it was decided to do something different for the playoffs, and that was the first place team got to choose their opponents for the semifinals. Hertz decided to challenge the Novotel Spitfires, which left PEAK Biolabs to face off against Aware.

The Novotel Spitfires dominated Hertz in their series, winning the first game, 5-2 and the second game 5-0 to move on to the final game. Aware won their first game against PEAK Biolabs, but in the second game, PEAK Biolabs won 4-2 to push through to the third game, which PEAK won 5-2.

We were poised for a great game between PEAK Biolabs and the Novotel Spitfires. The Spitfires scored with two and a half minutes left in the first period. PEAK scored early in the second period to tie things up, but with less than two minutes left in the second period to put themselves up by two points. PEAK scored 2 quick goals in the third period to tie things up, but they just couldn’t hold off the Spitfires, and they scored 2 goals late in the third period to give the Novotel Spitfires their first SHL Cup.

Semifinal Games 2 and 3 with Dom and Zack

Dom and Zack talk about semifinal games 2 and 3 and what they expect from the final game.