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Keenan · 10-22-2013, 05:28 PM

[Image: Joe+Thornton+San+Jose+Sharks+v+Los+Angel...HlB7hl.jpg]

Edmonton, AB: The Los Angeles Panthers watched the clock tick down: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The horn blew as all of the Panthers skaters poured off of the bench and swarmed their goaltender. The arena was full of screaming fans as flashbulbs went off at nearly every seat. However inside the visitors locker room it was a completely different scene. Silence. The Edmonton Blizzard sat in a stunned silence, most heads sunken in sorrow as faint sounds of the rowdy crowd could be heard leaking in through the closed doors. Los Angeles had just ended Edmonton's record setting (at least in the jcink era) win streak at 21 games.

The season 10 Steelhawks were the previous record holders with a streak of 17 straight wins. Roberto Martucci was second on the team in scoring that year and had this to say regarding the streak:

Quote:I remember going on the very long winning streak in S10 which lead to us holding the record til now. I don't really mind losing the record since its not something that would be expected to be kept throughout the history of the league. I know during season 10, I wasn't focused on breaking a record. My main concern was winning games, and it happened in the form of a really long win streak, which is always nice to go on. I think in order to go on such a long win streak, the team needs to have a lot of depth, both up front and on defense. I believe that's why, in season 10, we were able to go on such a win streak, due to our depth and ability to get leadership from our best players. Edmonton has a very good team and can score on every line, which is really key for winning so many games in my opinion. In so many games, you can't be relying on your top players, but everyone has to chip in, which they're doing great. Its great to see them doing so well and they have a great team and they'll keep it up for the rest of the season.

Had the Blizzard beaten Los Angeles they would have also beaten the jcink era record for most games earning a point in a row, however they will have to settle for sharing the record with the season 11 Winnipeg Jets, a team that included current Blizzard defenseman Willie Weber. We have an appointment to interview Weber in a day or two, be sure to check back in to see his thoughts on the streak.

We recently sat down with winger Kyle Keenan to talk about the streak, he had this to say:

Quote: First off I just wanted to say how much fun it has been playing with this group of guys, and I'm really glad that we were able to set a record before our streak came to an end. It sucks losing, but it had to come at some point. It's good to see that we can lose a game, rather than us going into autopilot closer to the playoffs and risking not making it as deep as we feel we can.

When asked about if the loss came from underestimating their sub .500 opponents, Keenan had this to say:

Quote: I don't think we underestimated them at all, so it possibly couldn't have come from that. I mean if you look at that team it's clear that they have plenty of talent. Any time a team can roster the likes of Donini, Smith, Velevra, Kylrad, Potoczny and others they're plenty dangerous, especially when they have one of the best goalies in history between the pipes in Brandon Sawyer. Their scorers were just on that game, and Sawyer was playing like he was young again. When things happen like that, it's pretty hard to counter.

However upset the team was after the loss, it's clear that the streak should be celebrated. It's not every year that records are broken and many Edmonton players are proud of what they were able accomplish as a group. So with that in mind it's time to review the streak. First up, the most important games.

THE 7 MOST IMPORTANT GAMES OF THE STREAK

7. Day 58 vs Steelhawks

While technically not a game during the win streak, this was still a very important game for Edmonton nonetheless. They could have come into the game in a funk due to the loss of the streak the previous night, but they were able to keep their minds on playing hockey and win 3-1. It's also important to note that Hamilton has a very strong offensive team, featuring many top scorers from previous seasons. Is this the start to another win streak? Only time will tell, but Edmonton being able to bounce back from a devestating loss shows good team character.

6. Day 53 vs Riot

This game marked the biggest margin of victory for the Blizzard during their streak. The 7-0 victory was also memorable due to the fact that offseason addition Reggie Williams scored 4 goals in the game. Although Aittokallio got a shutout in the game, it came on only 13 shots, so while noteworthy, it's not streak defining.

5. Day 24 vs Rage

Ordinarily this game would not be noteworthy at all, but it was the game that started the whole streak after all. And while the offense played very well, the goalie did not. However, this was still during Jakub Aittokallio's suspension, and for filling in, backup netminder Blowjob Jesus did fairly well.

4. Day 57 at Panthers

Another game that wasn't part of the streak, although at the time of puck drop it was still during the streak so I'm counting it. As touched on before in the interview with Keenan, this game was very important due to the fact that it may have been a reality check of sorts for the Blizzard. After more that two weeks (real time) of not losing a game it's important to the team that they learned that they are not unbeatable and need to keep their heads in every game. With a win in the following game, it's a good sign that the team was not struck hard by the loss and instead used it as an important lesson.

3. Day 34 vs Renegades

Jakub Aittokallio recorded 3 shutouts during the streak, but I still think that his most important game was one in which he didn't record a shutout. After giving up 1 goal on 17 shots in the previous game to Texas, the Renegades came out shooting the next game, peppering the net with 42 shots, 41 of which were turned aside by the young Edmonton netminder. With the offense only pitching in 2 goals, it was even more important that Aittokallio have a strong game, and he did.

2. Day 48 at

The only game of the streak to go to a shootout was a huge nail biter. Texas got out to an early lead, with Rashad Thomas scoring just over 7 minutes in. Texas added 2 more goals by the third and 50 minutes into the game were sitting pretty with a 3-0 lead. However, there was no quit in the Blizzard. Ivo Willems scored 10:05 into the third, followed just over 2 minutes later by Lucas Smith. However Edmonton was still behind by a goal with under 8 minutes remaining. The time ticked down as Jakub Aittokallio left the net for an extra attacker. With 17 seconds remaining Reggie Williams potted the game tying goal. After a tense overtime period the Blizzard pulled out the win in the shootout with the game winning tally coming from Ivo Willems.

1. Day 28 vs Stars

The previous two meetings between these two teams saw Toronto walking away victorious each time. However, the third time around things were different. This was a huge statement game for the Blizzard. Not only did the knock off the best team in the league at the time, but they were also able to do so against Josef Heiss who at that time had been undefeated. The win was the third of the streak and arguably set the whole streak in motion. When I think of the streak in the future, I know this will be the first game I remember.

THE TOP PERFORMERS DURING THE STREAK

7. C, Alexander Andrezjeck
Andrezjeck put up 9 goals and 9 assists during the 21 game streak. While Reggie Williams put up the same amount of points, I chose to give the number 7 spot to Andrezjeck due simply to the fact that he was more consistent. 6 of Reggie Williams' 10 goals came in 2 games, so I feel that throughout the streak Andrezjeck was more valuable to the team than Williams.

6. W, Kyle Keenan
The American playmaker amassed 4 goals and 15 assists in the streak, along with playing top line minutes on the penalty kill. Like Andrezjeck, Keenan played on the second even strength line but was still able to put up very good scoring numbers.

5. D, Michael Haan
Haan had a fairly weak start to the streak, with only 2 points in the first 8 games. However he was able to pick up the slack in the ensuing games finishing the streak with 6 goals and 14 assists, and ending up finishing second amongst defensemen in points during the streak.

4. W, Lucas Smith
Smith was a man with a mission during the streak, leading all Edmonton players with 11 goals to go along with his 12 assists. In fact, his strong showing has catapulted him into the top 10 goal scorers league wide as he hopes to continue his success and try to finish the season sitting at #1 in that regard.

3. W, Ivo Willems
Ivo didn't lead the team in goals, assists, or points during the streak. He was, however, one of the most consistent players on the Blizzard in the timeframe. Ivo finished the streak with 24 points from 9 goals and 15 assists. Willems has shown that he can produce no matter what team he is on, and with his contract up after this season, it will be really interesting to see what he decides to do.

2. G, Jakub Aittokallio
Aittokallio played well beyond his years after coming back from his suspension. From the third game in the streak until the end, Aittokallio was in net and he amassed a 19-0-0 record with 3 shutouts, thanks to a .941 save percentage and a 1.46 goals against average. Aittokallio may not be considered a top 3 goalie in the league just yet, but if he continues at this pace it'll only be a metter of time.

1. D, Willie Weber
When looking at Weber's numbers during the streak it's easy to become speechless. Especially when you take into consideration the fact that he is a defenseman. In 21 games Weber scored 10 goals and assisted on 18 others. 5 of his goals were gamewinners as well, which means that he scored a quarter of the gamewinners during the streak. Truly Weber had the best performance of all, and it will be very interesting to see if he can finish his season with the same results. If he does it seems very likely that he'll find himself with some hardware on his shelf this offseason.