Sundogs 5, Scorpions 3

Well it looked like a quality game for 40 minutes, but one bad period and the Scorpions and Sundogs put an end to their respective streaks. It's been a shared frustration between Ray Edwards and Randy Murphy as long as they've been behind the Scorpions bench, and tonight was no different -- the Scorpions will not consistently play 60 minutes of hockey. Even a five-minute lapse can put a team behind the 8-ball, but playing the final frame of a 2-2 game with zero intensity is a guaranteed way to lose a game.

Observations:

• Andrew Martin basically got hung out to dry. I missed the first goal of the game -- Adam said it was a hell of a shot from Karl Sellan. But a short-handed 2-on-1 and a pair of defensive zone giveaways (more on that later) are not indicative of a team that's helping out its goalie. Golden rule of hockey: take care of your end first.
• For as much as I've praised Mitch Stephens since the opening of training camp, his giveaway to Martin Gascon after Arizona's go-ahead goal was absolutely ghastly. Hopefully he can find a way to atone for that this weekend, but he put the nail in the coffin himself with that one
• I'm sure I sound like a broken record by now, but another solid performance from Torren Delforte. He keeps his point streak alive and was really all over the place tonight, creating opportunities and drawing penalties.
• Congrats to Corey Courchene on his first goal as a Scorpion. Pretty solid rip
• Suggestions for practice between now and Friday? Hitting the net from the hashmarks in. Too many times, the Scorps went for the corners when they had golden opportunities and too often they didn't even test Marco Emond. Adam said it in the broadcast and I will gladly reiterate that Emond is prone to coughing up rebounds. Rebounds come from shots on goal

Elsewhere:

• Colorado pounds on Rocky Mountain for a period, then puts it in cruise. Sounds like the third period was worth catching on the CHL Network
• Martin Brodeur inches closer and closer to Terry Sawchuk's 103 shutouts with a 5-0 whitewash of the Dallas Stars. That puts Marty at 98 for his illustrious carrer. More importantly, it puts him one step closer to erasing Patrick Roy from the record books :-)
• Talk of a 2nd NHL franchise in Toronto. It's going to be pretty hard to find many converts in Leaf-land. Besides, nobody wants to be the Clippers of the NHL