Anchorage, AK - Maxime Lacroix scored two goals in a record :13 seconds in the third period to lead the South Carolina Stingrays to a 4-2 victory in the first game of their best-of-seven series against the Alaska Aces at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, AK.
"It was a tough defensive game," said Head Coach Jared Bednar. "It's pretty much the type of game we expected to get from such a good defensive team like Alaska; feels good to get the first one under our belt though."
The first period of play in the Kelly Cup Finals felt an awful like how you would imagine it to; both teams playing close to the vest, trying not to make the first mistake. Neither team made that mistake in the first 20 minutes of play as the two teams skated into the locker rooms scoreless. The first shot on goal was not registered until nearly five minutes into the period; neither team was able to get any good chances until the end of the frame. The best chances came in the final minute as Alaska had a five-on-three which bled into the second period.
The Aces converted on the five-on-three just :14 seconds into the second period giving them the 1-0 lead. The goal was scored by Cam Keith, his third of the playoffs, with the assists going to Bryan Miller and Josh Soares. The Rays however would respond with a power play tally of their own later in the period. While on their second power play of the night, Sasha Pokulok took a shot from the far side circle. The shot was turned aside by J.P. Lamoureux but the rebound went right onto the stick of Jeff Corey who deposited it behind the goalie for his seventh goal of the season. The goal came at 8:52 and was assisted by Pokulok and Josh Godfrey. The Rays had a chance to take the lead on a penalty shot by Travis Morin at 11:11 of the period. Morin tried to work the puck from the far side circle through the slot. Lamoureux, as he is known to do, came out of his crease to challenge the puck, and was able to poke it away with his stick preventing the goal. The score remained tied at one until 17:36 when Scott Burt received a homerun pass which lead to a breakaway. The Aces captain was able to capitalize and took the 2-1 lead for Alaska before the close of the period. The goal was assisted by Ryan Turek and Derek Martin and was Burt's fifth of the playoffs.
The Rays turned things around in the third period with the help of some stifling defense and a little history making by Maxime Lacroix. At 5:56 of the period, Lacroix fired a one-timer from the top of the far side circle that made its way past Lamoureux to tie the game up at two. The goal was Lacroix's eighth of the playoffs and was assisted by Pierre-Luc O'Brien and Zach Tarkir. Just :13 seconds later, he struck again with his second goal of the night, a shot from the top of the slot. It was his team leading ninth goal of the post season and gave the Rays their first lead of the night. The goal came at 6:09 and was assisted by Travis Morin. Those two goals break the record for the fastest two goals scored by one player in the Kelly Cup Finals, and ties the record for the fastest two goals scored by one team in the Kelly Cup Finals. More importantly it gave the Rays a chance to win game of the series. Through the first 18:10 of the third period, the Aces were held to only one shot, so they pulled their goalie for some offensive jump. They nearly got the spark they were looking for as a goal was disallowed by the referee saying it did not cross the goal line completely even the light had gone on and the horn had sound. With the net still empty, Corey got his second goal of the game, eighth goal of the playoffs from Trent Campbell and Patrick Wellar to salt the game away 4-2 with less than a minute and a half to go.
The winning goaltender was Jonathan Boutin who stopped 25 of the 27 shots he faced. The losing goaltender was Lamoureux who stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced. The Rays went 1-2 on the power play while killing off three of the four short handed situations they faced.
The Rays will be back in action tomorrow night same bat time same bat channel, as they look to take a 2-0 series back to Charleston, SC. Game time will be at 11:15 eastern time. You can tune in to ESPN Radio 910 the TEAM for all the action with the Benitos Pre-game show beginning at 11:00. Don't forget to head out to Centre Pointe Bar Grill to watch the Rays live with all of your Stingrays friends.
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