June 19, 2013
132
Games Today




Ice Pluck 'Hawks 3-1

September 22, 2012 - United States Hockey League (USHL) Indiana Ice

The Indiana Ice closed out their 2012 USHL Fall Classic schedule in grand fashion as they defeated the defending Western Conference Champion Waterloo Black Hawks 3-1 from the Tyson Events Center.

Robbie Baillargeon (G, 3A), Zach Aman (3G, A) and Austin Ortega (4G) all potted goals in the contest to end the preseason with four points each. Dalton Izyk was equal to 27 of 28 Waterloo shots to log his second Fall Classic win.

Indy was facing a 9-1 shot deficit midway through the first, but Baillargeon's second shot of the game gave the Ice a 1-0 lead with just over nine minutes remaining in the opening frame. Baillargeon weaved through several Black Hawks defenders after picking up a backhanded pass from Victor Shakhvorostov at center ice.

Aman extended Indy's lead late in the first with a one-timer wrist shot from the Drew Smolcynski faceoff. The Shattuck-St. Mary's product has been an offensive force for the Ice in the preseason, logging four point (3G, A) in five contests.

Equal offensive pressure was applied by both teams as the squads combined for 17 shots in the opening frame.

Ortega, recently acquired from the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, continued his hot streak with Indy after Woody Hudson threw a long clearing pass to the neutral zone. Sebastian Weberg handled the puck in the offensive zone before finding Ortega on the charge to lift the puck over the blocker of Waterloo netminder Cal Peterson to give the Ice a 3-0 lead exactly ten minutes through the second period.

The Black Hawks' Rob Click was able to pull Waterloo back within two with a goal in the closing seconds of the middle period, that was the closest that the Black Hawks ever got to regaining the lead.

The contest closed out with Indy allowing only three shots on net in the third period while registering six shots with no goals.

The Indiana Ice begin their hunt for the 2013 Clark Cup Championship on Friday, September 28 at the Edge Ice Arena against the Chicago Steel before returning to Indy for the home opener against the Omaha Lancers on Saturday, September 29 from Pan Am Plaza. The puck is set to drop at 7:05 pm.

• Discuss this story on the United States Hockey League message board...
Digg this story
• Add to Del.icio.us


United States Hockey League Stories from September 22, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.