May 18, 2013
131
Games Today




Four-Goal Second Period Propels Saints to Win

October 19, 2012 - United States Hockey League (USHL) Dubuque Fighting Saints

DUBUQUE, Iowa - It may have been Fire Prevention Night at the Mystique Community Ice Center, but that wasn't enough to stop the red-hot Dubuque Fighting Saints. Aided by a four-goal second period, the Fighting Saints rolled to their sixth straight victory, knocking off the Green Bay Gamblers 5-2 in front of 2,022 fans Friday night.

The Fighting Saints evening didn't start quite as planned as Gamblers winger Kyle Novak lit the lamp only 20 seconds into the game on the first shot of the contest. A weak shot from the blueline rolled up Dubuque goalie Arthur Brey's stick and into the net to silence the crowd and give the Gamblers a 1-0 lead.

The Fighting Saints and the crowd were electrified following a Keegan Ford scrap with Brendan Lemieux from Green Bay, and Peter Quenneville scored off a faceoff late in the first period to tie the game at one. Shane Sooth won an offensive zone faceoff and Quenneville one-timed a shot in past Richard Sabol to even the score.

The second period saw Dubuque score four goals amid chippy play. Eric Freschi opened the scoring in the frame with a goal on a scramble in front of the net that he backhanded over a fallen Sabol. AJ Fossen and Mike Szmatula collected an assist on the goal only 1:20 into the period. After a Jordan Gross goal from Green Bay, the Fighting Saints responded to retake the lead within 32 seconds. Quenneville fed a beautiful pass to Sooth who crashed the goal, and redirected the puck between Sabol's legs, barley rolling over the goal line to make it 3-2 Dubuque. Dylan Gambrell added an assist on the goal, and the first year forward wasn't finished factoring into the scoring.

Gambrell added his first USHL goal minutes later, scoring on a beautiful wrist shot that clanged off the crossbar and in, up over the glove of Sabol to extend Dubuque's lead to 4-2. Quenneville collected the primary assist while Seamus Malone assisted as well on the tally. Dubuque wasn't done, as Sooth would score again from Szmatula and Quenneville on a beautiful setup from the left side. Sooth camped in the middle of the ice and fired a shot past Sabol to cap off a four goal second period and give Dubuque a commanding lead going into the third. The Fighting Saints fired 15 shots in the second frame.

There was no scoring in the third period as Dubuque cruised to the win. Quenneville's four points earned him the game's first star. Brey made 15 saves to collect his fourth win of the season in goal. With the win, the Fighting Saints improved to 6-0-0 on the season and are one of only two unbeaten teams in the league. The Lincoln Stars are the other, at 5-0-0. The Gamblers fell to 1-5-2 after only losing nine games in regular season last year.

The Fighting Saints and Gamblers complete the home-and-home tomorrow at the Resch Center in Green Bay. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 p.m. and the game can be heard on Dubuque's Super Hits 106.1 FM. Dubuque will return home next weekend for a Friday night game at 7:35 p.m. versus Des Moines and Pink the Rink presented by Finley Hospital is Saturday night versus Cedar Rapids at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 563-583-6880 or by visiting DubuqueFightingSaints.com.

• 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 October 19, 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.