Fighting Saints Win Spirited Game over Stars, 7-3 Saturday
November 24, 2012 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release
DUBUQUE, Iowa - After a physical second period, the Dubuque Fighting Saints kept their cool and rattled off four goals in the third period to capture a 7-3 win over the Lincoln Stars Saturday night in front of 2,625 fans at the Mystique Community Ice Center. The Fighting Saints got goals from six different players in the victory.
The Fighting Saints trailed in the first period as Lincoln tallied the game's first goal on an unassisted strike from Eric Scheid. The Penn State commit rushed the puck down the right wing side of the ice into the Fighting Saints zone and blasted a snap shot that tucked inside the right post, past Dubuque netminder Arthur Brey's blocker. Scheid's goal was his eighth of the season and made it 1-0 Lincoln at 6:21 of the first.
It took until the period's final minute, but the Fighting Saints were finally able to tie the game. A poor giveaway right in front of the Lincoln goal resulted in the puck finding its way to Mike Szmatula's tape, and the USHL's leading point scorer made no mistake. Szmatula took the gift from Lincoln and fired a wrist shot over Stars' goalie Jackson Teichroeb's glove to make it 1-1 with 42.7 seconds remaining in the first frame.
The second period is where the game started to begin to get chippy and intense. First, Shane Sooth scored a powerplay goal for the Fighting Saints on a partial breakway. Sooth accepted an up ice pass, and deked right on Teichroeb, flipping a shot against the grain, off Teichroeb's body and into the right side of the net for his sixth goal of the season. Sooth was assisted by Jeff Taylor and Szmatula at the 5:11 mark.
After that, at the 14:31 mark an incident occurred that found Dubuque shorthanded. Tyler Spezia received a penalty for running into Teichroeb, which brought on a fight, and a scrum where Tecihroeb also received a penalty for retaliating on Spezia as he was down on the ice. Spezia received the extra penalty, and Dubuque found themselves shorthanded, and Kyle McKenzie also took a penalty that put Dubuque down two men. Paul LaDue scored a 5-on-3 powerplay tally with a wrist shot over Brey's glove at 16:12 to make it 2-2.
John Stevens would add a powerplay goal of his own for the Fighting Saints to give the Fighting Saints the lead back. With Dubuque on a man advantage, the Fighting Saints again struck with less than a minute left in the period. Stevens was along the goal line on the far side of the ice and fired a pass towards the goal that hit a group of players and deflected off Teichroeb and in to make the score 3-2 Dubuque at 19:03.
In the third, the Stars would tie the game shorthanded as Lincoln's Brent Wold roofed a wristshot off the crossbar and in for his first goal of the season at 7:19 to make it 3-3. From that point, Dubuque took control of the game and tallied four straight goals.
Frankie DiChiara scored the eventual game winner at 9:29 of the third. DiChiara fired a bouncing puck that handcuffed Teichroeb and beat him upstairs, glove side, to make it 4-3. Dylan Gambrell fired a pass to DiChiara who made no mistake from the low slot for his sixth goal of the season. Peter Quenneville followed up DiChiara's goal with a tally of his own as Shane Sooth set him up with a beautiful pass for an easy tap in goal on the left side doorstep to make it 5-3. Sooth walked the puck from behind the net and fed it across the Quenneville who notched his second goal in as many nights and his eighth of the season.
Szmatula added an empty net goal at 18:16, and then Keegan Ford got in on the act with Teichroeb back in net at 19:55. Tecihroeb was beat by a low shot on the ice from the left point from Ford to give the fans one last reason to cheer in the spirited win.
Brey stayed perfect and improved to 12-0-0 with the win, stopping 23 shots. Teichroeb was handed the loss, allowing six goals on 28 shots. Lincoln has now lost five games in a row. The Fighting Saints improved to 16-2-1 with the win.
The Fighting Saints will take part in two Prairie Farms Cowbell Cup matchups next week. Dubuque travels to Waterloo on Friday, November 30 for a 7:05 p.m. faceoff with the Waterloo Black Hawks. The Fighting Saints return home the next night to battle with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders at 7:05 p.m. It is a Mighty Ducks Anniversary celebration as the Fighting Saints celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the popular hockey movie trilogy. Tickets are available for Saturday's game by calling 563.583.6880, or by visiting DubuqueFightingSaints.com.
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United States Hockey League Stories from November 24, 2012
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- Two in a Row for Romeo: Phantoms Shut out Team USA 3-0 - Youngstown Phantoms
- Fighting Saints Win Spirited Game over Stars, 7-3 Saturday - Dubuque Fighting Saints
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- Stampede Fall in Overtime at Fargo - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Dramatic Finishes Continue as Lancers Edge Sioux City 5-4 in Shootout - Omaha Lancers
- Indiana snaps slide - Indiana Ice
- Lumberjacks Score the Victory in Overtime 1-0 - Muskegon Lumberjacks
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