Big Second and Špunar Lead Saints to Shutout Win
October 19, 2024 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release
WEST DES MOINES, IA - The Dubuque Fighting Saints (6-3-0-0, 12 pts) scored five times in the second period and got 22 saves from goaltender Jan Špunar in a 6-0 win over the Des Moines Buccaneers (1-7-0-0, 2 pts) on Saturday night.
After a scoreless first period, the Fighting Saints earned an early power-play chance in the second period. Just 24 seconds into the power play, Michael Barron and Colin Frank set up Heikki Ruohonen for a one-timer in the slot and Ruohonen buried the chance for his fourth goal of the season.
After Ruohonen scored at 3:47 of the second, the Saints spent the next 3:16 hemmed into their own zone, unable to change lines. Dubuque leaned on Špunar during that stretch as he made 12 second period saves, his busiest frame of the contest. In his fourth USHL start, Špunar logged his third win and first shutout.
Špunar's saves opened the door for the second half of the middle period and a barrage by Dubuque. The Saints scored four more goals in the second, all past the halfway mark of the period.
Melvin Ekman scored his second goal of the season from Gavin Lock and Charlie Arend. Lock set Ekman up on the backside for Lock's first USHL point. Under four minutes later Teddy Merrill and Jonathan Morello set Ritter Coombs up with a redirect chance in front of the net. Coombs, in his USHL debut, tipped the puck in to put the Saints ahead 3-0 at the 13:50 mark of the second period.
In the final 1:42 of the frame, Gavin Cornforth and Michael Barron traded turns setting each other up for goals. Cornforth sprung Barron on a breakaway for his team-leading fifth goal of the season before Barron returned the favor for Cornforth's fourth tally on a back-door tap-in.
Dubuque added another with Matthew Desiderio's second power-play goal of the season on a one-time blast from the top of the slot in the third period. The Saints power play scored twice on four chances in the contest, while the penalty kill stopped both Des Moines power plays.
Frank, Barron and Cornforth added to their impressive starts to the season with points in Saturday's win and are all tied for the team lead with nine points each.
The Fighting Saints return to the ice on Friday night at home against the NTDP U17 squad.
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