Colt King's Hat Trick Lifts Flags to 6-4 Victory over Jackals
December 30, 2006 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Port Huron Flags News Release
(PORT HURON, MICH.) - Port Huron Flags left wing Colt King delivered three goals, two which came in the third period, to erase a 4-2 deficit and beat the Elmira Jackals by the score of 6-4 on Saturday night.
Unusually, in the first period, the clock stopped more often for the 5 goals that were scored than it did for the 4 penalties that were called. Elmira jumped out of the gate hot, scoring less than two minutes into the game. Tommy Kotsopoulos, on a pass from Dan Veenema, shot the puck over Noah Ruden's glove and gave the Jackals an early lead. At 6:13, Brent Cullaton was called for holding, and 12 seconds later, King rebounded Mike Olynyk and Garett Cameron's shots to tie the game. A hooking penalty to Trevor Edwards gave the Jackals an opportunity to take the lead again, and they capitalized, when Dale Lupul went behind Ruden to score. Kotsopoulos and David Morelli were credited with assists. Rob Snowball returned the favor for the Flags, equalizing the game at 16:23, assisted by King and Shayne Tomlinson. Thirty seconds later, Scott Wray's goal put the Jackals up for the third time of the night. Elmira outshot Port Huron, 19-13, throughout the period.
An Elmira power play led to the fourth Jackals goal of the night at 7:25, an unassisted shot from Brent Cullaton. At that point, Coach Stan Drulia made the decision to pull Ruden from goal and put in Dustin Traylen. The majority of the second passed quickly, until the final minute of play began. With 43 seconds left, an elbow from Bobby Kukulka and roughing from Scott Wray led to the first fight of the night. After the penalties were dished out and play resumed, Ryan Markham took exactly 5 seconds to cut the deficit in half, off assists from Pat Sutton and Greg Bullock. Port Huron took the lead in shots on goal in the second with 18, compared to Elmira's 9.
With a 1-4-1 record at home, when trailing after the second period, the Flags had their work cut out for them, especially with 2,186 fans in the largest attendance of the season. The first ten minutes of the third passed with no penalties or goals, but 37 seconds after the halfway point, King scored his second goal of the night, with the assist from Olynyk, tying the match at fours. Frank Littlejohn was sent to the box for interference at 15:38, and seconds after the Flags power play expired, King banged in his third goal of the night, putting the Flags in front for the first time of the night. Elmira pulled goalie Kris Tebbs in an effort to even the score, but an empty net goal from Bullock with 4 seconds on the clock nailed the coffin on the Jackals.
AT&T awarded the First, Second and Third Stars of the Game to King, Olynyk and Josh Elzinga, respectively. The Jackals and the Flags face off again tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 31, at 5 p.m. at McMorran Arena. Following the game, there will be a New Years Eve jersey auction.
BUY 2 GAME TICKETS, GET THE 3rd FREE! Now through January, the Flags are offering a special deal to ensure that fans don't miss a minute of the action. With the purchase of 2 game tickets, the 3rd is free, when purchased in advance through the Flags office. Call (810) 982-FLAG to reserve yours today!
The Port Huron Flags are a community owned, nonprofit member club of the United Hockey League. For more information on the 2006-07 season, contact the front office at (810) 982-3524 or visit the website at www.porthuronflags.net
International Hockey League 2 Stories from December 30, 2006
- Rockford falls 3-2 against UHL's top team - Rockford IceHogs
- Countdown to Face-Off - Kalamazoo Wings
- PrairieThunder losses to Chicago - Bloomington PrairieThunder
- Jackals Squander Lead At McMorran - Elmira Jackals
- Colt King's Hat Trick Lifts Flags to 6-4 Victory over Jackals - Port Huron Flags
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