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Comeback Effort Falls Short as Gems Lose 6-4

November 19, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Evansville, IN- The Dayton Gems entered tonight's game with the Evansville IceMen as one of the hottest teams in the entire CHL having won three straight games and looking to extend the streak on the road in their first game of a three-games-in-three-nights weekend. This would also mark the second consecutive game in Evansville and the Gems third game overall on the road after playing eight of their first ten games on home ice at Hara Arena.

From the opening faceoff it was clear that these two teams had seen each other before, despite not having played for a week. The first period was all about scoring chances and offense as the two teams would combine for 24 shots on goal. Jeff Jakaitis (previously 2-0 vs. Evansville this season) would get the start and stopped all 14 IceMen shots. Corey Couturier gave the Gems the first lead of the game when he finished off a beautiful 3-on-1 set from Tim Hartung and Ernie Stewart beating Evansville starter Matt Lundin at the 15:41 mark. The 1-0 lead would hold up as the two teams prepared for period number two.

The second period was one of the wildest that the Gems have seen this season. Evansville tied the game at 1-1 just over four minutes into the second, then took their first lead of the game when Jeff Nelson completed a tic-tac-toe passing play on the power play 3:39 following the tying goal to give the IceMen their first lead of the night at 2-1. Ernie Stewart would answer the call and knot the game back up at 2-2 on an even strength goal at the 11:27 mark, but just 1:11 after Stewart scored, the IceMen grabbed the lead back when Bo Cheesman finished off a 2-on-1 set up to beat Jakaitis and make it 3-2. The borage of scoring would continue as the IceMen would push it to 4-2 at the 13:45 when Chris Campanale completed a perfect breakaway pass and beat Jakaitis clean in the top-half of the net, and for the first time since the loss to Rapid City in the second game of the season (October 17th), the Gems trailed by two goals in a game.

It didn't take long for the Gems to cut the lead back to one when rookie defenseman Paul Ferraro pounced on a loose puck with Lundin sprawling out of his crease and buried it on the power play at the 3:11 mark of the third. Just when it looked like the Gems were going to come all the way back , 35 seconds later the IceMen pushed the lead back to two to make it 5-3 at the 3:46 mark. Tim Hartung sliced the IceMen lead back down to one at 5-4 when he scored his fourth of the season on the power play with just over nine minutes left in regulation. Unfortunately though, a last minute rush was not going to be enough and with Jakaitis on the bench, the IceMen salted away the empty netter to seal the 6-4 win.

With the loss, the Gems winning streak ends at three games and gives them their first loss on the road this season. The Gems will now take their 7-3-1 record back on the highway as they head to Fort Wayne to tangle with the Komets tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.

Individual game tickets are available for purchase in advance. For more information call the Gems offices at 937-275-7777 or log onto our website at www.daytongems.com. You can also catch us on facebook at facebook.com/daytongems. The Gems play their next two games on the road before returning home to Hara Arena on Thanksgiving Night (Thursday, November 25th) to take on the Evansville IceMen at 7:00 p.m. Parking will be FREE for ALL fans that night and anyone that brings in a Canned Food item for the Gems Canned Food Drive will receive a special $8.00 ticket price. The Kettering Medical Center is proud to be the official title sponsor of the Gems for the 2010-11 season.

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