Dashers Fall to Enforcers
February 8, 2020 - Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL)
Danville Dashers News Release
The Danville Dashers fell to the Elmira Enforcers, as they dropped the second and final game of the weekend despite mounting a valiant third-period comeback attempt.
The Elmira offense jumped out to a five goal advantage by the time the middle of the second period came, eventually it would prove to be too much for the Dashers to overcome. The scoring got started early and often for the Enforcers, who took the Ice in their patented green and black uniforms, as Ahmed Mahfouz fed a pass through to Brandon Tucker, who fired home with 20 seconds off the first period clock.
It was Tucker that scored again on yet another Elmira goal, as Danville Dashers' goaltender Jesse Gordichuk was unable to get a paw on another shot fed in by some sustained passing and pressure from Cameron Yarwood, Hudson Michaelis and the Elmira Enforcers. The score then was brought up to a 2-0 deficit for the Dashers with 13 minutes gone from the first.
It was a power play goal that struck next for Elmira, as they jumped out to a three goal lead when Ahmed Mahfouz found the back of the net against his former team, fed by Tyler Gjurich and another former Dasher in Andrew Harrison. The power play opportunity came for Elmira after Justin Brausen made his way into the box for cross-checking.
After that, Brandon Hussey scored two straight goals for Elmira, and made it three goals for the Enforcers in just under a minute and a half, as he scored with 8:27 and 9:14 gone in the second period, respectively. The first goal was fed through by Gino Mini, and the second by Zach Pease and Dmytro Babenko.
There was a little life in the crowd as the Dashers finally got on the board, with Artem Efimov-Barakov ending his scoring drought that has extended into the new year, after being fed through by Sam Turner and Seth Ensor.
Still though, the Dashers went into the locker room at the second intermission in a less than desirable state, still down by a score of 5-1.
Just when the Dashers appeared to be down and out, though, some promising build-up play to start the final period of action turned into a glimmer of hope for the Dasher faithful, as Seth Ensor buried a long-range slap shot past the stick side of Elmira goaltender Troy Passingham, after being fed through to the point by a new, experimental line that featured Sam Turner and Tyler Quintos with just three minutes gone in the final frame.
The crowd was brought back to life with a chorus of cheers after the goal, but the Dashers were then held scoreless for a massive seven-minute stretch that saw Elmira retain the footing they had originally held, pressuring high up the ice.
But then, the Dashers scrapped tooth and nail and found yet another way to get back on the scoreboard.
Efimov-Barakov once again scored after being fed through by Brad Denney and Seth Ensor (who grabbed his third point of the night on the Dashers third goal), on a power play after a penalty was assessed to Elmira's Dale Deon for delay of game.
Ultimately, despite pulling their goaltender and pushing numbers forward, the Dashers valiant comeback attempt on home ice fell short, falling to the second-place team in the Eastern Conference by a score of 5 to 3.
In the end, the shot totals fell in favor of the Dashers by a wide margin, finishing at a total of 46 to 22. The three stars of the game wound up with Brendan Hussey (2G), Artem Efimov-Barakov (2G), and Brandon Tucker (2G) getting the third, second and first stars respectively.
Elmira moves to 19-12-2-3 on the season, with Danville moving to 20-13-0-1, just slightly behind the Port Huron Prowlers for second place in the West.
The Dashers move on to take on the Carolina Thunderbirds in a two-game home stand next weekend at the David S. Palmer Arena.
Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2020
- Dashers Fall to Enforcers - Danville Dashers
- Hat Tricks Take the Series - Delaware Thunder
- Thunderbirds Sweep Weekend Series - Carolina Thunderbirds
- Poor Second Costs Rumble Bees - Battle Creek Rumble Bees
- Monster First Period Propels Columbus to Sweep Mentor; Carolina up Next - Columbus River Dragons
- Hat Tricks Down Thunder - Delaware Thunder
- Enforcers Edge Dashers, 3-2 - Danville Dashers
- Three Goals in Third Period Lifts Thunderbirds to Victory - Carolina Thunderbirds
- River Dragons Rout Ice Breakers 10-1 To Start 3-In-3 - Columbus River Dragons
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