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Dayton Gems: Weekend Review

March 7, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


The Dayton Gems started their weekend off with a bang collecting an 8-2 victory Thursday night at Tulsa. The emotional win helped propel the Gems to a three game winning streak.

The wins helped Dayton move up a slot in the Turner Conference Standings. The Gems currently sit in seventh place with only 10 games remaining in the regular season.

Dayton at Tulsa: Thursday, March 3. 8-2 Win

Having done it twice already this season, the Gems managed to tie their season high for goals in a game by scoring eight against Tulsa.

The Gems eight goals came on 45 shots which marked the team's second highest output of shots on goal, second only to the 59 shots the team put up against Evansville on Feb. 25.

Mike Vaskivuo was the big star for the Gems on Thursday night. The Gems forward netted his second hat trick of the season, the previous one coming in a 4-3 win against Evansville on Dec. 28.

Vaskivuo was not the only star for the Gems on Thursday evening, also adding two goals was Gems forward Matt Miller.

Damian Surma, Brett Lutes and Nick Canzanello all tallied goals for the Gems Thursday night.

The win was a big way for the Gems to begin a crucial three game stretch as Dayton continues to try to position themselves for the playoffs.

Dayton at Evansville: Friday, March 4. 5-4 Win

The Dayton Gems and Evansville IceMen have been known this season for needing extra time to determine a winner between the two sides. Friday's game marked the fourth consecutive time between the two teams that extra time or a shootout was needed to determine a winner.

The Gems came out on the positive side Friday night. The Gems were able to bring home a victory after Brett Lutes scored his 16th goal of the season in overtime propelling the Gems to a 5-4 win over Evansville. The overtime win marked the third consecutive win for the Gems over Evansville, all of which have come via extra time or a shootout.

The Gems had a 4-2 lead over the IceMen before Evansville fought back to send the game into overtime.

Dayton received goals from Damian Surma, Nick Canzanello, Jonathan Ornelas, Brandon Naurato and of course the game winner from Lutes.

The win helped Dayton finish a three game road trip at 2-1 and had the Gems looking for their first three game win streak since mid-January. A win Sunday over Missouri would be needed first before the Gems could reach that mark.

Missouri vs. Dayton, Sunday, March 6. 6-2 Win

Heading into Sunday, the Dayton Gems had won two straight road games and were looking to stretch their win streak to three games overall, a mark that has not been reached by Dayton since mid-January.

For the Gems to continue that streak they would have to do it without star goaltender Jeff Jakaitis, who was called up to the AHL for the second time this season. With Jakaitis gone it was Derek MacIntyre's time to shine.

The Gems new starting goalie managed to stop 28 of the 30 shots he faced Sunday against Missouri helping lead the Gems to a 6-2 victory over the Mavericks.

Many of Dayton's players had big games for the Gems, none more so than forward Kyle Bochek. Having only recorded one multi-goal game this season, Bochek added two for the Gems on Sunday evening.

To go along with Bochek's two goals, the Gems got goals from Tim Hartung, Brett Lutes, Jonathan Ornelas and Brandon Naurato.

Having closed out the Mavericks on Sunday, the Gems now take a three game winning streak on the road next week, traveling to Mississippi, Evansville and twice to Bossier-Shreveport. The Gems will be looking to continue to improve their playoff standings on the four game road trip. Dayton currently sits in seventh place in the Turner Conference, only three points behind Quad City for fifth in the Conference.

The Kettering Medical Center is proud to be the official title sponsor of the Gems for the 2010-11 season.

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