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Dayton Gems Weekend Review

March 21, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


The Dayton Gems started their weekend off the right way, celebrating a 2-1 win over Evansville on St. Patrick's Day.

The St. Patrick's Day win could not help the Gems carry momentum through the rest of the weekend. Dayton lost back to back road games Friday and Saturday night to Evansville and Quad City. The Gems 1-2 weekend left them in 8th place in the Turner Conference standings of the Central Hockey League with only three regular season games remaining.

Evansville vs. Dayton: Thursday, March 17. 2-1 Win

Going into Thursday's game, Evansville and Dayton had gone into overtime in their previous five meetings. It seemed as if the two teams were destined to play another overtime game on St. Patrick's Day.

Thursday's game remained tied for nearly 45 of the 60 minutes the two teams played. Damian Surma, former IceMen, made sure the Gems were not going to need extra time to defeat Evansville. With 4:19 remaining in the game Surma put the Gems ahead 2-1 on a powerplay goal.

Credited with the assist on Surma's goal, forward Chris Lipsett extended his streak of consecutive games with a point to 12 straight.

Jonathan Ornelas scored the Gems first goal on the evening and Kyle Bochek and Ernie Stewart were both credited with assists on Ornelas' 20th goal on the season.

Dayton at Evansville: Friday, March 18. 3-1 Loss

The Dayton Gems came into Friday night's game against Evansville trying to win their fifth consecutive against the IceMen.

Evansville had different plans for the Gems Friday night.

Both teams remained all squared at 0-0 after the first period behind stellar play by both goalies. Evansville got on the scoreboard first on Brian Bicek's 24th goal on the season at the 18:18 mark in the second period.

The score remained 1-0 until the 8:58 mark in the third period when Dayton tied the game. Forward Brett Lutes knotted the game up at 1-1 on his 19th goal of the season. Brandon Naurato and Tim Hartung were credited with assists on Lutes' goal.

Evansville retook the lead when Mario Laroque put home his 15th goal on the season. The IceMen would end up scoring another on an empty net goal by Jeff Christian with 38 seconds remaining. Evansville defeated the Gems 3-1, snapping the Gems' five game winning streak against the IceMen.

The Saturday night defeat marked the last time these two teams will meet this season. The Gems recorded nine wins this season against Evansville while only suffering five defeats.

Dayton at Quad City, Saturday, March 19. 4-2 Loss

Heading into Sunday, the Dayton Gems were looking to finish above .500 on their three game weekend. After defeating Evansville Thursday night and falling to the IceMen Friday night, the Gems were looking to get back into the win column against Quad City.

The Mallards had other ideas in store for Dayton on Saturday night.

The two teams battling for playoff position faced off for the eighth time this season.

Quad City got out to an early 1-0 lead when Jake Riddle scored his 12th goal on the season. Riddle was not done for the evening.

Tim Hartung got the Gems back into the game when he put one home for Dayton just 1:08 into the second period. Hartung's goal would be the only one the Gems would get in the second.

The Mallards regained the lead midway through the second period when Brandon Marino put one home. Quad City would add another from Riddle, his second on the evening, to put the Mallards ahead 3-1 heading into the final period.

Hartung did everything in his power to keep the Gems in the game with his second goal of the game at the 11:43 mark in the third period. Hartung's goal would not be enough for the Gems to get back into the game. Riddle would add a third goal in the final minute of the game propelling the Mallards over the Gems 4-2.

The 4-2 defeat to Quad City push Dayton back to the eighth and final remaining playoff spot in the Turner Conference. The Gems have three remaining regular season games left to play this upcoming week before playoffs begin the last week in March. The Gems have clinched a playoff berth and have the opportunity to finish as high as sixth in the Turner Conference playoff standings..

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

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 21, 2011


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