Down Three, IceMen Rally for a Point in a Thrilling Shootout

Published on March 6, 2015 under ECHL (ECHL)
Evansville IceMen News Release


EVANSVILLE, Ind.- Down 4-1 after the first period, the Evansville IceMen, presented by Coors Light, clawed their way back to force a shootout against the Indy Fuel. In the eighth round of the shootout the Fuel finally broke the tie to pull off a 5-4 win in front of 5,024 fans at the Ford Center.

Peter Sakaris earned the game's first star with two goals. Sakaris fired six shots at the net in the game. Zack Currie had a goal and an assist to take home the third star of the game. Sakaris moved into 10th place all-time in games played with the franchise with his 97th game in an IceMen uniform.

Indy jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the opening period. A breakaway goal from Kyle Stroh a one timer from Nick Jones gave the Fuel a two-goal advantage early.

Evansville would cut the Fuel lead to one. A Currie shot got blocked. It trickled onto Sakaris' stick. Sakaris deflected it past Shane Owen with a backhanded shot. His eighth goal of the season made it a one-goal game.

The Fuel answered Sakaris' tally with a pair of their own. Indy's fourth goal from Mike Duco gave the Fuel 4-1 lead after one and chased Branden Komm from the game. Chris Driedger came in and did not allow a goal the rest of regulation. He made 19 saves overall.

Two fights broke out towards the end of the opening frame. Daniel Johnston dropped the gloves and fought Chris DeSouza. Daniel Sova pummeled Dean Chelios with a series of body shot that dropped Chelios to the ice.

The IceMen rallied in the second period. Mark Anthoine made a cross-ice feed that hit Brandon Martell on the tape. Martell blasted in his second goal in as many games and his seventh on the year. Travis Granbois had an assist on the play that made it a 4-2 game.

In the third period, the rally continued. Jordan Sims carried the puck behind the Indy net then zipped a pass to Sakaris in front of the cage. Sakaris fired in his second of the game to bring the IceMen back within one. Granbois picked up his second assist of the night on Sakaris' ninth of the season.

Down by one with less than 10 minutes to play, the IceMen caught up to the Fuel. Currie played a give-and-go with Jarret Lukin who found Currie cutting back to the crease. The Quinnipiac alum knocked in his fifth of the season to tie the game at four.

The IceMen outshot the Fuel 19-8 in the third period, but could not get the game winner over the line. After a scoreless overtime that saw Sakaris tackled to the ice, the IceMen entered their third shootout of the season and first since Dec. 21.

After both teams missed on their opening two tries, Myles Bell put the IceMen on the board with a nifty move that beat Shane Owen. Indy answered immediately with a goal from Nicklas Lindberg.

Braden Pimm skated out next for the IceMen and torched one underneath the crossbar to put the IceMen up 2-1 in the shootout. Down to their final skater, the Fuel kept their hopes alive with a goal from Garett Bembridge.

Driedger kept the Fuel off the scoreboard through rounds six and seven of the shootout. His counterpart, Owen, also stood tall in rounds in six, seven, and eight.

In eighth round of the shootout Indy's Pete Massar broke the tie when he managed to sneak one into the back of the net and secure a win for the Fuel. The shootout loss drops the IceMen to 13-35-5-3 (34 points) on the season.

The IceMen will return to action on Sunday when they host the Wheeling Nailers for the first time since Nov. 7, a 6-3 Evansville win. The opening face-off will drop at 5 p.m.

It will be a Subway Sunday where fans can get a ticket, a t-shit, a popcorn, and a soda for just $19. The first 5,000 fans inside the Ford Center will also receive thunder sticks courtesy of Subway.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from March 6, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central