Emond Stops 42 of 43 as Sundogs End New Year's Drought

Published on December 31, 2008 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Arizona Sundogs News Release


PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. - The Arizona Sundogs and New Mexico Scorpions battled in their third annual New Year's Eve game Wednesday night at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley. The visiting Scorpions came into the game having won the previous two contests by scores of 2-1 in 2006 and 5-3 in 2008. The Sundogs put an end to their New Year's winless streak in a game that marked the halfway point of the 64-game schedule, topping New Mexico 4-1 for a season-best third-straight win. Marco Emond turned aside 42 of 43 shots in the win and has now allowed two goals through his three last games. Karl Sellan tallied his 22nd goal of the season, good for second-most in the CHL.

The two teams skated in a relatively even first period Friday night with New Mexico holding a slight 14-13 advantage in shots through the first 20 minutes of play. Arizona however would convert on two of its scoring chances to take a two-goal lead into the first intermission. A.J. MacLean opened scoring in the game with his sixth of the year, slipping behind the Scorpions' defense on the near boards and beating netminder Andrew Martin with a low shot at the 13:05 mark. Linemates Peter Cartwright and Andre Selander collected assists on the play. Sellan stretched his club's lead to 2-0 with his team-leading 22nd of the year, redirecting a Chris Bartolone shot from the point with 27 seconds to play in the frame. Mark Kolanos was also credited with an assist in the late-period tally.

The two teams traded goals in an evenly contested second that saw the Sundogs extend their lead to 3-0 before New Mexico found the back of the net on their second power play chance of the night. Rookie forward Adam Perry gained the offensive zone before threading a pass to Rob Lehtinen between the circles. Lehtinen converted for his first goal of the season, lifting a forehand shot over the shoulder of Martin 3:12 into the period. Bartolone gathered his second helper of the game on Lehtinen's early marker. While just two seconds remaining on the man advantage, Craig Macdonald chipped into the Sundogs' lead with his 18th of the year, deflecting a Seth Leonard shot past the glove of Emond. The Scorpions outshot Arizona 12-10 in the second for a two-period 26-23 advantage.

The Sundogs regained their three-goal cushion midway through the final period as Jon Landry received a pass from Perry and beat Martin for his eighth tally of the year. Emond stood tall in net in the third frame, stopping 17 shots en route to the 4-1 victory.

Emond improved to 10-9-1 on the year, stopping 42 of 43 shots. In his last three games, the veteran netminder has allowed just two goals on 106 shots and is 3-0-0 with a shutout and a .981 save percentage. Andrew Martin turned aside 29 of 33 shots in the loss and fell to 6-9-0 on the season. Arizona was held scoreless on two power play chances while New Mexico converted on 1-of-2 man advantage opportunities.

With the win, Arizona improves to 14-17-1 on the season and catapults themselves into the Southern Conference's fourth playoff spot, one point ahead of fifth-place Rio Grande Valley and two points ahead of sixth-place Corpus Christi. The Sundogs now head to the road for three-straight beginning on Saturday against the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. Game time is set for 6:05pm (Arizona time) and can be heard live on 96.7 FM The Wolf, the Official Broadcast Home of the Arizona Sundogs.

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



Central Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2008


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