FHL Game Recaps
Published on November 29, 2015 under Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release
Bulldogs Roughed Out By Dayton In Shootout
By: Tommy Pecoraro
It was a night full of action in Brewster between two clubs who really do not seem to like each other. Both goaltenders made great saves, with only 3 shots getting past each netminder in regulation, big hits and several fights made for an exciting match up. The game would take an extra 5 minutes and 4 rounds of a shootout to decide a winner, with the Demolition ultimately gaining the upper hand.
7 minutes into the game, the first goal would go to Dayton as Martin Uhnak found the back of the net to make it 1-0. Shortly after a brief fight ensued after a collision between John Scully and Brad Townsend, it ended rather quickly as both fell down to the ice with Scully on top, and Townsend bloodied. The Bulldogs responded in the form of a power play goal from Marcus Mitchell, off a rebound from an initial shot by Cory Giroux that found Mitchell's stick on a wide open net. Brewster would score yet another power play goal in the 2nd period, and it was Cory Giroux who got credit as he got the shot away and the puck rolled over the goal line as a crowd pushed Louie George into the net with the puck. This would be the only lead Brewster would have as Dayton tied the game in the 3rd period, 6 minutes in, as Mike Dolman cashed in on a mad scramble in front of James Robbins. At this point, frustrations boiled over. Tristan Lysko, who is never one to shy away from stirring the pot, had been shadowing Nikolai Oklolbystin all night long, and having enough of it, the latter of two dropped the gloves and both players duked it out at center ice with Oklolbystin appearing to have won the battle with Lysko underneath him. As they sat in the penalty boxes, Dayton took the lead as Martin Uhnak scored at a tough angle to gain a 3-2 lead for Dayton at the 10:12 mark. The lead did not last long, as Zach Hale fired a dart past Louie George to tie the game back up at 11:53. Remember Lysko and Oklolbystin? They werent done. Right out of the box the two engaged in a Round 2 battle in front of the Dayton bench, and things really got out of hand when Mike Dolman jumped in as a 3rd man in, bringing in everybody else to separate him from the battle, and Brett Wall would even get involved, grabbing at Oklolbystin from the bench, which is a very big no-no in the game of hockey. In the end though it was only the two combatants shown the door and both were done for the night. The game remained tied at 3-3 through the remainder of regulation, and the Bulldogs failed to capitalize on an overtime 4 on 3 power play, and the game was ultimately decided in a shootout, with Dayton winning the shootout 2-0 through 4 rounds with goals from Uhnak and Henderson and 4 consecutive stops from Louie George to win the game 4-3.
For the Bulldogs, Cory Giroux, Zach Hale and Marcus Mitchell had a goal and assist each, and James Robbins stopped 38 of 41 shots and 1 of 3 shootout attempts for the OT loss. For Dayton, Martin Uhnak had two goals and an assist, Mike Dolman had a goal and 2 assists, and Tom Tracy had two assists, Mike Henderson had the shootout winning goal. Louie George stopped 35 of 38 shots and all 4 shootout attempts for the OT win.
These two teams battle again next weekend on Friday and Saturday nights at Hara Arena in Dayton in what is shaping up to be a very physical and competitive, non geographic rivalry and fans can be expected to get their money's worth each time they meet. 118 fans turned out for this Sunday night matchup at the Brewster Ice Arena.
Dashers Comeback Attempt Falls Short
Easton Hoskins
Despite a very sloppy game, the Danville Dashers found themselves with an opportunity to win, being tied to the Danbury Titans with three minutes to go in the third period. The comeback attempt fell short, as the Titans John Scorcia scored a goal with 1:54 to go in the third period.
"It shows character, but the wheels fell off for us this weekend. We played sloppy all weekend, but the comeback attempt shows character. We started off poorly, and when you start slow, breaks don't go your way.", said head coach Steve Harrison, when asked about the way his team battled.
The Dashers found themselves down three to one after the first period, and five to two after the second. The Dashers Grant Holliday scored with 12 minutes to go in the third period, cutting the Titans lead to two goals. Just after that, the Titans goalie Alex Vazzano misplayed a puck in front of his net and Gehrett Sargis had an easy tap in goal. The Sargis goal cut the lead to one goal, and the Dashers continued to battle from their, despite a poor night of play. The Titans turned the puck over in their own zone, and it found its way the the backhand of Brent Clarke, and he lifted it over the glove of Vazzano, tying the game with just over nine minutes to go in the contest.
"I saw Sarg (Gehrett Sargis) turn up, and I found the open ice, then switched the puck from my forehand to my backhand. I just lifted the shot over his shoulder, glove side."
After the Clarke goal, the wheels seemed to come right back off, and the ice seemed to be tilted to the Danbury end. After a neutral zone turnover, Bryan Dallaire pushed the puck up to Phil Bronner, who then gave it to the previously mentioned Scoria for the game winning goal.
With the Dashers loss tonight they fall to second place in the FHL standings, and to 11-1-3 overall. The Dashers go on the road for two games next weekend and will look to get back into the W column next weekend in Danbury and Berlin.
"We have to regroup, and get back to the basics here. We need a good week of practice under our belt this week. As I said earlier, we really hit a wall this weekend. Danbury brought a good team in here both nights and we played poorly on both of those nights, so for that they deserved the six points.", said Harrison.
Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from November 29, 2015
- FHL Game Recaps - FPHL
- Dashers Sluggish in Loss to Titans - Danville Dashers
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