USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints

Fighting Saints Drop Game 2; Series Tied at 1

Published on April 30, 2016 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release


DUBUQUE, Iowa - There was hope. Down 3-0 in the third period, Dubuque cut the deficit to one goal twice, but in the end, the Bloomington Thunder escaped the Mystique Community Ice Center with a 4-3 win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night. The series is tied 1-1 heading back to Bloomington for games 3 and 4.

Blake Gober's goal in the final 90 seconds sealed this game up. Following a two-on-two rush up ice, up 3-2, Gober found some open space in the middle, and through the five hole of starter Hunter Miska. That goal put the visiting Thunder up by two, and it eventually factored in as the game-winning goal.

Petter Mî=A4kitalo tallied a late goal with 19 seconds remaining, as he powered a rolling puck through an extended poke check effort, but two last-gasp efforts fell by the wayside.

Michael O'Leary began the rally with a shorthanded goal early in the third period. His third goal of the series came off of a cross-crease setup from Brett Boeing. That cut Bloomington's lead to 3-1.

Then the second one, just minutes later. On a power play this time, Mitchell Smith was denied by a flex-pad stop by Thunder goaltender Hayden Lavigne, but he wouldn't be denied twice. He followed up his chance and banked a second shot into the goal to cut the lead to one.

Routed 7-1 the night prior, Bloomington came out firing in the first period. It took nine minutes into the first period for the Thunder to rev up their power play and get a goal. Patrick Curry took a redirection feed and sliced his way through the Dubuque defense and tallied his second goal of the playoffs to start the scoring for Bloomington.

A large moment in the game followed a mad scramble in the goal crease late in the first. Per the rulebook, if a defending player closes their hand on the puck in the goal crease, an automatic penalty shot is awarded. This time, it was awarded to leading playoff scorer Jake Slaker, who made no mistake on a backhand shot to the shelf.

Mitchell Mattson appeared to fire a dagger midway through the second period that stoked the Thunder to a seemingly decisive 3-0 lead. In the end, those three goals were not the difference, which at the time, perhaps could have been.

Just like Game 1, the penalties were numerous, and furious. Both teams went 1-for-7 in this matchup. For the second consecutive game, the Fighting Saints outshot Bloomington, this time by a margin of 29-19, meaning the Thunder managed to fire 19 shots on goal during both games in Dubuque.

The scene heads to the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final on Friday, May 6 at 7:05 p.m. Catch all of the action on the flagship station of the Fighting Saints, Dubuque's Super Hits 106.1 FM, or on the streaming video provider of the USHL, FASTHockey.com.

Check out the Dubuque Fighting Saints Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from April 30, 2016


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