Gems Fall to Mallards 6-1 Friday Night

Published on December 30, 2011 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Moline, Illinois - The Gems would find themselves trailing the host Quad City Mallards early, and would be unable to muster a comeback despite a late third period surge, falling 6-1 on the road Friday night. Scoring for the Gems was Nick Fanto (10th).

Larry Sterling would hold his ice between the pipes for his second straight start, and would be forced to turn aside a number of Mallards shots early and often in the opening period. Feeding off the hometown crowd's Friday night energy, Quad City would battle through a scrum in front of Sterling to bang in a rebound goal at the 8:28 mark. Extending their lead just over two minutes later, Quad City's Brandon Marino would snap in his 17th goal of the season on a centering pass through the crease at 10:38, earning him a tying spot with Dayton's Damian Surma as CHL goal leader. Facing the two goal deficit, Dayton would cash in with their own crash the net goal at the 14:21 mark, and after a bit of controversy, Nick Fanto would be credited with his tenth goal of the year assisted by Andy Zulyniak and CHL All Star forward Brett Lutes to trim the host's lead back down to one. Nearing the two minute mark in the opener, Quad City would slap in a shot right off the faceoff to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission, while leading the Gems in shots 18-9 through twenty minutes.

The second period would be controlled by the offensive pressure applied to the Gems by the Mallards, limiting the chances presented to Dayton while notching two goals to extend their lead first at the 6:23 mark and again at 11:05 on the powerplay. The period would end with Dayton showing their frustration with chippy play after the horn, earning goaltender Larry Sterling a minor penalty assessed at the 20:00 mark and giving the Mallards a 5-on-3 powerplay to start the third. Outshooting the Gems 16-8 in the middle stanza, Quad City would skate into the second intermission ahead 5-1.

Quad City would cap off their scoring just 1:26 into the third period, scoring their third powerplay on the resulting man advantage carried over from the second. Despite increasing their pressure and shots towards the Mallards net, the Gems would be unable to mount a comeback, ultimately falling 6-1. Final shots on goal favored the Mallards 40-33 after Dayton outshot the home team 16-6 in the third.

With the loss, the Gems fall to 11-13-5, and remain with 27 points in the Turner Conference standings.

Both teams travel back to Dayton and will conclude the home and home series at 7pm on Cassano's Italian Ice inside the historic Hara Arena.

Tickets for Saturday's "Biggest Family New Year's Eve Party In Dayton" when the Gems host the Mallards are now available by calling the Gems ticket office at 275-7777 or visiting www.DaytonGems.com. The first 500 fans will receive a Gems cowbell to ring in the new year!

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 30, 2011


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