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Gems Fall to Mallards in Shootout 4-3 Wednesday Night

November 23, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Dayton, OH - Despite a solid effort and two goal lead in the first period, the Dayton Gems would be unable to overcome a Quad City comeback effort, ultimately falling 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday on Cassano's Italian Ice inside the historic Hara Arena.

The Gems would skate onto Cassano's Italian Ice with authority, looking to pressure the visiting Mallards right off the opening draw. Helping to establish themselves in front of the healthy-sized hometown crowd for the holiday weeknight game, Dayton's John Kennedy would collaborate with Ryan Hohl to set up a pass to Ben Winnett, who would split the Quad City defense and snap in a quick shot on goaltender Brad Fogal to take the 1-0 lead just 1:40 into the opening stanza. Hohl, making his regular season debut after suffering an injury during training camp would pick up his first professional point on the goal. Dayton would continue to handle the tempo of the game as the clock moved along in the first, and would extend the lead to two with a similar neutral ice setup this time for Tim Hartung to go in one-on-one with Fogal, sniping a shot top shelf at point blank range at the 9:01 mark. Quad City would earn a few chances on the other end of the ice, with Gems starter Bryan Hogan handling the workload flawlessly through the remainder of the period. Shots on goal after twenty minutes would favor the Mallards 11-8, but it was the Gems who took the 2-0 lead into the dressing room for the intermission.

The second period would feature a bevy of penalties being whistled against both teams, as the physicality escalated between the players. Nick Duff would try his skilled hand at a round of fisticuffs near the end of the frame, but it was the two consecutive Mallards goals that highlighted the middle period. Quad City would open their scoring on the powerplay at the 8:21 mark and would notch the tying lamplighter a few minutes later at 15:13. Despite a last second shot on Fogal from the faceoff and with the goalie pulled, the Gems would be unable to answer before the horn, with both teams skating into the second intermission with the deadlocked at 2-2. Shots in the second would favor Dayton 12-9, with a 20-20 tie after forty minutes of play.

The Gems and Mallards would trade quick goals to kick off the third period, with Quad City snapping the twine first to take the 3-2 lead only 2:48 in, but was answered fifteen seconds later by Dayton's Damian Surma off a Brett Lutes pass at the 3:03 mark to tie the game at three. Despite getting pucks to the net, the Gems found themselves unable to muster another go-ahead goal in regulation, sending the game into the overtime frame. Shots in the third once again favored Dayton 15-11 for a sixty minute total of 35-32.

Through a scoreless sudden death overtime, both teams would wind up facing each other in a shootout. The showdown would wait until the third round for both teams to find the back of the net, with Brandon Naurato answering the Mallards, but a final goal by Quad City's fifth shooter secured the win for the visiting club, and their first of the season against the Gems.

Despite the shootout loss, the Gems earn a point against the Mallards and see their record stand at 5-4-4 with 14 points. Dayton now prepares for a road matchup with the Bloomington Blaze on Friday inside the US Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, Illinois before returning home to host the Fort Wayne Komets on Saturday on Cassano's Italian Ice inside Hara Arena.

Saturday night's game at Hara is OSU/Michigan Night, with the first 500 fans receiving OSU or Michigan beaded necklaces. Tickets are available by calling the Gems ticket office at 275-7777 or by visiting www.DaytonGems.com .

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