Gems Fall To Rush 4-3 in First Shootout Of Season

October 28, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Rapid City, SD - Despite end to end play that featured a deadlocked score for most of the game, the Dayton Gems would be forced to take one point away from the Rapid City Rush in a hard fought 4-3 shootout loss on Friday night in front of 4,000 inside the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in downtown Rapid City, South Dakota. Scoring for the Gems included Damian Surma, Kyle Bochek and Nick Fanto. Both teams rematch Saturday in Rapid City.

Feeding off the near capacity crowd still filing into their seats, Rapid City jumped out to an early lead on the first powerplay of the game, capitalizing off a centering feed from the near corner to score the night's first goal just 6:45 into the first period. Dayton would settle into the tempo as the period continued, earning a number of quality chances but would be unable to get anything past Rush netminder Danny Battochio, who turned aside each of the Gems seven shots in the period. A late period penalty to Gems captain Greg Labenski kept the Rush from adding a breakaway shot on goal, but would put the Rush on their second man advantage of the night, with the remainder of that penalty carrying over to the second. Dayton starting netminder Bryan Hogan, in his first start in a Gems sweater, stopped twelve of the Rush's thirteen shots on goal. After twenty minutes of play, Rapid City led Dayton 1-0.

Blazing out of the shoots in the second, Gems veteran forward Brett Lutes helped setup linemate Damian Surma on the opening play to tie the game 1-1 less than a minute into the second stanza. The goal, Surma's second of the season, would give his Gems club the momentum as the period progressed, and despite a flurry of penalties being whistled against them, Dayton's Kyle Bochek would pick up an errant pass in front of the benches, rushing in alone for a breakaway goal to take the lead at the 10:04 mark. Despite the quiet hush that overcame the crowd after Bochek's goal, Rapid City would take the game back to a tie, off a barrage of rebound shots point blank less than a minute later to keep the game a 2-2 after forty minutes of play. Rapid City would continue to lead in shots on goal 33-16 after two periods of play.

With the game flowing end to end, both team would battle to control the tempo while the physicality continued to escalate. Rapid City would cash in an odd man rush in front of Hogan to light the lamp near the halfway point of the third, reclaiming the lead at the 10:27 mark. Dayton would find themselves scrambling inside their zone, with Rapid City becoming more obtrusive in the Gems defensive end. Quick to react, Gems head coach Brian Gratz called his players aside, using their one timeout, to refocus his troops for the second half of the period. With more of a hop to their stride, Dayton defenseman James Sanford sent in a wrister from the blue line on a dump-in, which was tipped past a screened Battochio to tie the game 3-3 at 14:13. Both clubs would battle fiercely as time wound down in regulation, and would keep the tie to the final horn to end sixty minutes of play. Shots in the third once again favored Rapid City, as they led 13-8 (46-24 after three frames).

Playing overtime hockey for the second straight game, Dayton would lock horns with the Rush through a full five minutes of sudden death with neither team breaking the tie, ultimately sending the game to the season's first shootout for either club.

Coming down to the last shooter after Dayton's early two goal lead was erased by three consecutive Rush goals, the shootout and the game would end on Rapid City's Anthony Perdicaro's final shootout goal to earn the 4-3 shootout win. Scoring in the shootout for the Gems: Tim Hartung, Brandon Naurato and Damian Surma.

With the shootout loss, the Gems record is now 0-0-1-1, 2pts, and the Gems took one point away from the contest for the second consecutive game. Both teams rematch in Rapid City on Saturday at 7pm local, 9pm eastern with the live game broadcast available on wave96.net and CHL TV starting ten minutes prior to faceoff with JT Szabo handling the call.

The Kettering Medical Center is the official presenting sponsor of the Dayton Gems.



Central Hockey League Stories from October 28, 2011


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