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Gems Fall With Seconds Left In Overtime 6-5 To Evansville Tuesday Night

December 27, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Dayton, OH - Despite a two goal lead in the third, the Dayton Gems would watch the Evansville IceMen take a heartbreaking win with just seconds left in overtime to beat the Gems 6-5 inside the Ford Center on Tuesday night.

Looking for their first win this season against the IceMen, Dayton would rely on recently reactivated center Kyle Bochek to help set a matching pace early with the home team. With a scramble in front of the net, Evansville's Nicklas Lindberg would go behind the cage and wraparound the game's first goal 3:08 in to take the lead. Matching in intensity, the Gems would set up a breakout of their own on the resulting faceoff, where Chad Langlais fed a centering pass to Brandon Naurato who sniped a shot past IceMen netminder Bryan Gillis to tie the game at one just :12 later. As the game continued in the opening stanza, Evansville would up the score at the 12:49 mark to make it a 2-1 hockey game before Dayton's Matt Larke lit the lamp for his seventh goal of the season to again tie the game, this time 2-2 at 14:49. Capping off the scoring in the period, the IceMen bounced in a puck with eyes somehow finding its way past Hogan, taking their 3-2 lead into the dressing room after twenty minutes of play. Evansville would also lead in shots on goal through the first period 13-9.

Hitting their stride in the second period, Dayton would control chances while pressuring the IceMen in their defensive end early, and while on their second powerplay of the night, tie the game 3-3 less than three minutes into the frame off the stick of Matt Baxter. Baxter's goal, his first of the season, was assisted by Brett Lutes and Larke at 2:55. Hogan would stand his ice through the middle frame, and after hitting the post for a third time in the game, Dayton would cash in for their first lead of the night off the stick of Brandon Naurato while on the powerplay. Naurato, the Central Hockey League's Powerplay goal leader, notched his second goal of the night and 13 th overall to carry his Gems into the dressing room ahead of the IceMen 4-3 after forty minutes of play. Dayton would outshoot the IceMen in the second 11-6 for a two period total of 20-19 for the Gems.

The Gems would extend their lead to two with a quick goal to kick off the third period 1:34 in with Kyle Bochek snapping the twine for the first time since being reactivated off the IR earlier in the day. The IceMen would see the deficit as a challenge however, and would turn on the jets with a scramble in front of Hogan resulting in their forth goal of the night at 7:01 before earning the tying goal just past the midway mark at 10:40 to make it a 5-5 game heading into the closing horn of regulation. The Gems would again outshoot the hosts 11-10 in the third.

After an end to end battle through the first four minutes of the sudden death overtime period, Evansville would muster an odd man rush into the Gems zone and blasted a shot towards Hogan that bounced out of his reach and was knocked in by Evansville's Brian Bicek for the game winner with a heartbreaking 11.4 left in the extra period.

With the overtime loss, the Gems drop their record to 11-11-5 with 27 points in the Turner Conference. Dayton returns to action at home on Thursday night when they host the Bloomington Blaze on Cassano's Italian Ice inside Hara Arena.

Tickets to the Gems home games on Thursday, December 29 against Bloomington and on Saturday, December 31 against Quad City are now available by calling the Gems ticket office at 275-7777 or by visiting www.DaytonGems.com. Discounted tickets are also available for groups of ten or more, and include special group perks. Call 275-7777 for details.

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