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Gems Smother Blaze with 6-2 Win Sunday Afternoon

December 18, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Dayton, OH - The Dayton Gems would dominate the final game of a three game weekend series against the Bloomington Blaze, following through for a 6-2 win on Cassano's Italian Ice inside the historic Hara Arena on Sunday afternoon. Scoring for the Gems were Matt Larke, Jon Ornelas (2), Charlie Townsend, Nick Fanto and Ben Winnett.

Looking to continue the momentum gained in Saturday night's win in Bloomington, the Gems come out firing on all cylinders and would stun the still arriving Hara crowd with the game's first goal just :31 off the opening draw to take the early 1-0 lead. Forcing their dominance against the Blaze in the attacking zone, Dayton's Jon Ornelas would knock in a deflection from Ben Winnett at the :48 mark to capture a 2-0 lead in the first minute of regulation. Play would settle somewhat as the period wore along, and the Blaze would take advantage of a loose puck inside the Gems end to send a rocket past the shoulder of Gems starting netminder Larry Sterling to trim the lead back down to 1 at the 9:03 mark. With a flurry of action in front of the Blaze net, Charlie Townsend would lead the Gems charge to slide in a slick wraparound to light the lamp at 11:35 to edge the score to 3-1 just past the midway mark and into the first intermission after a scoreless remainder of the opening frame. Shots on goal favored Dayton 16 to 15 after twenty minutes.

Again taking control of the tempo to kick off the second period, Dayton would see their lead improve while shorthanded thanks to Ben Winnett intercepting a pass through neutral ice and rushing with a breakaway to bury a snapper past Blaze goaltender Zane Kalemba at the 7:26 mark, an unassisted goal that was Winnett's fifth of the year. Despite quality chances in front of Kalemba, the Gems wouldn't be able to find the back of the net again before the horn to end two periods of play, with Dayton skating their 4-1 lead into the dressing room for the second intermission. Shots in the middle frame actually favored the Blaze 13 to 10.

Nick Fanto would lead off the third period for the Gems by picking up a breakout pass from Ornelas and Matt Baxter to cruise into the slot and bury a wrister past the pads of Kalemba and extending Dayton's lead to 5-1 just 1:55 into the stanza. With the goal, Bloomington head coach Paul Gardner would pull Kalemba and replace him with backup netminder Mark Sibbald, who made his first appearance in a Blaze sweater this season. After seeing the Blaze pick up a powerplay goal at 6:19, an insurance goal by Ornelas at 13:33 while playing four-on-four would make it a 6-2 game and get the hometown Hara Arena crowd rocking in the closing minutes of regulation. Final shots on goal favored the Blaze 42-36 after sixty minutes.

With the win, the Gems even their record at 10-10-4 and improve to 24 points in the Turner Conference standings. Bloomington sees their record fall to 6-15-2 with their tenth loss on the road this season.

Dayton returns to action on Thursday night on Cassano's Italian Ice inside the historic Hara Arena when they host the Texas Brahmas for the first time this season at 7pm, and again on Friday night when the Fort Wayne Komets skate into Dayton for a 7pm showdown. Tickets to both games are now available by calling the Gems ticket office at 275-7777 or by visiting www.DaytonGems.com.

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