Sports stats



Gems snap three-game skid with 6-5 win over Evansville

February 25, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Over the past few weeks, the Dayton Gems have struggled to take shots and score goals.

That wasn't the case on Friday night. Dayton took 59 shots on goal - shattering the previous season high of 41. The Gems' five goals in regulation were the most the team has scored since Jan. 20.

Despite the offensive effort, the game still went into overtime and a shootout before the Gems could sew up the 6-5 win.

Tim Hartung scored the first goal in the shootout and that was all it took as Dayton's goaltender Jeff Jakaitis held the IceMen scoreless in the shootout.

The win was big for the Gems as they snapped a three game losing streak and put some room between themselves and the IceMen in the Turner Conference standings.

The Gems are currently in eighth place in the Turner Conference, which is the final playoff slot.

After falling behind 1-0 early on, the Gems were able to tie the game at 1-1 on a powerplay goal by Brett Lutes at the 7:36 mark in the game. Lutes was assisted on the goal by Greg Labenski and Brandon Naurato.

After a goal by Evansville's Brian Bicek gave the IceMen a 2-1 lead, Mathew Larke was able to tie the game at 2-2 for the Gems with an unassisted shorthanded goal. But the tie didn't last as John Dipace scored a powerplay goal to give Evansville a 3-2 advantage at the first intermission.

Dayton was able to take a 4-3 lead midway through the second period. Mike Vaskivuo and Damian Surma each scored for the Gems to give the team its first lead of the evening.

The second period would end in a tie though as Nicklas Lindberg scored for the IceMen to knot the game at 4-4.

Evansville wasted no time taking the lead in the final period. After 6:16 clicked off the clock, Jeff Christian scored his third point of the game with a powerplay goal to give the IceMen a 5-4 advantage.

With time winding down in regulation Brett Lutes scored a goal with 5:04 remaining in the period to tie the game at 5-5. Dayton took two shots at Evansville's goal in the final 22 seconds but came up empty as the game went into overtime.

After a scoreless overtime, Dayton's Hartung claimed the victory for the Gems in the shootout.

Dayton will play the second game of a three game homestand on Saturday night. The Gems will take on Quad City at 7:30 p.m.

The Kettering Medical Center is proud to be the official title sponsor of the Gems for the 2010-11 season.

• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...

Central Hockey League Stories from February 25, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central