Havoc Explode in the First Period, Earn 6-4 Win over Bulls
January 21, 2019 - SPHL (SPHL)
Huntsville Havoc News Release
PELHAM, ALABAMA - The Havoc made the short drive to Birmingham on Monday morning to face their in-state rivals for a Martin Luther King Day matinee.
Huntsville (19-10-1) scored early and often, getting four goals in the first period and holding on for a 6-4 victory over the Bulls.
The win is the team's fifth in a row and brings them within three points of Birmingham (20-9-2) - currently sitting in third place in the SPHL standings.
"We often talk about the importance of getting off to a strong start," said Havoc Head Coach Glenn Detulleo. "Our energy and execution were great and that helped us get an early lead."
The first few minutes were relatively sedate until the visitors put three goals in the net in less than a minute. The barrage started with Colton Wolter's redirect of a shot from the blue line 4:32 into the game. Tyler Piacentini got in on the act about 30 seconds later to make it a two-goal lead, and Scott Trask didn't allow the Bulls to catch their breath, scoring 14 seconds later to give the Havoc a 3-0 lead before the first media timeout.
Birmingham's Sam Williams scored an unassisted goal to finally put the Bulls on the board later in the first period, but the Havoc were not done yet. With 94 ticks on the clock before intermission and seconds after Huntsville's first powerplay expired, Stephen Hrehoriak deflected a Nolan Kaiser slapshot to give the boys from the Rocket City a 4-1 lead at the first break.
The Havoc outshot the Bulls 23 to 11 in the opening period.
From the opening drop of the second period, it began to look like it would be more of the same. Rob Darrar extended his point streak to five games (4g, 6a) by stealing the puck in the attacking zone and providing a quick pass to Christian Powers who smashed home a goal 12 seconds into the period.
The Bulls scored a pair of goals later in the frame - one of them on a powerplay -- but Powers punched in another score late in the second to make it a 6-4 game at the second intermission. Powers now has his own four-game point streak (4g, 3a).
The Havoc took their foot off the gas in the third, only putting 4 shots on goal and allowing the Bulls to get one back, but the team escaped from the Pelham Civic Complex with a 6-4 win.
Birmingham was only called for a single penalty to Huntsville's six infractions on the day, but the Havoc also outshot the Bulls 44 to 38. Goalkeeper Max Milosek made 34 saves to record the win.
After dropping the first three head-to-head matchups to Birmingham this season, Huntsville has won the last two. The teams will meet four more times before the end of the year.
While the Havoc are on a five-game win streak, Birmingham has now lost five of their last six.
Next Game
Huntsville has a chance to make up some ground on the second place Macon Mayhem next weekend when they play a home-and-home series. The first game on Friday, January 25, is at the Macon Centreplex at 6:30 p.m. CST. The weekend series concludes on Saturday, January 26, back at the Von Braun Center when the Havoc host Macon for Team Poster Night. The first 2,500 fans through the doors receive a team poster. The puck drops at 7 p.m. CST.
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