Hounds drop 5-4 decision to Austin

Published on March 1, 2006 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Youngstown SteelHounds News Release


Youngstown, OH. - The Youngstown SteelHounds (20-31-4) led early on Wednesday night trying to end a seven-game winless skid but couldn't hold on as the Austin Ice Bats (28-24-3) scored three straight goals at the end of the second period and beginning of the third period to mount a lead and hold on in a 5-4 victory at the Chevrolet Centre. The win gives Austin the season series 2-1 versus Youngstown and extends the Youngstown skid to eight straight games without a victory. Aaron Schneekloth and Julian Smith each had a goal and a pair of assists in the victory.

It was a spirited first period of play that saw 18 infractions for 42 minutes between the two teams. The Hounds scored the first goal of the game connecting on the power play with Darryl Lloyd scoring his 14th goal of the season deflecting a Jeff Christian point shot by Miroslav Kopriva. The goal was Lloyd's first since January 6th and it was assisted by Christian and Chris Richards (extends his point streak to 15 straight games). The Ice Bats came back to tie the game at the 16:21 mark with Darryl McArthur sneaking a shot by David St. Germain for his fifth goal of the season assisted by Adam Holmgren and Jeff Neufeld. Austin outshot the Hounds 11-8 in the first period.

The Hounds regained the lead early in the second period with a great passing play that finished with Chris Shaffer scoring his eighth goal of the season assisted by J.F. Labarre and Mario Chinelli at the 2:04 mark of the second. The Bats once again tied the score with Julian Smith scoring his 13th goal of the season assisted by Drew Otten. Before the end of the period, Austin took the lead with John McNabb scoring his 28th goal of the season at the 17:54 mark. Austin outshot the Hounds 13-11 in the second period and led 3-2 after two periods.

In the third period, Aaron Schneekloth connected on a power play goal giving Austin a two-goal cushion, but the Hounds responded with a goal by Matt Hanson, his eighth of the season cutting the lead to 4-3. The Hounds applied pressure late but couldn't beat Kopriva. The Bats scored an empty-net goal with less than 30 seconds remaining regaining the two-goal advantage. A goal by Joey Sewell, his 16th of the season, with one second remaining cut the lead to 5-4 but that is as close as the Hounds would get. Youngstown outshot the Bats 16-10 in the final period and finished up in the game 35-34.

Kopriva improved to 10-3 making 31 saves, while St. Germain turned aside 29 shots falling to 15-24-3.

The Hounds hit the road beginning a four-game road trip on Friday night in Memphis. Face-off is scheduled for 8:05 PM (EST).

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Central Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2006


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