Hounds fall to Austin, 4-1

February 28, 2006 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Youngstown SteelHounds News Release


Youngstown, OH. - The Youngstown SteelHounds (20-30-4) couldn't solve the riddle that was Miroslav Kopriva as he turned aside 37 of 38 shots winning his ninth game in 12 decisions as the Austin Ice Bats (27-24-3) defeated the SteelHounds by a score of 4-1 firming their grasp on the third playoff spot jumping two points ahead of Rio Grande Valley. John McNabb scored a pair of goals, while Joey Sewell scored the only goal of the night for the Hounds.

As was the case in the Bossier-Shreveport series, the Hounds had a little trouble killing penalties as the Ice Bats took advantage of their second power play chance by scoring the game's first goal. Jeff Neufeld jumped around a Youngstown defender and knocked a weak backhand under David St. Germain for his 10th goal of the season. The assists were credited to Darryl McArthur and Julius Halfkenny. Youngstown outshot the Ice Bats 16-13 in the first period as Minnesota Wild draft pick Miroslav Kopriva stopped all 16 shots he faced and St. Germain turned away 12 of 13.

The Ice Bats got off to a great start in the second period scoring twice in the first 4:25. The first goal came from Dan Carney at the 2:19 mark scoring his seventh goal of the season assisted by Gerald Tallaire and Aaron Davis. Austin went on the power play shortly after and shortly after used a John McNabb goal, his 26th of the season, to extend their lead to 3-0. Austin outshot the Hounds 15-9 holding a two period total lead of 28-25.

The Hounds appeared primed for a comeback in the third period cutting the lead to 3-1 after a Joey Sewell power play goal (his 13th goal in his 13th game with the Hounds and 15th goal of the season. Jeff Christian and Chris Richards drew the assists. The helper for Richards extended his league-long assist streak to 14 straight games (20 assists over that stretch). Austin put the final nail in the coffin at the 9:14 mark with McNabb scoring his second of the game of a rebound counting as his 27th of the year.

Miroslav Kopriva made 37 saves in the game improving to 9-3-0 on the season, while David St. Germain turned aside 34 shots dropping to 15-23-3. Each team finished the game with 38 shots on goal.

The Hounds and Bats will do it again tomorrow night at the Chevrolet Centre with face-off scheduled for 7:05 PM.



Central Hockey League Stories from February 28, 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