
Ice Chips
March 30, 2014 - Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) News Release
Danbury Wins the Federal Hockey League Regular Season Title on Late Goal
(Dayton, Ohio) With one game left in the regular season, after 50 plus games played between the first week of November and tonight the Federal Hockey League's regular season title came down to the last game of the season.
Tonight the Dayton Demonz and Danbury Whalers battled for 60 minutes of intense hockey. A game that saw Danbury take a 2-0 lead early in the 2nd period and Dayton tie the game 2-2 before the period would end. Danbury would score the game winner with 2 minutes to play in regulation and pull out a 3-2 victory. With the win the Whalers capture the regular season title, and more importantly get a bye in the first round of the play-offs, and play for the Federal Hockey League Championship. Dayton will face the Watertown Privateers in a best of five game play-off series. The winner will take on the Whalers for the Commissioner's Cup.
Both teams came out flying this evening knowing everything was on the line. Early in the 1st period, both teams exchanged great scoring opportunities with Danbury's goaltender Mike Brown and Dayton's goaltender Matt Kinsella coming up with big saves. Danbury would eventually take control of the period, and draw first blood off a Dayton turnover, with Rob Dongara's slap shot inside the Demonz blue line at 5:14 to take a 1-0 lead at the end of first period.
Just a minute into the 2nd period, with Dayton breaking out of their zone, Danbury took advantage of another Demonz turnover to take a 2-0 lead, as Whaler David Lun intercepted an errant Demonz pass, skating alone on Demonz goalie Kinsella, putting it into the Dayton net.
The Demonz for most of the first and early in the second period struggled on their defensive play. They began to tighten things up; the result was stronger in zone plan, smaller gaps between the defensemen and forward which allowed for easier breakout passes and cleaner exits out of the zone.
Ahmed Mahfouz of the Demonz scored Dayton's first goal of the game at the 6:16 mark, cutting into Danbury lead 2-1. A face-off in the Danbury zone won by Trevor Karasiewicz went to back to Mahfouz at the point, and sent a slap shot into the Danbury net.
Dayton took control of the 2nd period after Mahfouz goal, pressuring Danbury with strong puck possession while out working the Whalers. Demonz forward Roger Tagoona would tie the game at 2-2, five minutes later. Tagoona carried the puck out of the Demonz zone making a nifty move into the Danbury zone, using a Whaler defenseman as a screen, ripping a shot past Danbury's goaltender Mike Brown at the 10:11 mark. Dayton would carry the play for the rest of the period and well into the 3rd period.
In the game's final 7 minutes the Whalers began to pressure Dayton in their zone. Again the Demonz had problems clearing the puck out of their zone, and creating turnovers. With less than 2 minutes to play in regulation, Ryan Patsch of the Whalers won a critical face off deep in the Demonz zone, a couple of seconds later he was able to score the game winner from the left slot.
Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from March 30, 2014
- Ice Chips - FPHL
- Demonz fall 3-2 - Dayton Demonz
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