Sports stats



Ice Dogs Eliminate Defending Champs

April 18, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Long Beach Ice Dogs News Release


BOISE, Idaho – The Long Beach Ice Dogs (3-1) sent a message Sunday night, defeating the Idaho Steelheads (1-3) by a score a 7-2 in Boise, while advancing to the West Division Finals by eliminating the defending Kelly Cup Champions. After three straight games that were very close, the Ice Dogs erupted with an offensive outburst that left their opponents in the dust.

The Ice Dogs got things started just 3:45 into the game, when Evan Cheverie scored unassisted. Chris Kenady made it 2-0 Long Beach, with an assist by Cheverie on the power play at 8:01. In the second period, Christian Larrivee scored with an assist to Kenady to give the Ice Dogs a 3-0 lead heading into the final frame.

The Ice Dogs continued to pour it on in the third, as Kenady again struck just 19 seconds into the period on the power play. Matt Noga then scored unassisted and Michael Lambert scored twice to give the Ice Dogs a 7-0 lead. Idaho eventually got on the board with less than five minutes to go in the game with goals by David Bararuk and Peter Metcalf, but it was too little too late as the best-of-five series was ended in Game 4.

Sebastien Centomo played a strong game in goal for Long Beach, making 33 saves and having his shutout bid stopped late in the third period. Frank Doyle made 17 saves, before being replaced by Matt Yeats in the final 7:02. Long Beach was an impressive 3-5 on the power play, while stopping all three of Idaho's chances with the man advantage. This season marks the first time since 2001 that the Ice Dogs have advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

The Ice Dogs will await the winner of the Alaska / Bakersfield series to find out their next opponent. The series is currently tied at two games apiece with the deciding game being played tomorrow night in Anchorage. For more information on tickets to upcoming playoff games, call (562) ICE-DOGS or visit www.icedogs.com.

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from April 18, 2005


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