Ice Flyers Fall to Louisiana 4-2 in Battle for First
November 27, 2013 - SPHL (SPHL)
Pensacola Ice Flyers News Release
PENSACOLA, FL. (November 27, 2013) - The Pensacola Ice Flyers came into tonight's game with the Louisiana IceGators with a shot at taking sole possession of first place in the SPHL. Unfortunately for Pensacola, Louisiana came out with a 4-2 win.
The Ice Flyers came out strong in the first period and it paid off 9:51 into the frame when Brett Lutes scored. He beat Louisiana's Matt Zenzola who was committed to the right side of the crease and Lutes ripped it into the open net. The goal came unassisted. Lutes' linemate Ryan Salvis made it 2-0 just 1:12 later. After some beautiful tic-tac-toe passing found Salvis in the slot, he shot the puck on net and it ended up behind Zenzola. Drew Baker and Lutes got the helpers.
Louisiana fought back and took the lead with three goals in the second period. The first came 5:25 into the period from Jake Trask. The IceGators made it 2-2 when a shot by Jeremy Boyer barely squeaked through after Peter Di Salvo made the initial save. Louisiana took the 3-2 lead with just 42.8 left in the period when Matt Robertson scored an unassisted goal.
Unfortunately for the Ice Flyers, Di Salvo was forced to leave the game with an injury. Johnny Griggs came into the game with 11:43 remaining. The score remained 3-2 until the Ice Flyers were awarded a power play with 51.7 seconds left. Coach Aldoff made the decision to pull Griggs and in order to skate 6-on-4. Louisiana's Tyler Lyon picked up the puck, passed to Clark Byczynski, and then Byczynski shot the puck into the empty net to secure the game with a shorthanded goal.
Di Salvo stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faced and Griggs stopped all 7 shots he faced. Lutes was named the third star of the night.
The Ice Flyers' next game will be Friday when they travel to Lafayette, Louisiana and take on these same IceGators. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Central.
SPHL Stories from November 27, 2013
- IceGators Beat IceFlyers to Take SPHL Lead - Louisiana IceGators
- Ice Flyers Fall to Louisiana 4-2 in Battle for First - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Surge High Voltage Play Proves Too Much for RiverKings - Mississippi Surge
- Peoria Signs Familiar Face in Net - Peoria Rivermen
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