Sports stats



James Robbins Solid Throughout for Brewster in Win over Berlin

March 18, 2016 - Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL)
Brewster Bulldogs News Release


BREWSTER - For the past couple of weeks, Brewster goalie James Robbins has been under the weather.

Despite being unable to shake a particularly nasty ongoing cold, the netminder has stayed focused and kept himself in shape as his team has been fighting for their playoff lives.

"I don't know what's going around right now, but I've been battling it and trying to get better," he said. "It's kind of deep in the lungs, having a hard time catching my breath."

With the Bulldogs desperately needing points and struggling early against Berlin on Thursday, Robbins stood his ground when his team needed him the most. He made 30 saves to keep his team in the game and in the end, his teammates returned the favor with a strong third period for a 4-2 win.

"He's been huge for us all season, and the last seven games, he's been turning it on," Brewster forward Dustin Jesseau said. "He's been phenomenal. He's been standing on his head, bailing us out of some big situations."

Berlin outshot Brewster 17-8 in the first period, and got a goal from Tyler Prendergast at the 6:26 mark to take the lead.

With 1:13 left before the first intermission, Berlin's Nicholas Wright took an offensive zone penalty, and 11 seconds later, Jesseau scored to even the score.

"It settled things down a bunch, everything was a lot more calm after that," Jesseau said. "We went into the dressing room, took a deep breath and went back out there. We decided to play the way we play, which is dump-and-chase, work hard and do the simple things."

Less than three minutes into the second period, Berlin took the lead back on a goal from Tom Tracy, who slammed home a rebound off of a shot from Stephen Gallo. Two minutes later, however, Jesseau got a breakaway. He was stopped by Berlin goalie Ryan Donovan, but Jesseau got the puck back in the corner and banked a pass off of teammate Alex Johnson into the net to tie the score.

Brewster picked up its play in the third period, and with 14:35 left in the game, Jan Salak deflected a shot from Nicolai Oklolbistyn past Donovan to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game.

In the dying minutes, Berlin pulled its goalie and hemmed Brewster in its own end, but with 22 seconds left, the Bulldogs managed to break out of their own end and got an empty-net goal from John Scully to seal the win.

"We may have only played a period and won us a game," Brewster head coach David Lun said. "Our goalie played big. He gave us a chance to win, which we did for him."

With the win, Brewster improved to an 11-25-4-8 record for 49 points, tying them with fifth-place Dayton, which lost its game to Port Huron on the same night.

"It's getting to the end of the season, and we really want to get a playoff spot here and make a run for the championship," Robbins said. "You got to be competitive every single day, even on recovery days. Staying mentally tough is one of the biggest things."

With the top four teams in the Federal Hockey League qualifying for the playoffs, Brewster has to keep winning and hoping the teams ahead of them, namely Dayton and fourth-place Berlin, lose.

The Bulldogs have eight games left, and will host third-place Port Huron on Friday night.

"Every game has been a must-win, or at least get a point; we've been in that mode for over a month," Lun said. "We got to keep this momentum going, our destiny is within our hands."

Mike Zannella, one of the team's best forwards who also recently returned from a stint in the Southern Professional Hockey League, suffered a lower-body injury against Dayton last Sunday. He was placed on the seven-day injured reserve list, and there is no timetable for his return.

• Discuss this story on the Federal Prospects Hockey League message board...

Federal Prospects Hockey League Stories from March 18, 2016


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.

Other Recent Brewster Bulldogs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central