Keller Doubles Up On Knoxville
Published on December 21, 2006 under SPHL (SPHL)
Florida Seals News Release
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The contrast between the two teams on the ice at the Silver Spurs Arena Thursday night couldn't be starker. Or surprising.
Behind the second consecutive two goal game by Justin Keller and yet another solid performance by Matt Balser in net, the host Florida Seals convincingly defeated the Knoxville Ice Bears 5-1 for their fifth win in the last six games.
"I've just kind of been getting the bounces here," Keller said. "For a little while, we were struggling a bit as a team and guys needed to pick up their game. That's what we've done here down the stretch a little bit and things have been going our way lately."
The visiting Ice Bears entered the game having lost five consecutive games, very uncharacteristic for the defending league champs. Up until the mid point of the first period, things were quiet.
That all changed when Florida struck first. Just as a power play was ending, Craig Miller sent a cross ice pass to Dan Pszenyczny who fed Keller in the bottom of the circle. He moved out and whistled a wrist shot over the glove shoulder of Knoxville goalie Terry Dunbar for a 1-0 Seals lead. Dunbar held the Ice Bears in the game as Florida out-shot the visitors by a 15-6 margin.
The two teams seemed to have decided between periods that the second stanza would be an old fashioned shoot-out. This worked to the Seals' advantage as they won the shot clock battle and the scoring war.
It started at 3:33 of the period when Florida converted a man advantage. Lawne Snyder found a seam in the defense and sent a cross ice pass to Steve Zoryk who had a wide open net to shoot at for the goal. A little over three minutes later, Tim Vitek and Rob Sich combined to set up Chad Haacke who jammed the puck past Dunbar.
That goal ended the night for Dunbar who was replaced by Ervins Mustukovs in net. He fared little better as at the 12:40 mark, Keller took a cross ice feed from Ryan Coghlan and sailed it into the top corner for another power play goal and a 4-0 lead. Knoxville finally got on the board in the final seconds of the period as Bob Rangus tipped in a Curtis Menzul shot for a power play goal that cut the margin to 4-1 after two.
"We're really struggling right now. We're going to have to find a way to dig ourselves out of this hole we've gotten ourselves into," Knoxville Coach Jim Bermingham said. "There's still a lot of hockey left to be played this year but we definitely need to turn this ship around pretty soon."
As the Seals' lead had grown, the chippy play started. Knoxville was getting more and more frustrated. Balser, starting his seventh consecutive game, added to that when he stopped Aaron Lewis on a clean break-in early in the third. Coghlan added the final nail when he got loose on a break and blasted a shot past Mustukovs for Florida's third power play goal of the night. For the game, Balser stopped 30 shots in posting his seventh victory.
"Knoxville worked hard. They're in a bit of a rut right now," Seals Coach Tommy Stewart said. "They're having a tough time scoring goals. We're just the opposite. We're scoring lots of goals. It was a good win for us."
The Seals don't have any time to rest. They come right back to the Silver Spurs Arena Friday night when the Richmond Renegades pay a pre-holiday visit. Game time is set for 7:35 p.m.
SPHL Stories from December 21, 2006
- Keller Doubles Up On Knoxville - Florida Seals
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