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USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints

New Defender Sparks Saints to 3-1 Win at Des Moines

January 10, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release


URBANDALE, IA- Karson Kuhlman had three points, new edition Josh Elmes scored the game-winning goal, and Ben Johansson stopped 39 shots to propel the Dubuque Fighting Saints to a 3-1 win over Des Moines at the Buccaneer Arena Friday night.

Alexx Privitera opened the scoring on an odd-bounce seven minutes into the game. With Dubuque maintaining an offensive cycle, Eric Robinson worked the puck back to Privitera on the right point. The Dubuque defender fired a slapshot from the blue line that hit a Des Moines forward's stick and lobbed up into the air. With Des Moines goaltender Ryan Ruck down on the ice, the puck landed up and over him, falling into the goal to give the elder Privitera his sixth goal of the season at 7:16.

The Buccaneers would get a fortunate bounce of their own just over seven minutes later to tie the game. Dubuque goaltender Johansson, making his third straight start, made a number of strong saves on shots from the low slot. After Johansson shrugged a Ryan Galt shot off with his left shoulder, the puck flipped up into the air, hit and body, and trickled just inches over the goal line to make it 1-1. Michael Marnell was awarded the goal at 14:57.

Friday marked the Dubuque debut of defender Josh Elmes who was acquired Monday in a trade from Fargo. Elmes made quite the first impression. Early in the second period, Dubuque rushed up ice in an odd-man rush. Kuhlman left the puck for Elmes in the high slot, and he wristed a shot that beat Ruck on the blocker side to make it 2-1. The goal was Elmes' second of the season.

Dubuque would add to its lead as Kuhlman notched his 10th goal of the season at 13:26 of the second period. Blake Hillman got the puck at the left point and wristed a shot towards the Des Moines net. The shot was blocked, but bounced to Kuhlman who made no mistake, roofing a shot over Ruck's glove to make it 3-1 Fighting Saints.

Both goaltenders stood tall for the rest of the period as Johansson made numerous stops, including several fantastic pad saves on a Des Moines powerplay. On the other side of things, Ruck denied Dubuque's Shane Kavanagh on a penalty shot with under two minutes to play in the second period.

The third period saw the fantastic goaltending continue. Both goaltender denied shot after shot, and Johansson kicked aside 17 more Des Moines shots to preserve the win.

Dubuque was 0-for-4 on the powerplay while Des Moines was 0-for-5. Ruck stopped 39 shots in the loss. The Fighting Saints improve to 18-10-1 on the season. Johansson is now 2-0-0 through his first three starts.

The Fighting Saints travel to Des Moines Friday night before returning home Saturday evening to host the Green Bay Gamblers at 7:05 p.m. That evening will be A Night of "One-Stoppable Fun" presented by One-Stop Tax and Accounting Services. The first 1,000 fans get a Fighting Saints Wristband, and there will be a special warm-up jersey auction with proceeds benefiting the University of Iowa Children's Hospital. Fans are also encouraged to visit DubuqueFightingSaints.com for a list of items to bring to Saturday's game to help the University of Iowa Children's Hospital. Tickets are available by calling 563.583.6880 or by visiting DubuqueFightingSaints.com.

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