New Mexico Escapes with 5-4 Win, Ties Series at 2-2

April 4, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Arizona Sundogs News Release


RIO RANCHO, New Mexico - Owners of a 2-1 series lead, the Arizona Sundogs squared off against the New Mexico Scorpions in Game 4 of their best-of-7 Southern Conference semifinal series Friday night at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Arizona trailed 5-1 with less than eight minutes to play and used three-straight goals to pull to within one in the closing minutes but the comeback effort fell short as the Scorpions escaped with the 5-4 win. The duo of Urquhart and Alex Leavitt connected Friday night with each extending their respective scoring streaks. Urquhart found the back of the net for the 14-straight game and Leavitt extended his point streak to 21 games with a pair of assists.

New Mexico fought off two Arizona power plays early on in Game 4 Friday night and used goals separated by just 22 seconds to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Rookie forward Dominic Osman collected his third goal of the postseason on passes from Mitch Stephens and Erik Johnson to give his club a 1-0 lead at 13:00 of the opening frame. Craig Macdonald followed the Osman tally with his third goal of the series less than a minute later, deflecting a centering pass past Sundogs netminder Marco Emond. Konrad Reeder and Blair Stayzer were credited with assists on the play, giving their club a two-goal lead. With just under five minutes to play in the first period, tempers flared between both clubs as Arizona's Matt Suderman and New Mexico's Shawn Skiehar exchanged punches. Despite trailing by a 2-0 mark, the Sundogs outshot the Scorpions by a 10-8 in the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Scorpions started the second period with a 5-on-4 power play after a late-first period elbowing penalty on amateur Kyle Hood. Aaron MacInnis took advantage and tallied his third goal of the playoffs to give New Mexico a 3-0 lead 42 seconds in. MacInnis gathered a pass from Reeder and sent a slap shot from the point past Emond. Arizona cut the deficit to 3-1 with its first power play goal of the game at 2:33 of the middle stanza. Cory Urquhart lifted a one-time pass from Alex Leavitt over Andrew Martin for his seventh goal of the series. Veteran defenseman Chris Bartolone also registered an assist on the play for his third point of the postseason. New Mexico regained a three-goal cushion just shy of the halfway point as the pairing of Reeder and Macdonald skated in 2-on-1. Macdonald delayed before sending a pass to Reeder who pushed the pass home for his second of the game. New Mexico held a 25-17 advantage in shots after two period of play.

New Mexico pushed its lead to 5-1 at the third period's 12:24 mark with its second power play goal of the night. Stephens beat Emond for his first goal and second point of the game from Reeder and Macdonald. Trailing 5-1 with less than eight minutes to play, Arizona would tally three-straight goals to pull to within one. The Sundogs answered back 16 seconds after the Stephens marker as Karl Sellan notched his first goal of the postseason, pushing a loose puck through Martin's legs to make the score 5-2. Tyler Liebel assisted on the play for his second helper of the series. While skating 5-on-4, Jon Landry collected passes from Bartolone and Leavitt and sent a one-timer from the blue line and past Martin to pull his club to within two with 4:55 to play in regulation. Arizona continued its comeback effort to pull to within one as Tyler Liebel received a pass from Hood and snuck behind the New Mexico defense to skate in one-on-one against Martin. Liebel out-maneuvered Martin and lifted a forehand shot into the net for his second point and first goal of the game with less than tree minutes to play in the game. Landry also notched an assist on the play for his second point on the night. Head Coach and General Manager Marco Pietroniro pulled netminder Emond in favor of an extra attacker but the effort fell short as New Mexico escaped with the 5-4 win.

Marco Emond appeared in net for Arizona and stopped 27 of 32 shots in the loss while Andrew Martin blocked 23 of 27 shots to improve to 1-1 this postseason. Both clubs converted on 2-of-7 power play chances Friday night.

Game 5 is set for tomorrow night at 6:15pm (Arizona time) at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The game can be heard live on 96.7 FM The Wolf, the Official Broadcast Home of the Arizona Sundogs.

With the series tied 2-2, Game 6 is now necessary and will be played on Monday, April 7 at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley at 7:05pm. Tickets for Games 6 and 7 are available for purchase by credit card only at 1-866-4-GET-TIX (1-866-443-8849), www.gettix.net and at the Tim's Toyota Center Box Office.



Central Hockey League Stories from April 4, 2008


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