Sports stats



Polar Twins finish week battered and bruised

November 30, 2004 - SPHL (SPHL)
Winston-Salem Polar Twins News Release


The Winston-Salem Polar Twins endured a long week, playing four games in five days on the road (a total of five games in seven days dating back to last week) with only one win and a bunch of banged up players to show for it. Marcus Willy (shoulder), Troy Ilijow (concussion), and Graham Dearle (ankle) are all questionable for this Friday's game in Knoxville due to injuries sustained during the past week.

Tuesday night the Polar Twins visited the Macon Trax for the first time in team history, dropping the contest 3-2. Steve Lajoie and Shaun Aebig each had a goal and an assist in the loss. Steve Zoryk put Macon up only 45 seconds into the contest with his first of two on the night. Zoryk's second goal gave the Trax a 2-0 edge just over two minutes later. Lajoie pulled the Polar Twins within one in the third but Art Mnatsakanov responded with a power play tally to once again give Macon a two-goal lead. Aebig put the Polar Twins back into the game at the 17:16 mark of the third with his fourth of the season but it would not be enough as the Trax held on for their first home win of the season.

The Polar Twins traveled to Asheville on Wednesday night for a wild contest against the Aces. Janis Tomans' five point night, including a hat trick, lead the Aces past the Polar Twins by the score of 11-1. Chris Ferguson got the Aces on the board early in the first period at 1:45. The score stayed that way through one, giving the game the appearance of another close one but then the Aces came out flying in the second period. Peter Cermak scored at 1:46 to put Asheville up 2-0. Janis Tomans added the first of three on the night at 8:36. Richard Gustafsson closed the gap at 10:06 to make the score 3-1. From that point on, it was all Asheville. The Aces scored a pair to close out the second. In the third period, the Aces scored six goals, a season high, as Tomans completed his hat trick, followed by Dan Pszensczny's second goal of the night. The Aces dominated the period, outshooting the Polar-Twins 25-4, for a total of 60 shots on goal.

On Thanksgiving the Polar Twins managed to pull out a win in Huntsville, 3-2 in the first shootout in team and SPHL history. Captain Rhett Dudley put the Twins on the board at the 12:54 mark of the first period. Mike Degurse tied the game five minutes later for the Havoc. Chris Kovalcik gave the Polar Twins a 2-1 lead with a goal in the second period but Aaron Lewis answered for Huntsville to tie the game at 2-2. Shaun Aebig then scored on the fifth shot in the sudden death shootout to give the Winston-Salem Polar Twins a 3-2 win. Steve Howard and Jeff Dams scored in the shootout for Huntsville and Bill Cass and Steve Lajoie scored Winston-Salem.

After a day off on Friday, the Polar Twins tried to make it two straight for the first time this season but the Knoxville Ice Bears would have no part of it, defeating the Twins 9-2. The two teams traded goals early in the first, with K.C. Caudill netting one for Knoxville and Graham Dearle responding for Winston-Salem. Knoxville then went on to score seven straight goals before the Polar Twins could add another, an unassisted goal by Shaun Aebig that made it 8-2. Darren Cain capped the scoring for Knoxville with less than three minutes remaining in the game for the 9-2 final.

The Polar Twins have two more games left on this ten-game road swing before returning to the LJVM Annex on Thursday, December 9th at 7:30 p.m.

Calendar

Upcoming schedule of appearances, practices, games, and promotions

Practice: Tuesday – Thursday 10:00 a.m., Greensboro.

Upcoming Games

Friday, December 3 Winston-Salem Polar Twins @ Knoxville Ice Bears 7:30 p.m. Knoxville Civic Coliseum

Saturday, December 4 Winston-Salem Polar Twins @ Fayetteville FireAntz 7:35 p.m. Crown Coliseum

Upcoming Appearances*

Thursday, December 2

10:30 a.m.

Special Olympics Christmas Classic Youth Bowling Tournament

AMF Lanes 811 Jonestown Road, Winston-Salem

Captain Rhett Dudley and defenseman Chris Cloutier will be on hand along with PAWZ to present awards to the middle school division of this year's tournament.

Thursday, December 2

6:00-7:00 p.m.

Salem Open Indoor Mini-Golf

2101 Peters Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem

Everyone is welcome to catch all of the Winston-Salem Polar Twins for a round of great miniature golf. Collect autographs from your favorite players and shake hands with PAWZ, everyone's favorite polar bear.

Sunday, December 5

2:00-3:00 p.m. Borders bookstore autograph session

Borders 252 S. Stratford Road, Winston-Salem

Steve Lajoie, Trevor Karasiewicz, Chris Kovalcik, Richard Gustafsson, and Nathan Grobins will be on hand to sign autographs. Stop by Borders to pick up your favorite book and to meet the players.

*players appearing subject to change without notice

Transactions

Roster changes for the week

11/24/04 Waived G Scott Gouthro

11/24/04 Signed G Jomar Cruz

11/27/04 Signed F Troy Brummett to a three-game tryout

Aebig week despite losses

Shaun Aebig with three goals and an assist

Polar Twins forward Shaun Aebig netted four points this week (3G, 1A), including the game-winner in the shootout Thursday against Huntsville, to make him tops on the Winston-Salem roster with a total of 12 points on the season. The Rosthern, Saskatchewan native also had a goal and an assist against Macon on Tuesday and an unassisted goal at Knoxville on Saturday.

Other notable performances:

Nathan Grobins with 52 saves, including 25 in the third period alone, for a win Thursday night in Huntsville

Richard Gustafsson with three points (1G, 2A) and a point in three straight games

Chester Gallant with three assists

Chris Kovalcik with two points (1G, 1A)

Steve Lajoie with two points (1G, 1A)

Polar Twins Notes

Nuggets of knowledge from the statistic wizards at Pointstreak.com

Richard Gustafsson is tied for fourth in the SPHL with 50 shots in 13 games played (3.85 shots per game).

Three Polar Twins defensemen rank in the top 15 in defensive scoring: Marcus Willy (1G, 10A for 3rd), Rhett Dudley (2G, 4A for 7th), and Bill Cass (2G, 2A for T-12th).

Frank Burgio leads the SPHL in defensive shooting percentage, netting two goals on 11 shots for a .182 shooting percentage.

• Discuss this story on the SPHL message board...

SPHL Stories from November 30, 2004


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 Winston-Salem Polar Twins Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central