Saints Earn 500th All-Time Victory in Overtime Win
November 22, 2024 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - The Dubuque Fighting Saints (14-5-0-0, 28 pts) scored in the final minute of overtime for the second-straight game to beat the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (5-10-1-1, 12 pts) 4-3 on Friday night and earn their 500th franchise Tier-I USHL win.
After squandering two leads in regulation, the Fighting Saints rushed up ice as Jan Špunar quickly started the Saints to center in the final minute of overtime. Matthew Desiderio took the pass and found Lucas Van Vliet on the right circle to blast his eighth of the season and win the 500th game in franchise history.
The Saints led 2-0 early in the second after a Josh Giuliani power-play goal late in the first and a Torkel Jennersjö tally early in the second period. Soon after Jennersjö's tally, however, the Saints allowed two unanswered goals by Cedar Rapids.
In the third period, Gavin Cornforth scored in transition for his eighth of the season on a quick wrister and the Saints led 3-2. Less than a minute later, the Riders fed a puck to the front of the Dubuque net that hit a Saint and bounced past Špunar to tie the game.
Špunar finished the night 28-31 and won his eighth game of the season for the Saints. Špunar made some big saves in the win, including a breakaway stop in the second period.
With their historic win, the Saints became the first team since 2010-11, their first season, to reach the 500-win mark. Only two other teams have 450-or-more wins and the Saints earned their 500th victory against the opponent they have beaten the most.
Friday's win was the Saints' 61st all-time win over the RoughRiders. On Saturday, the Saints will look for their 501st win against the opponent they have beaten the fourth-most times with 42, the Des Moines Buccaneers.
Saturday's game will be at home for the Fighting Saints and a post-game skate with the team will be held after the contest at ImOn Arena.
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