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USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints

Saints Stay Perfect at Home, Beat Des Moines 4-1 Friday

November 22, 2013 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release


DUBUQUE, IA- Jason Ford scored his team leading sixth goal, and the Dubuque Fighting Saints used home ice advantage to move to a perfect 8-0-0 at the Mystique Community Ice Center this season with a 4-1 victory over the Des Moines Buccaneers Friday night. Phil Boje, Karson Kuhlman, and Brett Boeing also scored for Dubuque, and former Des Moines netminder Christian Frey kicked aside 24 shots for the Fighting Saints in the victory.

A hard week of practice helped Dubuque buckle down and capture a victory over Des Moines. The Fighting Saints were able to get the all important first goal of the game less than five minutes into the opening period. With Dubuque on the powerplay, Jason Ford tallied his first of two points on the evening. Assist leader Dylan Gambrell sent the puck across to Jarrid Privitera. His pass was deflected in front to Ford, who fired a shot past a surprised Des Moines goaltender to make it 1-0 Fighting Saints.

Just behind Ford for the team lead in goals is defenseman Phil Boje, and the second year Fighting Saint got in on the scoring act in the second period. Ford again factored in, working the puck to Boje at the blueline. He let a wrist shot go that found its way through traffic and under goaltender Billy Christopoulos' arm to make it 2-0 Dubuque. The goal was Boje's fifth of the season and was his first non-powerplay tally. The goal came at 6:10 of the second period.

The Fighting Saints extended the lead to 3-0, or so they thought, a few minutes later. Seamus Malone danced around Christopoulos and looked to slide the puck into the vacated net. As the celebration began, the referee claimed the puck never crossed the goal line. Upon review, it appeared a Des Moines defenseman swept the puck off the goal line.

Minutes later, Malone got revenged as he helped setup Kuhlman for a goal that did in fact count. Malone walked out from behind the goal and fired a shot that the netminder stopped, but the rebound popped right to Kuhlman on the left wing. For the second straight game Kuhlman struck, making it 3-0 at 14:31 of the third period. Brett Boeing also picked up an assist.

A third period goal from Patrick Grasso of Des Moines at the 6:29 mark of the third period made the game close, but Dubuque was able to keep Des Moines off the board and Boeing added an empty net goal with 19.8 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Frey improved to 9-2-0 in goal with the win. The netminder was helped by his goal posts as Des Moines hit the post and crossbar several time during the evening. However, Frey also made several dazzling saves, including sweeping his glove behind him and snatching a shot destined for the net in the first period.

Dubuque outshot Des Moines 38-25 on the evening. The Fighting Saints were 1-for-3 on the powerplay while Des Moines was 0-for-2.

Tomorrow the Fighting Saints travel to Chicago to try to break a streak of four straight Saturday night road loss. Puck drop is slated for just after 7 p.m. and the game can be heard on Super Hits 106.1 FM. The Fighting Saints host the Steel for their next home game on Wednesday, November 27. The Fighting Saints host their annual game the night before Thanksgiving at 7:35 p.m. The evening is a TH Family Four Pack night. Fans can score a great deal with four tickets, four sodas, and four slices of Dominos Pizza, as well as two Kids Zone vouchers, starting at just $48. Tickets are available at DubuqueFightingSaints.com by using promo code "family" or by calling 563.583.6880.

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United States Hockey League Stories from November 22, 2013


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