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So close yet so far for the Twins

March 15, 2005 - SPHL (SPHL)
Winston-Salem Polar Twins News Release


Thursday, March 10 v. Macon: Lou Dimasi scored with seven seconds remaining in the game to lift the Macon Trax to a 5-4 victory over the Winston-Salem Polar Twins Thursday night at LJVM Coliseum Annex.

Edan Welch got Macon on the board at 5:38 of the first period. Rick Nichol made the initial save but the rebound squirted out into the slot where Welch collected the puck and buried it for his 23rd goal of the season and a 1-0 Trax lead.

Graham Dearle tied the game 4:23 into the second frame. Steve Lajoie fed Dearle who skated unmolested down the left wing side and wristed a shot over the glove of Mark Cairns for the 1-1 game.

Corey Dean put the Twins ahead 2-1 less than a minute later with his first goal in a Winston-Salem uniform and his third overall this season. Trevor Jobe connected with Marcus Willy on the cross-ice pass. Willy quickly dished the puck to Dean in the slot who deflected the puck past Cairns for the lead.

Lajoie picked up one of his own for a 3-1 Winston-Salem lead. Trevor Karasiewicz found Lajoie open at the right wing post and Lajoie just redirected the puck for his 11th goal of the season. With the assist, Karasiewicz extended his point scoring and assist streaks to seven games.

Macon came back with two more goals to tie the game 3-3. First it was Ryan Rivard who took advantage of an open net to drive home his 16th goal of the season. Steve Zoryk then tied the game, capitalizing on a Polar Twins turnover and shoveling the puck over a sprawling Nichol for his 31st goal of the season.

Late in the third period, the Polar Twins found themselves on their fourth power play of the game. Shaun Peet's shot from the point was blocked by Cairns but the rebound came loose to Shaun Aebig who stuffed the puck between the pads of Cairns for the 4-3 lead.

The Polar Twins could not hold on, however, as Macon scored the tying goal on a delayed call with the extra attacker on to tie the game. The Trax killed the Twins hope for an overtime bid with a goal by Dimasi with seven seconds remaining in the game to lift the Trax to the 5-4 victory.

Friday, March 11 at Jacksonville: Jason Silverthorn scored with 34 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Jacksonville Barracudas to a 6-5 victory over the Winston-Salem Polar Twins Friday night at Jacksonville Memorial Arena. Jacksonville's Brent Rumble was the game's high scorer with four points (2 goals, 2 assists).

Corey Dean put Winston-Salem on top only 2:10 into the game with his second goal in as many nights. Shaun Peet was credited with the assist on the play, his first of three points (1 goal, 2 assists) on the night.

Silverthorn's first goal of the game tied things up at the 8:02 mark of the first period. Less than two minutes later, Greg Lecolst followed with his 16th goal of the season to put the ‘Cudas up 2-1.

Shawn Breaker would add a goal – his first as a Polar Twin and second of the season – to tie the game 2-2 heading into the second frame.

With Jacksonville on the power play, B.J. Stephens tallied his 15th goal of the season to put Jacksonville on top once again at 3-2.

The see saw battle would continue as the Polar Twins came back with two of their own for a 4-3 score in favor of Winston-Salem. First it was Graham Dearle, scoring his 11th goal of the season at 8:08 of the second to tie things 3-3. Peet tallied his goal less than three minutes later for the Polar Twin lead.

Two goals by Brent Rumble to close out the middle frame put the ‘Cudas up 5-4 heading into the final period.

In the third, Winston-Salem tied the game 5-5 with less than three minutes remaining on Rhett Dudley's ninth goal of the season.

The Polar Twins could not hold on to send the game to overtime as they allowed Silverthorn to tally his second goal of the game with 34 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the ‘Cudas over the Twins 6-5.

Randy Hevey made 48 saves on 54 shots against his former club in his first appearance in net for Winston-Salem after being acquired today off of waivers. Tyler Nilsson registered 23 saves on 28 shots for his 10th win of the season.

Saturday, March 12 v. Huntsville: Chris Affinati had his first two-goal game since going pro but it would not be enough as the Huntsville Havoc won on a questionable penalty shot in overtime 7-6.

With the game tied 6-6 in overtime, the Polar Twins were charged with a penalty for too many men on the ice. However, instead of awarding Huntsville a 4-on-3 power play, the referee awarded the Havoc a penalty shot, which Josh Liebenow took advantage of, beating Rick Nichol for the 7-6 victory.

It was a high-scoring first period with a total of eight goals scored and a 4-4 tie heading into the first intermission. Luke Phillips got the scoring barrage started only 2:07 into the game after Huntsville controlled the opening minutes of play. Jeff Dams collected the puck from behind the net and connected with Phillips who was wide open in the slot for his ninth goal of the season.

Winston-Salem tied the game 3 minutes, 41 seconds later when Graham Dearle made a strong lead pass to Trevor Jobe who broke into the Huntsville zone behind the Havoc defense and beat Adam MacLean for his sixth goal of the season and a 1-1 game.

Huntsville regained the lead, scoring two goals in less than a minute for a 3-1 Huntsville advantage. Jason Simon's one-timer from the left wing side put the Havoc up 2-1 at 7:53 of the period. Mike Degurse's 20th goal of the season then gave Huntsville the two-goal cushion at the 8:46 mark.

The Polar Twins would not be held down, however, as Affinati tallied two goals in 26 seconds for a 3-3 game. Both goals came from the slot in front of MacLean, giving Affinati a total of four goals on the season.

Trevor Karasiewicz put the Polar Twins out in front at 4-3 at the 13:54 mark of the first. Karasiewicz used his speed to loop around the back of the net and backhand a shot that caught MacLean out of position for the lead.

The see saw battle continued as Huntsville's Doug Merrell would add one more before the close of the opening frame to tie the game 4-4.

Huntsville tallied the only goal of the second period, a screen shot by Merrell that was just out of the reach of Nichol, making the score 5-4 in favor of Huntsville heading into the third.

In the third period, Shaun Aebig tied things up for the Polar Twins, tallying his team-leading 25th goal of the season at 7:30 of the period.

Steve Lajoie made it 6-5 Winston-Salem on a shorthanded goal at the 13:23 mark. MacLean mishandled the puck behind the net, turning it over to Lajoie who made quick work of the open net for his 12th goal of the season.

Calendar

Upcoming schedule of appearances, practices, games, and promotions

Practice: Tuesday thru Thursday 9:30-11:00 a.m.

Pre-game skate: Friday & Saturday 9:30-11:00 a.m.

Upcoming Games

Thursday, March 17 Polar Twins @ Fayetteville FireAntz 7:35 p.m. Crown Coliseum

Friday, March 18 Jacksonville Barracudas @ Polar Twins 7:30 p.m. LJVM Coliseum Annex

Saturday, March 19 Asheville Aces @ Polar Twins 7:30 p.m. LJVM Coliseum Annex

Community Participation

On Monday, March 21st, the Winston-Salem Polar Twins and Wilshire Golf Club will host a post-season golf tournament for sponsors and fans beginning at 1:00 p.m. Registration forms are available at all Polar Twins home games or through the Polar Twins front office.

The event is free to all sponsors from the 2004-05 season. Fans can join the tournament for $50, which includes green fees, cart, food, and beverage. The format will be a four-man "best ball" scramble and each group will include at least one Polar Twins player.

Wilshire Golf Club is located at 1570 Bridgeton Road off Peters Creek Parkway South in Winston-Salem. The 18-hole course is open to the public and is perfect for golfers of all ability.

Spaces are limited in this special tournament and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information contact the Polar Twins office at (336) 724-1011 or pick up your registration form at any of the final Polar Twins home games a Joel Coliseum Annex.

Upcoming Promotions

As the Polar Twins close out their inaugural season this weekend, fans will have the opportunity to win special prizes and participate in special events during Fan Appreciation Weekend March 18 & 19. All fans that fill out a Polar Twins survey are eligible for prizes. Surveys can be obtained at all Polar Twins home games or by stopping by the Polar Twins office located inside LJVM Coliseum Annex.

Transactions

Roster changes for the week

03/15/05 DEL Hevey, Randy (G) waived

03/11/05 ADD Hevey, Randy (G) signed contract

Lucky Seven

Six More Points for Lajoie

Steve Lajoie has contributed his share of points this season but ever since changing his number from the familiar 10 to 7, the Winnipeg, Manitoba native has been on fire. Last week, Lajoie added six more points to his total, including a goal and an assist against Macon on Thursday, an assist in Jacksonville on Friday, and a goal and two assists on Saturday against Huntsville. For the season, he has tallied 39 points on the season (12 goals, 27 assists), good for third on the team in scoring.

Notable performances:

Graham Dearle – 2 goals, 4 assists in three games last week, including first goal since February 18

Corey Dean – 2 goals, 1 assist over three games, including his first goal in a Polar Twins uniform

Shaun Aebig – 2 goals, 2 assists in three games

Team leaders

Games Played Shaun Aebig – 53 games

Points Shaun Aebig – 55 points (25G, 30A)

Goals Shaun Aebig – 25 goals

Assists Trevor Karasiewicz – 40 assists

Power Play Goals Shaun Aebig – 8 PPG

Shorthanded Goals T- Shaun Aebig, Trevor Karasiewicz, Steve Lajoie – 1 SHG

Penalty Minutes Chris Affinati – 167 PIM

Shots Shaun Aebig – 156 shots

Game-Winning Goals Shaun Aebig – 3 GWG

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