Spirit win pair on road, then drop New Year's tilt
January 6, 2005 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Alaska Avalanche News Release
The Spirit came back from the Christmas break to only go back on the road, traveling to Central Texas for the last meeting of the season with the Marshals.
The Spirit came out hard in the first, jumping to a 2-0 lead with goals from Andy Sternberg and Mike Janda. However, midway through the second, the Marshals battled back by scoring three straight goals to take the lead.
The Spirit did not sit back and Ben Boulay tied the game up 3-3 and Adam Smith regained the lead with an unassisted goal. Sean Erickson kept the scoring going early in the third to give the Spirit a 5-3 lead. Central Texas scored late in the game, but goaltender Shaun Williams was able to starve off any chance the Marshals had of tying the game. Williams ended up with 36 saves.
The Spirit then traveled to Wichita Falls where they won 5-2. With under ten minutes left, the Spirit were leading 3-2, helped in large part by Mike Janda's two goals. Mike Glaesmer then added two empty net goals late in the game helping the Spirit preserve the lead. Jeremiah Crowe and Reed Lally each contributed a pair of assists. Andrew Volkening stopped 25 of 27 shots for the Spirit
The Spirit finished 2004 with a 4-0 record against the Wildcats. However, 2005 brought their first loss to the Wildcats. On New Year's Day, the Wildcats outplayed the Spirit for most of the game in defeating them 4-2. Wichita Falls started off the scoring with two goals on the power play in the second period. They added one more in the third to take a 3-0 lead. Adam Smith got the Spirit on the board with a great individual effort, sliding the puck through the legs of goaltender Tom Billick. Jeff Dimmen brought the Spirit within one with his first Junior A goal. The Spirit built on the momentum by creating a few great scoring chances. The save of the game came late in the third as Billick made a stop on Matt Staehely from his butt with his stick behind the net. The Spirit saw their hopes disappear on a questionable icing call, easing up waiting for a whistle and letting the âCats get to the puck and score on Andrew Volkening. Volkening kept the Spirit in the game all night. He finished with 39 saves in the 4-2 loss.
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North American Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2005
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