Third-Period Flurry Sends Saints Marching to Victory
March 17, 2016 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Heading into the night, the Dubuque Fighting Saints and the Bloomington Thunder were separated by just two points in the standings. The Fighting Saints pulled away late with four unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 win over the Thunder on Thursday night at the Mystique Community Ice Center. The win snapped Bloomington's seven-game winning streak.
Following a momentum-shifting Shane Kavanagh scrap halfway through the third period, the Fighting Saints' offense clicked. Three minutes after the penalties were assessed, Casey Johnson fired a slap shot from the blue line off of a Zach Solow drop pass to tie the game at two.
Bloomington had taken the lead twice prior in the game, first on a power play goal by Jake Slaker, answered by a second-period goal by Willie Knierim, and secondly on a power play goal from Patrick Curry, answered eventually by Johnson's goal.
After that point, the goal light flashed red three more times. On a set play after an offensive zone faceoff, Nathan Sucese pushed the puck forward off the draw and unleashed a howitzer to the top shelf to put the Saints on top 3-2. It proved to be the game-winning goal.
Sucese, the first star of the game, took the game over after that point. He drew a cross-checking penalty on Curry with the Thunder scrambling to tie, leading to a power play chance. The New York native's cross-crease dish found Solow, who deposited the puck past a prone Hayden Lavigne to extend the lead to two goals.
And, for good measure, Evan Smith added an empty net goal with Lavigne at the bench for the extra attacker, beating everyone in a footrace down the ice for a loose puck.
Goaltender Jaxon Castor shut the door in net with 19 saves in the win, which was his sixth in his last eight starts. That win propelled the Fighting Saints to within two points of league-leading Cedar Rapids, with a chance to catch them in Friday night's tussle at The Stable.
Bloomington's second-ranked power play scored twice on three opportunities. Dubuque's power play struck once on four chances. The Fighting Saints outshot Bloomington 35-21 in the game.
Up next for the Fighting Saints is a Cowbell Cup rivalry game against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders starting at 7:00 p.m. from The Stable. Catch all of the action on the Fighting Saints radio network, Dubuque's Super Hits 106.1 FM, or on FASTHockey, the USHL's streaming video provider.
United States Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2016
- Thunder Score Two, Fall on Road - Bloomington Thunder
- Third-Period Flurry Sends Saints Marching to Victory - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Hawks Rally to Remarkable Win - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Pitlick and Paulovic Register Four Points in Loss to Waterloo - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Ethan Prow a Hobey Baker Award Top Ten Finalist - Des Moines Buccaneers
- Forsbacka-Karlsson Named to Hockey East All-Rookie Team - Omaha Lancers
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