Trask OT Goal Caps IceGators' Comeback Win
December 6, 2013 - SPHL (SPHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release
Lafayette, La.--The Cardiac Crocodilians are back.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Louisiana IceGators battled back to knock off the Fayetteville FireAntz 3-2 in overtime. Jake Trask scored with a shot from the right wing at the 1:07 mark of the extra period after taking a feed from Shawn McNeil.
The IceGators and the FireAntz will face each other in a rematch Saturday night. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.
"That was an ugly win," said IceGators head coach Kevin Kaminski. "We got away with one tonight. We were sloppy, didn't have energy, or sacrifice the body. (Goalie) Keifer (Smiley) played a hell of a game and made some key saves to keep us in the game. He gave us a chance to win.
"The bottom line is that the sloppiness almost killed us. It was a turnover festival. In the second period alone, we had 19 turnovers."
The first period belonged to Fayetteville.
Kyle McNeil went top shelf from the left wing at the 9:17 mark of the frame to give the FireAntz a 1-0 lead. Mike Kavanagh tacked on another goal five minutes later during a power play to give the FireAntz the 2-0 advantage.
Louisiana cut the Fayetteville lead to one late in the first. Shawn McNeil scored with 51 seconds left in the period after deflecting an Adam Stuart shot into the net.
The IceGators tied the game with 15:43 remaining in regulation thanks to a Matt Robertson goal from the right wing. Robertson took a feed from Chris Wilson and fired the puck past goalie Peter Skoggard, who was screened on the play by Shawn McNeil.
The game-winner came on a two-on-one opportunity after an IceGator forecheck forced a Fayetteville turnover in the neutral zone.
"The comeback showed that the guys had the character to find a way to win," Kaminski said. "We capitalized on the two-on-one. McNeil slid it to Trask, and Trask had no doubts about it and put it in."
Despite the victory, Kaminski knows that his team must make some quick improvements in order to beat Fayetteville again Saturday night.
"You get out of life what you invest in it," Kaminski said. "It's time that we fully invest more in the first half of the season. We can't be satisfied with what we've accomplished.
"We all have to get back on the same page. We have to demand being physical and have a much better work ethic than what we had tonight. We have to play with more want and will. We have to regroup and get back to Gator hockey. We have to play with more grease and grit, eliminate our turnovers, and play our systems better.
SPHL Stories from December 6, 2013
- Trask OT Goal Caps IceGators' Comeback Win - Louisiana IceGators
- Thunder Drop Seesaw Affair to Surge - Bloomington Thunder
- Rivermen Sign Corey Tamblyn to Tryout Contract - Peoria Rivermen
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
