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Trax win on home ice

December 21, 2004 - SPHL (SPHL)
Macon Trax News Release


[MACON, Ga.] – The Macon Trax took the back end of a home-and-home series with a 6-3 win over Winston-Salem. Player/Assistant Coach John Gurskis paced the Trax with three goals, netting the first hat trick of the year for the Trax.

Macon (11-9) had to fight from behind to get the win on home ice. Winston Salem (5-13) outplayed the Trax in the first period, much like they did Saturday night in North Carolina.

The Polar Twins took a 3-2 lead into the locker room after the first twenty minutes. The teams roared out to a fast start by scoring a combined five goals in the game's first nine minutes.

Geoff Rollins got the scoring started with a power play goal just under two minutes into the contest. Only 19 seconds later the Trax were given their first power play chance of the night. John Gurskis scored his first of three goals early on the man advantage for the Trax.

The Trax came out in the second period looking like a whole new team. The first two shifts saw the Boys In Black put pressure on Polar Twins goalie Jomar Cruz. Cruz turned away most of the 19 second period shots that were fired his way.

Ryan Rivard gave his team a shot in the arm when he dropped the gloves with Chris Kovalcik at the 8:06 mark. Rivard won the fight when he switched to punching with his right hand to send the Winston-Salem defenseman to the ice.

Five minutes later the Trax would finally light the lamp to tie the game. Gurskis calmly took a Craig Miller rebound to the edge of the crease and found an open five hole to his liking. Less than a minute later Gurskis again put a rebound goal past Cruz, this time from a Dominick Dawes shot, to finish the hat trick.

When the second period came to an end the Trax looked like a team that was in second place in the league. Macon held the Polar Twins to only three shots in the middle period, franchise record lows for both teams.

The third period was also controlled by the Trax. Mark Allen scored at the 8:56 mark, in his first game back after injury. David Deeves would add an empty net, short handed goal with two seconds left to cap the Trax comeback.

The Trax held the Polar Twins to only four shots in the final frame and 18 over all in the game. The win pushed the Trax into a second place tie with Columbus in the SPHL standings.

The Trax will head back to North Carolina Thursday night. This time they will face the Asheville Aces at 7:30 pm. Macon returns to home ice Christmas Night for a special 7:05 pm holiday puck drop. Bring the whole family out to see how the Trax will celebrate Christmas this year. All Trax broadcasts can be heard on Talk Radio 1670 WMWR starting 15 minutes before the puck drop.

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