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FPHL HC Venom

Venom Shut Out By Bobcats 4-0

November 29, 2024 - Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL)
HC Venom News Release


Hunter Virostek turned aside all 30 shots he faced to blank the Hudson Valley Venom on Friday, leading the Blue Ridge Bobcats to a 4-0 victory at the Hitachi Energy Arena.

In their first of back-to-back games with the Bobcats this weekend, the Venom (4-5-1) came up empty, failing to net a goal for only the second time this season. Ironically, they were also shut out in their only other road game so far, a 5-0 loss at the Binghamton Black Bears on Oct. 19..

Blue Ridge received contributions from throughout their lineup, with four different goal scorers and nine players recording at least one point. Vladislav Vlasov led the way with three points, tallying two assists in addition to his first-period goal.

The Bobcats got on the board quickly; Alex Norwinski scored his first goal of the season on a wrist shot through traffic from the point that got past Venom goalie John Moriarty at 2:10. The Venom nearly tied it soon after when Blake Siewertsen sent a one-timer from Rasmus Asp off the crossbar on a two-on-one rush.

Blue Ridge kept the pressure on Hudson Valley for the entirety of the first period, firing 16 shots on goal at Moriarty, who made numerous highlight saves, including a lunging stop on a close-range slapshot from Dmitri Selyutin. The puck stayed in the Venom's zone and Timur Gavrilovich shot it off Moriarty's pads and right onto the stick of Vlasov, who slapped the puck into the Hudson Valley net at 9:24 to make it 2-0.

Special teams dictated play early in the first half of the second period; the Venom got their first man-advantage at 3:54 thanks to a too many men on the ice penalty on the Bobcats. Hudson Valley did not get much going on the power play, as Blue Ridge killed the two-minute penalty with minimal shots reaching Virostek. Only 18 seconds after the power play expired, Jonatan Wik sent the puck out of play to commit a delay of the game penalty, the Venom's second of the game at 6:12.

Blue Ridge wasted no time showing the Venom how to make the most of the advantage; just 12 seconds into the power play, Nicholas Stuckless blasted a one-timer over Moriarty's left shoulder to make the score 3-0.

Austin Bellefeuille went to the box with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following the goal, for another Venom power play. Hudson Valley looked much better this time around, setting up countless high-percentage scoring chances. Virostek turned them aside each time, keeping the Venom stuck at zero on the scoreboard.

The Bobcats killed yet another Venom power play early in the third period, thwarting any mounting Hudson Valley momentum. They put the game out of reach not long after, when Devin Sanders worked his way behind the Venom defense, flying toward the net to score on Moriarty at 5:59.

The four-goal cushion proved to be more than enough as Blue Ridge coasted to a victory, marking Virostek's second shutout of the season. The shutout was a team effort, as the Bobcats kept the puck in the Hudson Valley end of the rink for the majority of the game. There, the Bobcats teed off on Moriarty, who saved 38 of the 42 shots he faced.

The Venom and Bobcats will face off for the second half of this back-to-back set Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

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