CCHL News

Muskies Hit Back In Real Style

Date: Sep 29, 2009

The Muskies welcomed two new defencemen to their line-up in this game after both were acquired from the Miramichi Timberwolves in exchange for Kyle Lapenskie. Zack Bayer (who wore #25) is a 5' 9" 180lb (1990) native of Glendale, Arizona, while Nick Brown (#12) is a 1991 from Fredericton, NB, and is 6' and 180lbs. To this untrained eye, neither seemed to put a foot wrong tonight as they made very solid debuts for the Fish. In fact 'solid' is the word that best describes the whole team's performance in this well-deserved road win. Matt Ginn saved 28 of 29 shots for the win and was only beaten during a debatable late spell of two man advantage for the Stars. Cam Granger had the first goal and an assist on the last, while Blake Sexton potted the other two goals, the final one being into an empty net in the final seconds of the game. Coach Meyers switched up his lines a little and it seemed to make a big difference as the Muskies gradually took control of the encounter.

Period 1. There was little to choose between these teams in a close first period. Defences came out on top as neither goalie had many difficult shots to choose from. Likewise the penaltykillers negated the powerplays for both teams and so the first buzzer came with no score on the board. Neither of the two new signings in defence looked out of place in their first game for the Muskies, which can only be good news for the coaching staff. 

Period 2.  The play stayed close for the first ten minutes of the second period, with both goalies still waiting to be seriously tested. But then another powerplay for Lindsay saw the Fish make the breakthrough that by then they probably deserved. A shot by Kenny Carpenter was saved by Zac Fryia's pads but the rebound sat nicely for Cam Granger who cracked it into the gaping net at . After that, play opened up with both teams getting in some good rushes but the Muskies definitely were having the best of things. Dean Klomp came close to his first goal when he hit the bar and then Riley Austin hit the post with a long drive. By the end if the period it was still anybody's game but the Muskies were looking good.

Period 3.  For most of the third period, the Fish were relatively untroubled by the hometown Stars. There were a couple of times when Matt Ginn was called on to save the day, but they were few and far between. The Muskies always looked like the team most likely to win, especially when they added a second goal at 8:36. Mike Wills fed the puck to Michael Colavecchia who set off on another of his impressive, mazy moves into the opposition zone. He inturn found Blake Sexton in the other slot with a perfect pass, and the Lindsay #20 comfortably beat Zac Fryia. It was a sweet play and seemed to be all the insurance the Fish would need on this particular evening. But then at 11:50 and again at 11:54 referee Darryl Hancock did well to spot two Lindsay infractions, and the Stars had themselves upto 1:56 of two man advantage with which to find a way back into a game that had seemed lost. They didn't waste it, with recently-dealt Muskie Dylan Fitze getting on the end of a play when he turned up at the far post and tapped the puck in. So suddenly we had a game on our hands and the Stars began to believe they could get something from it. When referee Hancock again spotted a Lindsay infraction at 14:40, it took a very determined penalty kill to keep the lead. Chris Johnston did have the perfect chance to tie the game up but fanned on his shot when completely open at the far post. The Muskies, however, refused to be beaten on this night and worked really hard to preserve the victory, especially when Peterborough pulled their goalie for the final minute. A breakaway goal unchallenged into the empty net by Blake Sexton with 1.3 seconds to go (assisted by Cam Granger who had broken up a Peterborough move near the centreline) finally put paid to any thoughts of the Stars stealing something from this game, and the  Muskies had a thoroughly deserved two points.

From: Lindsay Muskies - http://www.lindsaymuskies.com

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