February 09, 2010 – Game Recap
Venom -3 Rink Dawgs – 2
Once again the Rink Dawgs came out with lots of energy and constant pressure to start the game. It has been a trend this year so far, where the Dawgs outshoot & outchance their opponents in the first period. Last night was no exception with the shots 11-4 in favor of the Dawgs and scoring chances at least 8-2, but once again they were only able to muster up 1 goal. The goal came at the 10:38 mark of the period, when after some hard work from the re-united “E” line. Antonio Geraci sent the ball up to the point where Bill “Big Red” Stewart let go a prefect shot that was tipped by Jamie Farrow for his 1st tally of the season.
Early in the second frame the “E” line was at it again, with some aggressive forchecking that earned them a face-off deep in the offensive zone. On the draw, Centreman Tommy Kolkas pulled it straight back to Antonio Geraci who made no mistake ripping one top shelf blocker side. The goal gave the Rink Dawgs a 2-0 lead and what looked like a stranglehold on the game.
At the 4:48 mark of the 2nd, Ted Kolkas was called for a questionable interference penalty. Thus giving the Venom a chance to cut into the lead and they capitalized with just 29 seconds left in the penalty. That seemed to boost the Venom and they carried the momentum into third.
The final period did not start well for the Dawgs as the Venom scored an odd goal just 26 seconds into it. On what seemed to be a chance for an odd man rush, Seb Geraci from the Rink Dawgs just missed Carm DiLuciano with a pass that would have sprung a 2 on 1, but instead the Venom turned right around and streaking down the right side #22 was able to poke it by a diving Nick Turcaloro into net.
That goal took the wind out of the sails for the Dawgs and for the rest of the game it seemed like they could not create good scoring chances. In fact for the first time this season, the Dawgs were outshot in a period 7-5. It didn’t help that Martin Vieira took a penalty at the 7:58 mark and out of frustration Carm DiLuciano riffled the ball into the corner and was given an unsportsmanlike penalty. The Rink Dawgs killed the 5 on 3 powerplay, but may have exhausted their energy doing so. With only 3:44 to go in the game #29 of the Venom Brandon Lyons was left all alone at the side of the goal and with Nick having no chance, he made no mistake giving the Venom the lead.
The Dawgs pulled the goalie with just under 2 minutes to play but really could not generate anything, thus losing their first game of the season 3-2. It seems like when the Rink Dawgs have their foot on the throat of their opponent, they let up just a bit. In preparation for the summer season they will need to develop that killer instinct and put teams away.
Game Stats:
Shots: Rink Dawgs 28 - Venom 18
Powerplay: 0 for 3
Penaltykill: 3 for 4
Player(s) of the Game:
Antonio Geraci 1G 1A
Jamie Farrow 1G
Tommy Kolkas and Bill Stewart each with an assist.
Special mention to Mark Krupa & Ted Kolkas who forechecked very well all game.
