Bobcats Overpower Dashers (11/22)

Bobcats Overpower Dashers

DANVILLE, IL - The Dashers Hockey Club returned home to begin an 8 game homestand with the Blue Ridge Bobcats. In front of a lively home crowd, the Dashers fell short in a fast paced and physical battle. A controversial no-goal call in the final minute paved the way for a 6-3 Bobcats victory.

The first period began with a flurry of shots from the visiting Bobcats. Just 3:18 into the frame, Nick Stuckless tipped home a shot from the point by Denis Radchenko for his first of the season. The Bobcats continued to pepper Dasher goaltender Parker Rutherford, who stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced in the first 20 minutes. The persistent problem of shots against continued to haunt the Dashers throughout the contest. The Dashers couldn’t generate many scoring opportunities while the Bobcats controlled the tempo and offensive zone for the majority of the frame.

Ready to rock in period two, the Dashers hit the ice looking to even things. The teams traded chances back and forth for the first 14 minutes, with no one being able to cash in. Special teams had been a focus in practice all week long for AJ Tesoreiro’s group, and when Timur Gavrilovich was booked for a hold, the opportunity arose. The Dashers had trouble setting up the zone, but towards the end of the powerplay, captain Justin Brausen found Brandon Stojcevski in front for a one timer to even the score at 1. The Bobcats needed just 1:35 to swing the momentum back, as familiar Danville face Aaron Ryback wristed a low shot by Rutherford to pull the Cats ahead once more. Ryback played in Danville as a member of the Vermillion County Bobcats of the SPHL just a few short years ago. However, Ryback made a mistake minutes later when he flipped the puck out of play from the D-zone, and the Dashers went back to the power play.  It took just 5 seconds for Brausen to find Stojcevski once more on a beautiful slap pass that was redirected home to even things once more. Once again, the Bobcats immediately rallied. 1:12 later, Jakub Volf buried a snapshot to make it 3-2 into the second intermission.

The Bobcats began period three in full throttle. Nick Stuckless scored his 2nd and Vlasov added another to push things to 5-2 just 4:29 into the last chapter. Dashers’ assistant captain Nick Gullo slammed the puck into the boards following the 5th tally, and was assessed a 10 minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Dashers were allowed to continue at even strength despite the call, but without one of their premiere offensive weapons. Some life was shown when rookie Nikolai Salov snapped a beauty over the shoulder short side of Virostek to knock the deficit down to 2 with just over 12 minutes in regulation. The offense for both sides would cool down and with just over a minute to play Tesoreiro called a timeout. The Dashers had an offensive zone draw and after a quick shot from Thomas Murphy, Brandon Stojcevski appeared to find the five-hole and twine for a hat trick. The red light went on yet play continued. Amidst all the chaos, Daniel Martin found the empty net to make it 6-3. The video review system for the goal line was down league wide, and inconclusive evidence from the broadcast feed allowed all the madness to stand. A chorus of boos from both the Dashers and fans echoed around David Palmer Arena as the clock bled out and the Bobcats were crowned victorious.

The final shot totals heavily favored the Cats at 51-23. The Dashers lose their 8th straight game and fall to 1-9-1 to begin the homestand. The Bobcats improve to 5-4-2. The two teams will square off once again tomorrow night at 7:05 CST inside the David Palmer Arena.