DASHERS DELIVER ON OPENING NIGHT (10/25)

Danville, IL - The Dashers returned to Danville searching for their first win of the season against the Athens Rock Lobsters. In a game of back and forth momentum swings, the Dashers found a way to come from behind and hand Athens their first loss of the season. Unfamiliar heroes and exceptional goaltending would paint the picture for an entertaining night of professional hockey back in the 217. 

The first period started with some early fireworks as Garrett Milan wasted no time lighting the lamp to make it 1-0 Athens just 56 seconds into this one. Athens continued to crank up the heat, creating a plethora of grade A scoring chances. 2 posts were hit and an early whistle saved another goal in the Rock Lobsters early push to blow the game open. The first intermission couldn’t come soon enough for the boys in black and orange.

Period two began with a different energy in Danville. The crowd got loud and the Dashers found a way to establish themselves in the O-zone. The reward came when Lester Brown made a nifty move through the high slot to get a shot away that was picked up and buried home by Yegor Kabatayev for his first of the season. Tied at 1, physical play would serve as the narrative the rest of the way. 

The final frame opened up with the same intensity as period two. The suspense would build as the home crowd pondered who would be the hero or the villain. It would come in the form of Zach Demarce, who found the five-hole of Jack Bostedt off a great pass from Brandon Stojcevski. On the ensuing faceoff, Rock Lobster’s assistant captain Malik Johnson challenged Dashers’ assistant captain Lester Brown to a fight at center ice to try and spark some life with his time. The bout did not last long, with Brown tackling Johnson after about 5 seconds. A couple more posts hit would deny the Rock Lobsters in their efforts to comeback and Yegor Kabatayecv provided the dagger with an empty net goal. 

Athens would fall for the first time this season, dropping to 4-1. The Dashers improve to 1-2 thanks to their gutsy effort. The two teams will square off tomorrow night once again at 7:05 over in the David Palmer Arena.