DASHERS DROP WEEKEND SERIES TO WOLVES (10/19)

Watertown, NY -  The Dashers looked for their first win of the season Saturday night in Watertown. Timely turnovers and penalties emerged as the kryptonite. A lopsided offensive game would lead to their second defeat, as the team searches for an identity ahead of their home opener on Friday.

The first period opened in a different way than last night, with less physicality and fewer scoring chances on both sides. Oscar Wahlgren made his season debut in between the pipes for the Dashers, opposed by Anton Borodkin once again for the Wolves. After a lackluster powerplay, Dasher defenseman Jensen Baehr was assessed a tripping minor. On their first power play, Watertown cashed in with a Carter Thornton tally. From there, Kyle Heitzner picked right up where he left off, beating Wahlgren with a wrist shot to the glove side. The Wolves took their 2-0 lead to the locker room while managing to hold the Dashers to just 7 shots. 

The second period showed some early life for Danville as a good O-Zone shift led to a holding penalty. The opportunity would go to waste as a bench minor was assessed for too many men. The Dashers killed off the ensuing power play and a screened shot off the stick of Justin Brausen was punched home by Niko Reimann for his first pro goal to cut the deficit in half. Less than 3 minutes later, Dashers assistant captain Lester Brown found himself in all alone. Coming in at top speed, Brown lost his edge during a deke and crashed into Borodkin, allowing the puck to trickle across the goal line and even the contest at 2. Less than 90 seconds later, Baehr was booked for a cross-check. The momentum shifted right back to Watertown. On the power play, Ludlow Harris Jr. fired home a one timer off a slick feed from Chase DiBari to give Watertown the lead again. Shortly after, Trevor Neumann tipped home a shot from the point and the lead was restored to 2. The floodgates opened when just over a minute later Wolves superstar Chiwetin Blacksmith found the back of the net to make it 5-2.

Needing some energy to start the third, Dasher grinder Thomas Murphy challenged Josh Tomasi to a fisticuff bout. After a lengthy exchange, Murphy came out on top and the two embraced before heading to their respective boxes. Watertown wasn’t fazed, as Kyle Heitzner crashed the net to extend the lead to 4. Showing no signs of stopping, Dustin Perillat beat Wahlgren over the glove to make it 7-2. Searching for answers, The Dashers turned to their leadership group for some production. Captain Justin Brausen found the five-hole of Borodkin to make it 7-3, and a beautiful move by Lester Brown led to his second score of the night. The late efforts would fall short, as the Dashers would fall 7-4 while being outshot 49-21.

The Dashers return to Danville with a record of 0-2 to host the Athens Rock Lobsters in their home opener on Friday. The Wolves improve to 3-1 and continue their homestand this Friday against the Motor City Rockers.