Wolves Throttle Dashers (11/16)

WATERTOWN, NY - Saturday posed as a must win game for a struggling Dashers Hockey Club coming off a 9-4 loss. Not being able to practice for 2 weeks, a Justin Brausen-less Dashers squad were destroyed on the road for their 8th regulation loss. 9 different goal scorers lit up the scoresheet for the Wolves, as they breezed their way to an 11-1 victory.

Oscar Wahlgren led the Dashers out with a fresh start in period 1. On the opening draw, Marian Pazitka searched for a dance partner to start off the game with a fight, but no one answered the call. Instead, the Wolves picked up right where they left off and immediately pounced on the Dashers. 56 seconds into the frame Ross Bartlett scored on a puck that Wahlgren regrettably should’ve held. Just over 2 minutes later, Chiwetin Blacksmith doubled the margin and made it 2-0. Despite 3 first period Watertown penalties, the Dashers couldn’t manage any offense. In the back half of the period, the Wolves scored 3 goals 3:05 apart. Dylan Infantino scored the 3rd, followed by Lare Pahtayken and Chiwetin Blacksmith scoring the 4th and 5th just 9 seconds apart. The score quickly escalated to 5-0 Watertown , with nothing but a Jacob Gagnon crossbar to show for the Dashers.

Period 2 was deja vu. The Wolves came out firing once again and it took just 2:05 for Trevor Lord to nab the 6th tally. 104 short seconds later, Mercurio buried a one timer off a cross crease feed from Trevor Grasby to give the Wolves a touchdown lead. The wheels continued to fall off the wagon when just over 4.5 minutes later Declan Flanagan made it 8-0. The Dashers could barely catch their breath in between tallies and the bleeding continued. Frustrated and defeated, Zach DeMarce threw a big hit which sparked a large scrum. A handful of penalties were dispensed, with the Wolves making it out on a powerplay. On the ensuing man advantage, Chase DiBari made it 9-0. After all the madness the Dashers had a few good scoring opportunities but couldn’t cash in. With 9 seconds remaining in the period, Trevor Lord shoveled home a 10th goal to make it 10-0 as the teams headed to their dressing rooms for the second break.

Period 3 was all that stood between the Dashers and an 8 game homestand. Out of the break, they came out fast and hungry for any sort of offense. Through the first half of the frame, they led in shots 10-5. However a Yosuke Jomonji hooking penalty gave the Wolves the momentum back and Carter Thornton twisted the knife with a powerplay goal to push the lead to 11-0. Just over 12 minutes into the frame, the Wolves had a goal waved off. On the next faceoff, two unlikely candidates dropped the gloves. For the Dashers it was 5’7” Trey Fischer squaring off with Ross Bartlett standing at 5’9” for the Wolves. After a brief exchange, Fischer landed enough fists to tip over Bartlett and the two were separated. Minutes later, Marian Pazitka scored for the second straight night to get the Dashers on the board to make it 11-1. That would conclude a night of a dozen goals with the Wolves succeeding in shots 54-33.

The Dashers return home to begin their 8 game home-stand with a record of 1-8-1 through the first 10 games. They will host the Blue Ridge Bobcats for a pair of games this Friday and Saturday at 7:05 CST. As for the Wolves, they improve their scorching hot start to 9-1-1 and will travel to Fraser, Michigan to take on the Motor City Rockers on Friday at 7:35 EST and Saturday at 7:05 EST inside Big Boy Arena.