DASHERS of DANVILLE at MISSISSIPPI SEA WOLVES
Sea Wolves Find The Luck O' The Irish, Defeat Dashers 4-2
by Jon Kliment Biloxi, MS - The Sea Wolves entered Saturday night's contest looking to continue pushing along a winning streak something they hadn't been able to do all season by capping off another season first a series win over the Dashers. In a three game series it takes two wins to get the job done and behind Ed Coffey Mississippi hoped to be able to do that.
The first period was fairly even all the way through, but the Sea Wolves found the back of the net first at 16:31 of the first as Blake Keller found an open Curtis Hansen deep in the zone who threw the puck to Isiah Parris in front of the net for the 1-0 lead.
In what looked like a replay from last night the Dashers found a way to get things done in the second period. Tonight it was Alex Marchisello in his third game finding a way to put a puck behind Ed Coffey 17:54 into the second frame.
After a quiet first two periods midway through the third period the scoring began to roll in. The Dashers found the back of the net on a Blake Siewertsen tip but it was played with a high stick and after review overturned. Just a few minutes last the Sea Wolves found a way to push a puck through traffic as Lucas Piekarczyk tipped a Sam Turner shot home for a 2-1 lead. 2:57 later Noah Hippolyte-Smith came out of the corner and buried one behind Parker Rutherford for a 3-1 lead. With the goalie pulled Blake Keller sent a shot from the red line and increased the lead to 4-1. Just 10 seconds later on a mishandle Coffey sent the puck out front and former Sea Wolf Ilnur Madiarov tucked the puck into an empty net to bring the Dashers back to within two goals 4-2.
Coffey stopped 35 of 37 in his 5th win of the season.
The Sea Wolves finish their 10 game home stand tomorrow at 4:05pm.
Sea Wolves Prevail Late in Roller Coaster Affair
by Devin Dobek Biloxi, MS - After an entertaining tilt last night, FPHL fans around the world couldn’t wait for a second dose of Sea Wolves and Dashers. In a war of attrition, Ed Coffey’s 35 save effort with a flurry of Wolves goals in the final 5 would be just enough to oust the Dashers 4-2 on Saturday night.
Yesterday was an entertaining battle, and one the Dashers certainly thought they could’ve had. Heading into their 3rd game in 3 days, their goal was to harness their second period from yesterday for a whole 60. The Wolves came out firing once again, accumulating 5 shots in the first 2:30 alone. Rutherford was sharp, making his third start in 3 days for the Deer. Mississippi continued to control the tempo until the first penalty of the game, opening the door for the Dashers to take the lead. After going ⅛ in the loss yesterday on the man advantage, special teams would certainly be an x-factor for the Dashers in this affair. There were some good chances generated, but Ed Coffey made save after save through traffic and bodies flying everywhere. However, the Wolves would find a way to respond in the form of Isiah Parris finishing a 2 on 1 from Curtis Hansen for his first since being acquired. The score would hold at 1-0 heading into the break, with Mississippi leading 13-11 in shots.
Period two was an aggressive, back and forth battle from start to finish. Everybody was finishing their checks and making extra efforts to extend plays. Despite where both teams resided in the standings, they both clearly wanted this one more than others. It looked like things could take a turn for the worse for the visitors when Mississippi drew a 5-on-3 after an early hold and slash were assessed. The Dashers killed it off but not without a couple scary moments with the puck trickling through the crease. Both teams wanted that next goal, knowing how much weight it would hold. Bodies were flying everywhere, including benches and goaltenders. It was really a game where you needed to keep your head up. But still the score stayed 1-0 all the way to the final couple minutes. A turnover at the Dasher blue line sprung Blake Siewertsen and co into an odd man opportunity. Blake’s pass across didn’t get through, but instead dropped perfectly to 29 year old rookie Alex Marchisello playing in just his 13th FPHL game. Marchisello beat Coffey inside the near post for his first FPHL goal to tie the hockey game with 2 minutes to go in the frame. Inside the final 5 seconds, Zach Slinger drew a penalty which would set the Dashers up to start period 3 on the man advantage. 20 more minutes, would the streak prevail, or could the Dashers break the curse?
The third period was another roller coaster of emotions between both teams in a tooth and nail 1-1 tilt. The ride began when Sean Doyle banged a shot that was tipped home by Blake Siewertsen to give the Dashers a 2-1 advantage around the midway point. Upon further review, the officials deemed that Siewertsen’s stick was high, and the goal was taken off the scoreboard. But still it was anyone’s game. Rutherford and Coffey were brilliant in the contest, 1-upping each other with brilliant save after brilliant save at either end. Around the 5 minute mark, a similar shot from the point by Sam Turner was deflected home by Lucas Piekarczyk, putting Mississippi back in the driver’s seat in the closing moments. A collective groan could be heard from Dasher Nation hundreds of miles away, but still there was time. 3 minutes later, Noah Hippolyte-Smith finished a hard net drive to beat Rutherford again and it was 3-1. A Sam Turner empty netter put the game officially out of reach at 4-1, but the silver lining moment was a strong Yosuke Jumonji forecheck to feed Ilnur Madiarov for his first pro goal to cement the score at 4-2. The Dashers outshot the Sea Wolves 37-35 in full time, with 19 of those shots coming in the final frame of the heartbreaking loss.
The two teams will battle tomorrow one last time at 4:05 CST inside the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
| 
FPHL 
