Enforcers Down Dashers

By Nate Williamson

Danville, IL - The Danville Dashers moved to 7-4 on the season and fell to 6-4 in their last ten games as they dropped Friday night's contest to the Elmira Enforcers by a score of 6-1 in their return home to the David S. Palmer Arena.

Military Night in Danville saw the Dashers get off to a poor start, as Elmira's Marko Novosel scored a goal at even strength on assists from Cameron Yarwood and former Dasher Ahmed Mahfouz. It wasn't long after that the Dashers gave Elmira a 5-on-4 advantage as Justin Brausen went into the penalty box just four minutes into the game. It would be a trend for the rest of the night, as both sides spent a total of eight minutes in the penalty box over the course of the game. The Federal Hockey League's point scoring leader Ryan Marker found the back of the net just ten seconds later on a short-handed goal with assists from Stephen Gaul and Ondrej Misovic. Marker increased his point tally to 28 on the season, seven points ahead of the next top-scorer, Watertown's Brandon Wahlin. Marker now has 13 goals on the season to go along with 15 assists, including two short-handed goals, which is tied for the league lead. Just when it started to look up for Danville, Elmira's Kyle Stevens found the back of the net, beating Dashers goalkeeper Aaron Taylor to move the score to 2-1. 

After a plethora of saves from Taylor, Elmira found the net again through Brandon Vuic. Vuic scored on assists from Mike Chemello and Glen Patterson, putting the Enforcers up 3-1 on the Dashers. The scoring came fast and often for the rest of the game, as the Elmira offense dominated the short-handed Dashers defense, which was missing players due to suspensions as a result of an altercation in the closing sequence of their last game. Cameron Yarwood was next to find the net, making the score 4-1, with Chemello and Mahfouz both tallying their second assists of the night. 

The Enforcers continued their two goal a period pace in the third, as Brandon Vuic grabbed his second of the night six minutes into the frame. Despite six minutes of power play time for the Dashers in the third period, the Enforcers lead increased to 6-1 on a short-handed goal by Sean Reynolds. 

In the end, Dashers goalie Aaron Taylor would face 40 shots and allow six goals, compared to Enforcers goalie Ryan Mulder, who allowed one goal on 25 shots. 

The Dashers will look to rebound in the second game of this series against Elmira on Saturday. The puck drops at 7:05 PM at the David S. Palmer Arena.

Photo credit: LMB Studios