Enforcers Rebound to Defeat Dashers

By Nate Williamson

Danville, IL - The Elmira Enforcers got back to their winning ways as they beat the Danville Dashers on Saturday night by a score of 4-0. It was a tough night for the Dashers, as they never seemed to find their footing on either the offensive or the defensive side of the ice. In a game where Elmira controlled much of the momentum and all of the scoring, there was plenty of passion shared between the two teams.

After a lot of back and forth with sloppy play on both sides, it was Elmira that found a foothold. Brendan Hussey scored at 7:30 into the first period with assists from Dmytro Babenko and Marko Novosel. Unfortunately for the hometown crowd, it was all Elmira after that.

The Enforcers scored three goals in the second period, with Glen Patterson finding the back of the net at 2:23 on assists from Tyler Prendergast and Stepan Timofeyev. Kyle Stevens scored late in the frame after some tic-tac passing found him open on goalkeeper Matt Kaludis' stick side. Babenko and Cameron Yarwood had assists on Stevens' goal, which came short-handed. Stevens got his second of the night in what turned out to be the final goal of the game after Ahmed Mahfouz and Timofeyev linked up with some pretty passing on even strength. 

The real intrigue of the night in what became a lopsided game came as three Elmira players were ejected from the game. Early in the second period, Brandon Vuic was sent to the penalty box for elbowing Fred Hein. The two engaged in a fight, and Vuic ended up receiving a massive 52 penalty minutes after having it out with officials. Shortly after, Timofeyev was sent to the penalty box for roughing, only to have Head Coach Brent Clarke receive a game misconduct for protesting the call. In the third period, Elmira Captain Mahfouz was ejected after being the third man into an altercation, which earned him a game misconduct.

In a night that had a massive 134 penalty minutes between the two teams, Elmira came out with a convincing victory on the road and Stevens, Babenko, and Timofeyev earned the Stars of the Game. Elmira goaltender Troy Passingham had a stellar game, earning his first shutout of the season and stopping all 29 shots on his net.

Photo credit: LMB Studios