Enforcers Take 3-0 Lead in Hilliard Cup with 3-1 Victory in Port Huron
by Jonathan Klment
The Enforcers went out to McMorran Arena for their first road trip of the season as Elmira was set to reignite the rivalry with Port Huron after securing the first two wins of the season back at First Arena.
Reignite both teams did as fighting was the name of the game early and often. Both sides continued to get physical throughout the match up, but it would be Jonny Ruiz who opened the scoring at 15:44 of the first after a Brandon Tucker rebound found its way back to Ruiz at the point and was hammered past goaltender Kurt Gutting to give Elmira the 1-0 lead. Some more physicality took place, but the goals were limited to just the one.
It took 95:30 minutes but Michael Moran finally solved Troy Passingham as he put a rebound over Passingham’s right shoulder to tie the game at 1 late in the second period. Again, the physicality remained, but the scoresheet stayed clean. After two periods both teams went to the locker room tied at one.
The third period saw more gritty hockey played as the Enforcers pushed back and finally notched what would be the game winner on the power play after Justin Portillo got an unsportsmanlike minor, as Marcus Ortiz got a flat pass from Glen Patterson and put it past Kurt Gutting for the 2-1 lead at 14:32. Jonny Ruiz scored again with the empty net and the Enforcers took the win 3-1 to kick off the three game series and secure them the 3-0 lead in the Hilliard Cup.
Troy Passingham stopped 45 of 46 in the win.
These two teams meet again tomorrow night, Saturday March 13th at 7:30 pm from McMorran Arena. The game will be available on Youtube and Mixlr.com