DASHERS of DANVILLE at BLUE RIDGE BOBCATS
'Cats Set New Franchise SOG Record, Edge Dashers 5-3
by Brett Wiseman
Wytheville, VA -The Blue Ridge Bobcats shattered their franchise record for shots on goal with a whopping 76 on the night, and were able to push 5 of them past Parker Rutherford and outlast the Dashers for a 5-3 win before a crowd of 1,361 at Hitachi Energy Arena.
The 76 SOG still fell short of the FPHL record, but surpassed the NHL single-game record of 71, ironically the number of saves made by Rutherford in a losing effort.
The Dashers proved early on and continued to show throughout the night that their record did not indicate the type of team they are and that they were not to be taken lightly. Former Bobcat Lucas Rothe and Yosuke Jumonji each scored in the first 4:08 of the penultimate contest of the regular season to vault the Dashers to an early 2-0 lead.
A slow-starting Bobcats offense quickly got to work, with Milan Brezcko converting to cut the lead in half with his second professional goal 3:26 after Jumonji. Hunter Godmere sped down the near side wing, drove the net, waited on Rutherford to go for the poke check and then found Breczko by himself on the backdoor for the tap in to make it 2-1 after one.
Carson Andreoli put home his first of two on the night to begin the scoring in the second, corralling a deflected shot and banking it off the skate of a defender and into the net nearly 9 minutes into the middle frame to tie the game at 2. Filip Hlavac followed at the 11:33 mark of the middle frame, one-timing home the final piece of a beautiful tic-tac-toe setup from Justin Daly and Mike Mercurio to give Blue Ridge their first lead of the night, 3-2.
The Dashers answered 6:06 later in the form of another former Bobcat, TJ Prexler, who roofed home a great setup from Zach Slinger to tie the game back at 3 entering period three.
The difference was a pair of Bobcats goals 5:13 apart in the final frame. Nick McHugh rifled a rocket off Rutherford's pad, and the rebound was sniped home by Mercurio for what served as the game winning goal to make it 4-3 Bobcats at the 7:44 mark of the third. Brandon Reller then beautifully set up Andreoli on a cross crease feed to seal the deal the 13:58 mark of the third.
Connor Green picked up the win between the pipes, stopping 31 of 34 Dashers shots. Nick Stuckless picked up third star honors for his pair of assists on the evening, while Mercurio took home second star honors for his 1 goal/1 assist outing. Andreoli earned first star honors for his 2-goal game.
With the win, the Bobcats move one step closer to clinching home ice advantage for Tuesday's Continental Division Wild Card Play-In Game, needing another victory Saturday night to do so.
The two teams wrap up their respective regular season tomorrow night, with puck drop set for 7:30 and doors set to open at 6:30. Tickets are available by calling 276-335-2100 or visiting blueridgebobcats.com/tickets.
Rutherford Makes Career High 72 Saves in 5-3 Loss
by Devin Dobek
Wytheville, VA - Carrying with them the energy from the final home weekend in Danville, the Dashers were excited for a fast, hard-nosed battle with the Blue Ridge Bobcats. After building an early 2 goal lead, the Dashers would get peppered for 77 shots and ultimately fall 5-3 despite Parker Rutherford’s career night. The Dashers were ready to come out guns blazing and looked to play spoiler rolling into their final weekend of action with the Blue Ridge Bobcats. The opening 8 minutes were packed with action. It took just 2:43 for former Bobcat assistant captain and current Dasher assistant captain Lucas Rothe to open the evening’s offense with his 3rd in orange. And then less than 90 seconds later Yosuke Jumonji caught Connor Green sliding and just barely muscled the puck through his legs to double the margin at 2-0. But Blue Ridge would not go away quietly. 3 minutes later Milan Breczko finished a back-door tap-in to cut the deficit in half. The remainder of the period Blue Ridge dominated the offensive zone. But once again it was Parker Rutherford standing on his head to stop 27/28 first period shots to hold the score at 2-1. Physicality picked up a ton too, and boiled over in the final minute with Erdman and Andreoli taking matching roughing minors. Andreoli also had a late penalty for interference, opening the door to the Dasher power play going into period 2.
Opening the frame on the man advantage the Dashers struggled to hit their stride. Gaining some momentum from a textbook kill, the Blue Ridge Bobcats went back to work and dominated once again in the offensive zone. But they had a hard time beating the league leader in saves: Parker Rutherford. It would take a deflection off of a Dasher defender for the Bobcats to tie it, with Andreoli being credited for the mark. 2:35 later Filip Hlavac blasted a one timer off a beautiful 3-on-3 rush to put the Cats in front for their first lead at 3-2. The Dashers needed to find an answer, and why not turn to the power of the revenge game. With just over two minutes to play, former Bobcat TJ Prexler buried a feed from Zack Slinger in tight to tie the contest at 3 and set the stage for an entertaining final chapter. Blue Ridge outshot the Dashers 56-27 through 40 minutes, but still it was anyone’s game up for grabs.
To the third period we went, all knotted up, much too familiar territory for the Dashers as of late. The ice was tilted in favor of the Bobcats for the final chapter. Michael Mercurio’s 6th goal with the Bobcats at 7:44 would restore the lead at 4-3. The Dashers just couldn’t find quality opportunities to respond, other than a TJ Prexler post hit on a rebound. Carson Andreoli’s second of the night with 6 minutes to play definitely took the wind out of the sails of a tired Dashers Hockey Club. Blue Ridge outshot the Dashers 21-7 in the final frame, and 77-34 in full regulation time. Parker Rutherford posted a new career high 72 saves in the losing effort.
The Dashers will close out their inaugural season tomorrow with the Bobcats at 6:30 inside Hitachi Energy Arena. A win tomorrow for Blue Ridge will clear them to host the Baton Rouge Zydeco in the Wild Card 1 game winner-take-all on Tuesday.
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