Ice Breakers Fall After Slow Start

By Jared Tennant 

Mentor, OH - As one of the league’s youngest teams and an expansion club, growing pains are to be expected with the Mentor Ice Breakers. The club fell to 0-5-0-0 on the campaign after a 7-3 defeat at the hands of the visiting Watertown Wolves on Saturday night at Mentor Ice Arena.

Just 29 seconds into the contest, Vincent Beaudry scored off a feed from Brandon Wahlin to give Watertown an early 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Beaudry and Wahlin hooked up once again as Beaudry snuck another one past Ice Breakers netminder Matt Camilleri on the power play. Christian Whitcomb also added an assist on the goal. At 12:08 of the first, Ryan Alves got the Ice Breakers on the board with a goal in his first game with the team, shifting momentum back in Mentor's favor. Mark Essery and Joe Ftoma contributed the assists on the goal. With less than five minutes left in the opening period, Wolves forward George Holt netted his third goal of the season to restore Watertown’s two-goal lead, which would carry into the first intermission.

The Ice Breakers were unable to capitalize early in the second period with a 5-on-3 advantage as the Wolves penalty kill unit came through. Camilleri and Wolves netminder Cody Porter traded saves through the first 10 minutes of the second before Mark Essery scored his second goal of the weekend to cut the deficit to 3-2. With less than three minutes left in the second, veteran Anton Lennartsson scored a power play goal that made the score 4-2.

Three minutes into the final period, Nate Farrington shot a puck over the glove of Porter off assists from Drake Hunter and Paul Lamoureux, making the score 4-3. But the Wolves veteran corps proved to be too much for the young Ice Breakers. Tyler Gjurich scored his sixth goal of the two-game series, followed by J.B. Sweeney and Gavin Yates to make it a 7-3 final.

Porter stopped 51 of 54 Mentor shots while Camilleri made 29 saves for Mentor. Essery (1-1-2) and Lamoureux (0-2-2) both collected multiple points for the Ice Breakers. Whitcomb and Wahlin finished the contest with three assists apiece. Beaudry (2-1-3) and Holt (1-2-3) also had three-point outings.

The Ice Breakers are back in action next weekend on the road in Port Huron. You can catch all the action live on TFMSports.com.