HUNTSVILLE – For the second consecutive night, the Havoc and Thunderbolts played to a regulation tie and sent the game to overtime.
However, the magic ran out on Huntsville as Evansville ended the Havoc win streak at four games, squeaking out a 5-4 win on Pharmacy First Ice.
It’s only the second time all season the Havoc have lost a game that went to overtime or a shootout.
“Despite playing an uninspired game, we found a way to get ourselves to overtime,” said Havoc Head Coach Glenn Detulleo. “Our discipline and special teams just were not good enough to win tonight.”
It was another game plagued by multiple penalties and powerplay opportunities on both sides. Like the night before, Huntsville was awarded nine chances with the extra attacker, but doubled their output Saturday night, scoring on two of them.
Evansville jumped on top with a score 11 minutes in to the first period, but Huntsville’sScott Trask answered almost immediately, using his body to bounce a rebound into the net just 22 seconds after the Thunderbolt score.
A few minutes later, Nolan Kaiser got the Evansville goalie to commit early before he casually backhanded the puck over the keeper’s outstretched pad to give Huntsville the lead heading in to the first break. The Havoc outshot the Thunderbolts 22 to 8 in the opening stanza.
In the second period, Evansville came out firing and, despite being outshot again 15 to 7, kept their hosts scoreless while putting three goals in the net including a shorthanded tally. They regained the lead and were up 4-2 in the second intermission.
Deep in the third period, Kyle Sharkey gave the 6,000 fans in attendance new life by poking home a shot that Tyler Piacentini clanked off the right pipe.
Piacentini also proved crucial on the next Havoc score. The diminutive forward screened the Thunderbolts goaltender during a powerplay so Ryan Salkeld could snipe the puck from the right face-off circle and tie the game at four.
In the overtime period, after a great glove save, the puck took an odd bounce as Havoc keeper Mike DeLaVergne was trying to hand it off and Evansville’s Ben Owen cleaned up the fumble to give the Thunderbolts their first win over the Havoc this season 5-4.
Video highlights from the game can be found at the Havoc YouTube channel.
In the end, Huntsville once again more than doubled up Evansville’s shot total 58 to 27.
Trask has scored four goals over his last four starts and now has eight goals and nine assists in 29 games, matching the numbers he had during 52 games last season.
Kaiser has three goals and four assists over his last six contests.
Salkeld and Sharkey also got two assists each on the night. Sharkey tallied his first three-point game of the season and has recorded at least a point in 10 of his last 11 games (3g, 13a). Salkeld extends his current point streak to five games (3g, 6a), his third streak of five games or more this year.
Photo and column credit: Huntsville Havoc
