FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Entering into their first three-game home weekend of the season, the Marksmen had expectation set high, riding the high of back-to-back weekend sweeps. Hosting the surging Evansville Thunderbolts, the night would see over 12 goals scored in a flurry of three periods.
There would be no less than three goals scored in every period of play on the night, and the first would set the tone for the scoring to come. With his dad in town, hot-handed Taylor McCloy would find the back of the net just over three minutes into the game. It would take not even 90 seconds for the Thunderbolts to strike back, as Jacob Smith would make it a 1-1 game. The short scoring spurts would not end there, as it would take under two minutes for Brian Bowen to earn his 20th goal of the year, and retake a Marksmen lead. The good vibes of the lead would once again take a turn for the opposite side, as the Thunderbolts’ Hayden Hulton would score the penultimate goal of the first, and make it a 2-2 game with 12 minutes to go in the first. The period would finished knotted up, and fans were ready for the fun.