|
|
Barons: Weekly Report
2/29 Set franchise attendance record Saturday night
2/29/04 - by Craig Haueter
The
Barons opened the weekend home trifecta Friday night with an impressive 5-2
victory over the division-leading Hamilton Bulldogs. Jon DiSalvatore and Marcel
Goc paced the Cleveland offense with two goals apiece while goalie Nolan
Schaefer ran his Gund Arena record to 6-0-0 while recording 38 saves.
Both teams came out early with fast, end-to-end action. Hamilton dominated the
shots on goal for the first period 16-8, but Cleveland drew first blood on a
pretty play at the 8:38 mark. Forward Craig Valette skated along the side
boards and waited for Marcel Goc to catch up, feeding Goc in front, who beat
Bulldogs goalie Olivier Michaud with the shot. Hamilton would knot the game 1-1
four minutes later as the Bulldogs converted a power play opportunity. Barons
goalie Nolan Schaefer was unable to smother a loose puck in front and Tomas
Plekanec found the back of the net. The defensive play of the period came from
rookie Garrett Stafford who caught Philippe Plante breaking to the goal and
rode him and the puck into the corner.
Hamilton displayed relentless
pressure in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. After Schaefer made point
blank saves on Gordie Dwyer and Marcel Hossa earlier in the period, he finally
surrendered a goal at the 13:27 mark as Philippe Plante nearly skated past the
net but managed to wrap it back around the near post. Grant Stevenson had the
check of the night when he laid out Eero Somervuori in open ice near the end of
the period.
The final period saw the six-day break by the Barons pay
off with fresher legs. The Barons offense would erupt for four goals to seal
the contest. Brad Boyes started things rolling as he picked the pocket of a
Hamilton defender at the blue line and shot it back toward the net. The shot
was deflected to Jon DiSalvatore who beat Michaud for the goal. Tavis Hansen
scored on a long shot from the right face off circle after collecting a loose
puck to make it 3-2 Barons. The pass of the season took place with 3 minutes
remaining as Miroslav Zalesak faked the shot and passed it behind his back to
teammate Marcel Goc who rifled it home from out front, for his second goal of
the game. DiSalvatore would collect his second goal of the game with just 46
seconds remaining to make the final 5-2 Cleveland. Stars of the game were:
Nolan Schaefer (1), Marcel Goc (2) and Jon DiSalvatore (3).
The Barons
would score the all important first goal Saturday night, the only problem was
the Rochester Americans scored the next five and defeated Cleveland 5-1 in
front of a franchise record 8,175 fans. Chris Taylor had four assists for the
Amerks and goalie Tom Askey stopped 25 shots to help lead Rochester to victory.
Jason Pominville and Milan Bartovic each got into the act with a goal and an
assist each.
The chippy affair featured two separate fights between
Yuri Moscevsky of the Barons and Sean McMorrow of Rochester as well as an
impressive rare fight appearance by Barons forward Brad Boyes who stood
toe-to-toe with Domenic Pittis. Boyes was clearly trying to pump up his
teammates and challenged the Barons bench to raise their level of play by
gesturing to them as he left for the locker room near the end of the second
period.
The only goal for Cleveland and sole offensive highlight was
Garrett Stafford's goal in the first period. Stafford waited until the
Rochester defenseman slid past him and left him with a clear shot to the net.
The outcome was still in doubt until Miroslav Zalesak's high sticking major
9:17 into the final period. Rochester would score two goals with Zalesak in the
penalty box to silence any chances for a comeback by the Barons.
Cleveland finished their busy weekend Sunday with a 4-1 victory over their
in-state rival Cincinnati. The Barons play Cincinnati seven times over their
final twenty one games which will go along way in determining how the Barons
will be seeded for the upcoming AHL playoffs. Third period goals by Marcel Goc,
Brad Boyes and an empty net tally by Ryane Clowe broke open a 1-1 hockey
game.
Barons goalie Nolan Schaefer turned in another impressive effort
in goal registering his tenth win of the season while recording 19 saves.
Willie Levesque started the scoring three minutes into the first period beating
Ducks goalie Eddy Ferhi between the legs for his first goal of the season. Nick
Smith rifled a short-handed goal top shelf past Schaefer early in the second
period after a Barons turnover in their own end to tie the game and set up the
Barons offensive heroics in the final period.
Barons
Notes
Defenseman Doug Murray is still hobbled by a bruised knee and
is not expected back until next weekend. Jim Fahey continues to rack up
frequent flyer miles after being recalled to San Jose over the weekend.
The week ahead will be another busy one for the Barons at home. Tuesday, the
San Antonio Rampage come to town and next weekend, the Barons host Hamilton,
Rochester and Cincinnati once again-the same teams as last weekend.
Craig Valette of the Barons had a tough weekend in the facial area over the
weekend. Saturday night, Craig took a stick to the face and neck area as it
broke in an opponent's hands forcing treatment in the locker room. Sunday night
saw Valette take a blow to the mouth loosening his dental work and later took a
high stick to the face by Keith Aucoin which went uncalled. An argument ensued
between Valette and Aucoin with both players getting 10-minute misconduct
penalties.
|
What did you think of
article? Post your comments on the
Feeder Forums |
|
|
|
|