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 Barons: Timely goals, solid defense
lead to 3-1 win
Barons move to third place tie in
division
1/21/04 - by Craig Haueter
Coming off a successful 3-2-0-1 road trip, the Barons returned home
Wednesday night and registered a workmanlike victory over the Houston Aeros.
With the loss, Houston’s winless streak extends to 12 games
(0-4-8-1).
The opening period saw strong defensive efforts from both
teams. Houston did not register a shot on goal until the 10:02 mark but they
made the first one count as Dan Cavanaugh jumped on a loose puck that trickled
into the slot area and fired it home past Barons goalie Nolan Schaefer. Despite
the hard-hitting action in the period, no penalties were assessed to either
team.
The Barons would tie the game 1-1 a little more than five minutes
into the second period as Brad Boyes, fighting off two defenders draped on him,
kept control of the puck and beat Aeros goalie Johan Holmqvist top shelf. Just
53 seconds later, Cleveland would strike again as Holmqvist let out a rebound
on a Jim Fahey slap shot from inside the right face-off circle and Tavis Hansen
scored his 8th goal of the season to put the Barons up 2-1.
Defenseman
Greg Labenski’s second goal of the season sealed the deal at the 18:28
mark in the final period. After Tomas Plihal hustled to the bench to replace a
broken stick, he recovered to pass it sharply to Jon DiSalvatore who waited for
Holmqvist to commit and passed it to Labenski in the slot to punch it in. The
Barons will entertain Houston once again Friday night at Gund
Arena.
Three Stars
#1 Tavis
Hansen (CLE) #2 Brad Boyes (CLE) #3 Miroslav Zalesak (CLE)
Save of
the Game
Cleveland goalie Nolan Schaefer turn in another solid
performance in the win over Houston (22 saves). His best moment of the game
came early in the second period on a Houston power play when defenseman Doug
Murray got caught up ice and Chris Bala broke free on a mini-breakaway for the
Aeros. Schaefer held his ground and dived to his right to stop Bala’s shot
from point blank range.
Welcome
Back
Defenseman Jim Fahey returned to action for the Barons after
being sent out by San Jose. This marks Fahey’s third trip to Cleveland
this season. Fahey turned in a strong effort with an assist, a +2 rating and
his usual solid defensive work. When he tangled with Erik Reitz briefly in the
second period to earn a conduct penalty, Fahey was more than willing to drop
the gloves but Reitz quickly ran to the penalty box to the amusement of
Fahey.
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