Understaffed Bruins Fall In Philadelphia 9-6 03/06/2010
Understaffed Bruins Fall In Philadelphia 9-6
Philadelphia, PA - With several key players out of the lineup, the second place Troy Bruins made the trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for one final weekend series against the Philadelphia Thunder on Saturday night, falling by a final score of 9-6.
The Bruins would dust off their "bus legs" early, jumping out to an early lead on the first K's Hamburger Dhop powerplay of the night, as Jordan Carpender found the stick of Corey Evelyn who buried his shot to light the lamp just 1:30 into the contest. Keeping the energy flowing throughout the period, veteran leadership would extend the lead to two at the 13:42 mark, with Lee McClure blasting in a shot unassisted, before McClure would add his second of the night at the 5:09 mark, this time with an assist to Bruins starting netminder Allan Dowler, to make it a 3-0 game. With time winding down in the opening frame, it would be Evelyn again to set up offense in front of the Philly net, with a crisp centering pass to Danville, California native Derek McPherson with only :41 showing on the large scoreboard hanging above center ice. Despite the tempo being controlled by an energized Bruins club throughout the period, Philadelphia would capitalize on an errant bounce in front of a nearly flawless Dowler for the upsetting goal with only nine seconds to go, making it a 4-1 game after twenty minutes.
After seemingly squeezing every drop of effort out of his shorthanded club in the first period, Bruins head coach Shane Hicke would be forced to watch a role reversal in the second, with the Thunder controlling much of the tempo, led by a Philly goal scored less than a minute off the opening faceoff, followed by two additional goals past the halfway mark to chip away at the Bruins stockpile lead, eventually knocking the tying goal past the shoulder of an overworked Dowler at the 3:21 mark to even the score at 4-4. Again it would be veteran leadership from the Bruins that would make the difference, with McClure taking matters into his own hands with 1:15 to go in the period, as he capitalized off a point pass from defenseman Erik Levin to take the 5-4 lead into the dressing room after forty minutes. Most telling, Philadelphia's full compliment of players outshot the short staffed Bruins 40-18 after two periods.
Philadelphia would open it up in the third period, scoring three quick goals, two of which were on the Thunder powerplay, before Jordan Carpender mustered the Bruins sixth goal of the night unassisted to cut the Philly lead back to one with just 1:41 to go in regulation. Despite the exhaustion and fatigue of a full three periods with several key players out of the lineup, the game finally boiled over in the final minute, erupting into fisticuffs, with the Thunder cashing in on the resulting powerplays to squeak two more goals past Dowler to secure the 9-6 final score, securing Philidelphia's first-ever win against the Bruins. Final shots would favor the Thunder 58-23.
The Bruins drop their record to 29-13-1, holding on to their clinched second place, and rematch the Thunder for the final time this season on Sunday afternoon before coming home to the historic Hobart Arena for the final time to host the Findlay Grrrowl on Saturday, March 13 at 8pm and Sunday, March 14 at 1:30pm. For more information, call the Bruins at 985-PUCK or visit www.TroyBruins.com.
Philadelphia, PA - With several key players out of the lineup, the second place Troy Bruins made the trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for one final weekend series against the Philadelphia Thunder on Saturday night, falling by a final score of 9-6.
The Bruins would dust off their "bus legs" early, jumping out to an early lead on the first K's Hamburger Dhop powerplay of the night, as Jordan Carpender found the stick of Corey Evelyn who buried his shot to light the lamp just 1:30 into the contest. Keeping the energy flowing throughout the period, veteran leadership would extend the lead to two at the 13:42 mark, with Lee McClure blasting in a shot unassisted, before McClure would add his second of the night at the 5:09 mark, this time with an assist to Bruins starting netminder Allan Dowler, to make it a 3-0 game. With time winding down in the opening frame, it would be Evelyn again to set up offense in front of the Philly net, with a crisp centering pass to Danville, California native Derek McPherson with only :41 showing on the large scoreboard hanging above center ice. Despite the tempo being controlled by an energized Bruins club throughout the period, Philadelphia would capitalize on an errant bounce in front of a nearly flawless Dowler for the upsetting goal with only nine seconds to go, making it a 4-1 game after twenty minutes.
After seemingly squeezing every drop of effort out of his shorthanded club in the first period, Bruins head coach Shane Hicke would be forced to watch a role reversal in the second, with the Thunder controlling much of the tempo, led by a Philly goal scored less than a minute off the opening faceoff, followed by two additional goals past the halfway mark to chip away at the Bruins stockpile lead, eventually knocking the tying goal past the shoulder of an overworked Dowler at the 3:21 mark to even the score at 4-4. Again it would be veteran leadership from the Bruins that would make the difference, with McClure taking matters into his own hands with 1:15 to go in the period, as he capitalized off a point pass from defenseman Erik Levin to take the 5-4 lead into the dressing room after forty minutes. Most telling, Philadelphia's full compliment of players outshot the short staffed Bruins 40-18 after two periods.
Philadelphia would open it up in the third period, scoring three quick goals, two of which were on the Thunder powerplay, before Jordan Carpender mustered the Bruins sixth goal of the night unassisted to cut the Philly lead back to one with just 1:41 to go in regulation. Despite the exhaustion and fatigue of a full three periods with several key players out of the lineup, the game finally boiled over in the final minute, erupting into fisticuffs, with the Thunder cashing in on the resulting powerplays to squeak two more goals past Dowler to secure the 9-6 final score, securing Philidelphia's first-ever win against the Bruins. Final shots would favor the Thunder 58-23.
The Bruins drop their record to 29-13-1, holding on to their clinched second place, and rematch the Thunder for the final time this season on Sunday afternoon before coming home to the historic Hobart Arena for the final time to host the Findlay Grrrowl on Saturday, March 13 at 8pm and Sunday, March 14 at 1:30pm. For more information, call the Bruins at 985-PUCK or visit www.TroyBruins.com.
