DANBURY, Conn – In game two of the FHL South division finals, the Danbury Whalers found a way to rattle the cage of New York Aviators’ goalie and FHL MVP Kevin Druce. After game three, Druce may need therapy to exercise the visions of whales dancing before his eyes.
Friday night, Chris Seifert scored his second goal of the game midway through the first overtime to life Danbury to a 3-2 victory at the Danbury Ice Arena. The Whalers now lead the best-of-five series two games to one with the opportunity to end the series at home Saturday.
Seifert’s heroics would not have been possible had it not been for a delay of game penalty called on Druce with 16.2 seconds left in regulation. Druce was called for knocking the net off the magnets, which in this case calls for the awarding of a penalty shot to the opposing team. Danbury sniper Alec Kirschner converted the free chance, sending the contest to sudden-death overtime where he assisted on Seifert’s winner.
With two wins over the Aviators in their last three meetings, the Whalers rode into game three confident that they could take on the high-flying New York team. Thanks to an early New York penalty, Danbury peppered Druce with four quick shots but failed to beat the net minder. Shortly thereafter, the Aviators got a man-advantage chance of their own and cashed in when Jesse Felten grabbed the rebound of a Michael Thompson shot and beat Whalers’ goaltender Peter Vetri with a wrist shot from the far circle.
The teams settled into a classic defensive battle as Druce and Vetri matched save for save through the rest of the first period. The best chance for Danbury to tie the game came when near the end of a second penalty kill situation, Martin Moucha beat Druce with a quick wrist shot but heard the sickening clang of the post as his shot caught the iron and deflected harmlessly away.
Trailing 1-0 heading into the first intermission, Danbury head coach Chris Firriolo must have said the right things because his troops came out energized for the start of the second. In fact, much of the first six minutes was spent in the Aviators’ defensive end as the Whalers pumped eight shots on net. Seifert finally scored on shot number nine as he flipped a back-hander into the net at the 5:53 mark to tie the score.
Just as it had in the opening stanza, the game became a goalie showcase after the goal as Vetri and Druce put on a brilliant exhibition. Vetri made eight solid saves over the last 14 minutes of the period while Druce seven, including a glove save on Kirschner while lying on the ice. Through their efforts, the scoreboard remained deadlocked, setting the stage for what would be a dramatic final twenty minutes.
New York appeared to have the legs early in the third and it would come into play midway through the period. When Danbury’s Lucas Schott was called for a penalty at the 7:33 mark, the Aviators headed to their fourth power play of the game. They pressed the Whalers, getting three shots on net that Vetri stopped. Finally, with one second left on the man advantage, Casey Mignone fed the puck to Warren Galloway who was at the point. Galloway fired a floater toward the net that eluded the Danbury net minder over the shoulder to put the visitors ahead with 10:28 to go.
The Whalers knew they needed to open the game up and they did just that. It led to a frenetic back-and-forth pace that produced ten shots between the two teams in a little under five minutes. A power play with 5:55 left gave Danbury a golden opportunity to tie the game but Druce held the fort.
As the clock slipped inside of one minute remaining, Firriolo pulled Vetri for an extra attacker, putting even more pressure on the New York defense. Seifert had a chance with less than 20 seconds to go but in the scramble in front of the net, the post came away from the magnet that holds it in place. After a discussion between the referee and his linesmen, Druce was called for deliberately sending the net askew, giving Danbury a penalty shot. Kirschner, who was on the ice at the time, was selected by Firriolo to take and he beat Druce just over the top of left pad and under the catching glove to tie the game.
The teams went toe-to-toe in the extra session, firing at will. As the shots piled up, the question was which side would blink first. Danbury appeared to have made the fatal mistake when Joe Dabkowski was called for charging, giving the Aviators’ power play one more chance. The Whalers’ penalty killers did a good job of not allowing New York to set up and work, keeping their opponents off the board.
Not too ling after that, Leland Fidler got the puck from teammate Kirschner and fed Seifert who was flying up the left wing. Seifert got into the New York zone and as he arrived at the bottom of the near circle, sent the puck toward the front of the net. It arrived at about the same time as Galloway, caroming off the skate of the defender and past Druce, setting off a wild celebration on the ice and in the stands. The Aviators argued that the net was off the magnet (on video it appeared to be off-line) but the officials ruled that it had come off the goal was scored, leaving New York head coach Rob Miller and his players frustrated as they headed to the locker room trailing in the series and having their backs to the wall.
Game Notes: New York’s power play was 2-for-5 in the game, bringing its series numbers to 5-for-18. Danbury went 0-for-3 and the Whalers are now 4-14 in three games…Final shots in the game were posted on the scoreboard as 42-40 in favor of the Aviators…Attendance was not announced but the crowd appeared to be in excess of 3,000 at the Danbury Ice Arena which can hold up to an estimated 3,350…Game four in Danbury on Saturday is set to start at 7:05 pm. If necessary, game five will be back at the Aviator Sports and Recreation Center in Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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