Finally, once again, another hockey season is upon us. There was plenty of action across the ECHL over the weekend, so let’s dive right in and take a look at what happened throughout the 14-team Western Conference.
FORT WAYNE KOMETS (2-0-0, 4 POINTS)
Fort Wayne came out of the weekend with a perfect record after a pair of home ice wins over the Kalamazoo Wings. Trailing early in the third period on Friday, Trevor Cheek’s power play goal tied up the contest, then Shawn Szydlowski netted the game winner at the 9:13 mark for a 5-3 victory. Fort Wayne fell behind 1-0 on Saturday, before goals by Peter Sivak (1G, 1A) and Cheek gave them the lead mid-way through the opening period. Szydlowski added an empty net goal late in the third to ice a 3-1 win. Over the course of the weekend, the Komets scored four of their eight goals in the third period.
The week ahead: The Komets play host to the Indy Fuel (2-0-0) Friday and Saturday.
INDY FUEL (2-0-0, 4 POINTS)
Dylan Clarke had a goal and assist and Alex Lavoie added two assists as the Fuel rode a 2-2 tie with the visiting Toledo Walleye into a shootout. Lavoie and Kyle Stroh both found the net in the shootout to secure a 3-2 win for the Fuel. Indy travelled to Evansville on Saturday and outshot the IceMen 34-29 en route to a 3-1 road win. Daniel Ciampini contributed a goal and assist for the Fuel in their second-straight victory. The Fuel posted two power play markers on three chances in their first two games.
The week ahead: The Fuel travels to Fort Wayne to take on the Komets (2-0-0) Friday and Saturday in a battle for first place in the Midwest Division.
QUAD CITY MALLARDS (1-0-1, 3 POINTS)
The Mallards managed to pick up three points during a two-game road sweep through the territory of their former Central Division rivals. Quad City posted a 2-1 win at Allen on Friday night as Steve Michalek made 33 saves in his pro debut. The Mallards overcame three deficits at Wichita on Saturday night, as Logan Nelson scored twice and Matt Neal added an assist and game-tying goal at 18:14 of the third to send it to overtime. They would come up short in the ensuing shootout, however, but salvaged one point as they left Wichita with a 5-4 loss to the Thunder.
The week ahead: The Mallards host the Tulsa Oilers (1-2-0) on Friday and Saturday, and the Wichita Thunder (2-0-0) on Sunday.
CINCINNATI CYCLONES (1-0-0, 2 POINTS)
The Cyclones were impressive in their only game of the weekend, as they carried a 2-0 lead into the third period of their home opener against the Toledo Walleye before adding three more goals in the final frame. Jack Downing scored two goals for Cincinnati and Andrew Yogan added three assists, while Brad Thiessan made 25 saves as the Cyclones posted a 5-1 win over the Walleye.
The week ahead: Cincinnati remains home for a Saturday match-up with the Kalamazoo Wings (0-2-0).
WICHITA THUNDER (2-0-0, 4 POINTS)
The Thunder spoiled Tulsa’s home opener Friday night, handing the Oilers a 3-2 loss. Kenton Miller netted two goals, including the game-winner just nine seconds after Tulsa tied the game late in the third period. Todd Hosmer contributed a goal and assist and Ian Lowe and Danick Gauthier each added two assists as the Thunder picked up a 5-4 shootout win over Quad City at home on Saturday. Grant Rollheiser made 26 saves on the night, while allowing just one shootout goal on five attempts. Lowe and Joey Sides scored in the shootout to secure the win for Wichita.
The week ahead: The Thunder hosts Missouri (2-1-0) Friday, travels to Missouri Saturday and travels to Quad City (1-0-1) on Sunday.
MISSOURI MAVERICKS (2-1-0, 4 POINTS)
Jesse Root’s goal mid-way through the third period was the only one for the Mavs on Friday, despite holding a 40-29 shot advantage over the hosting Alaska Aces in a 3-1 loss. Missouri responded well Saturday, as Josh Robinson made 25 saves and Josh Holmstrom added two first period goals during a 3-0 shutout of the Aces. The Mavs kept things rolling on Sunday, handing the Aces a 3-1 loss on the backs of second period goals from Holstrom and Trevor Ludwig. The Mavericks out-shot the Aces 101-83 in their weekend visit to Alaska.
The week ahead: The Mavs travel to Wichita (2-0-0) Friday, and host Wichita on Saturday.
ALLEN AMERICANS (1-2-0, 2 POINTS)
Garrett Clarke’s goal at 7:39 of the third period was the defending Kelly Cup Champions’ only bright spot during Friday night’s home-opening 3-1 loss to the Quad City Mallards. Justin Courtnall found the back of the net just 24-seconds into Saturday’s game with Tulsa, and Gary Steffes and Tristan King each added a goal and assist as Allen claimed a 4-2 home ice win. A Sunday afternoon trip to Tulsa resulted in a 3-1 loss for the Americans, despite outshooting Tulsa 32-30 and posting a perfect penalty kill on ten chances in both games against the Oilers.
The week ahead: Allen heads west for a Wednesday night contest at Colorado (0-1-1), and a pair of weekend games at Utah (2-0-0).
TULSA OILERS (1-2-0, 2 POINTS)
Down 2-0 entering the third period Friday, the Oilers got goals from Ben Walker and Brady Ramsey to tie their home opener with the Wichita Thunder with only 1:28 remaining. Unfortunately, the crowd of 7,685 fans gasped as Tulsa allowed Wichita to answer just nine-seconds later and hand the Oilers a 3-2 loss. Tulsa picked up their second straight loss on Saturday night in Allen. Brian Nugent and Darian Dziurzynski each scored, but it wasn’t enough as the Oilers fell 4-2 to the Americans. Tulsa finally found the win column for the first time under Head Coach Jason Christie on Sunday afternoon at the BOK Center. Jussi Olkinuora made 31 saves, while Brandon Wong, Matt Konan and Ramsey all found the net in a 3-1 win over the visiting Allen Americans.
The week ahead: The Oilers travel to Quad City (1-0-1) for a pair of games Friday and Saturday.
UTAH GRIZZLIES (2-0-0, 4 POINTS)
The Grizzlies were perfect on their weekend road trip to Colorado. Josh Macdonald posted two goals, including the game-winner 4:12 into overtime and Ryan Faragher made 38 saves as Utah posted a 4-3 win on Friday. Saturday night saw Barry Almeida score four goals and Faragher post 33 saves to propel the Grizzlies to a 5-2 win over the Eagles.
The week ahead: The Grizzlies play host to the Allen Americans (1-2-0) Friday and Saturday.
IDAHO STEELHEADS (1-0-1, 3 POINTS)
It was all Steelheads during their home opener on Friday night. Colton Beck scored twice, Jefferson Dahl and Andrew Carroll had a goal and assist apiece, and Andre Bouvet-Morrissette added three assists as Idaho defeated the visiting Rapid City Rush 5-1. The Steelheads scored four first period goals on Saturday, but the Rush chipped away at the lead, ultimately handing Idaho a 5-4 loss in overtime. Dahl led the scoresheet with a goal and assist on the night.
The week ahead: The Steelheads travel to Alaska (1-2-0) for games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
RAPID CITY RUSH (1-1-0, 2 POINTS)
The Rush found themselves down 4-0 before Daniel O’Donoghue’s power play goal 8:13 into the third period broke up Idaho’s shutout bid on Friday night. The Rush went on to lose 5-1 in a game that saw the two sides combine for 70 penalty minutes. The Rush got their revenge the following night, posting a 5-4 win in overtime at Idaho. Scott Brannon had two goals, including the game tying goal at 19:59 of the third and Jonathan Narbonne netted the game winner 2:01 into the overtime period for Rapid City.
The week ahead: The Rush host Colorado (0-1-1) Friday, then travel to Colorado on Saturday.
ALASKA ACES (1-2-0, 2 POINTS)
Troy Redmann posted 39 saves, Justin Breton netted two goals and Gleason Fournier added a power play marker to give the Aces a 3-1 win over the visiting Missouri Mavericks on Friday night. Missouri turned the tables the rest of the weekend, blanking the Aces 3-0 on Saturday and handing them a 3-1 loss on Sunday.
The week ahead: Alaska plays host to Idaho (1-0-1) Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
COLORADO EAGLES (0-1-1, 1 POINT)
The Eagles came up with one point out of a possible four after a pair of weekend home games with the Utah Grizzlies. The Eagles battled back from a two goal deficit on Friday, tying the game on goals from Giffen Nyren and Kyle Ostrow to send the game into overtime. Utah scored the game winning goal 4:12 into the extra frame to hand Colorado a 4-3 loss. Collin Bowman and Nathan Moon scored Colorado’s only goals, as Utah’s Barry Almeida took over and scored four times to give the Eagles a 5-2 loss.
The week ahead: The Eagles host Allen (1-2-0) Wednesday, travel to Rapid City (1-1-0) Friday, and host Rapid City on Saturday.
Contact the writer: john.hall@prohockeynews.com
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