PHN Photo Essay: Augusta closes in on top seed

AUGUSTA, GA – When the calendar turns to March in the SPHL, it means it is go time when it comes to playoff seedings. It is a fine line between being the hunter looking to move up a spot and being the hunted when teams are wanting your position in the standings.
This year, the Augusta RiverHawks have been for the most part the hunted thanks to sitting in first place. The Knoxville Ice Bears have been hot on their heels for a lot of that time, looking for the opportunity to slip ahead in the race for the top seed.
On Friday, March 9th, the RiverHawks took another step toward clinching the 2011-2012 William Coffey Trophy as regular season champion with a nail-biting 4-3 victory over the Ice Bears at the James Brown Arena. It was the third consecutive win for Augusta over Knoxville, including back-to-back nights, after the Ice Bears won the season’s first five meetings. Defenseman Drew Baker was the star of the game for the RiverHawks as he scored two goals in the game as well as earning one assist.
The first period belonged to the netminders as Knoxville’s Kyle Rank and Augusta’s Jon Olthuis both looked like brick walls. The teams combined for 25 shots in the period but only one of them found the back of the net. It came during an Augusta power play as Jason Price put a pass on the stick of Baker who one-timed the puck past Rank from the top of the face-off circle.
Knoxville’s multi-faceted offense was able to get the game tied early in the second thanks to its special teams. With Augusta’s Branden Kosolofsky in the box, Ice Bears forward Emery Olauson took a pass from David Segal and whipped the puck past Olthuis at the 6:11 mark. The score remained tied until the RiverHawks connected for two goals in 36 seconds.
Two minutes after killing off a crucial five-on-three Knoxville man advantage, the RiverHawks stormed the Ice Bears defensive zone where Jim Gehring set up captain Matt Auffrey who beat Rank. Seconds later, Augusta was back in Knoxville’s end when Brendan Taylor set up Baker for a blast from the point. Rank made the save but the rebound found its way to Price who blasted it home to push the RiverHawks lead to 3-1.
Things looked good for Augusta when Baker connected for another one-time howitzer blast on the power play at the 11:26 mark. Knoxville never gave up, clawing its way back into the game when Kyle VanderMale beat Olthuis with 3:45 remaining and Segal followed with a goal of his own at the 18:35 mark. Unfortunately for the visitors, it wasn’t enough as Olthuis and the RiverHawks defense slammed the door shut to secure the victory.
Olthuis made 25 saves on the 28 Knoxville shots he faced to post the win while Rank stopped 32 of Augusta’s 36 shots in suffering the loss.