PHN’s Best Shots of the Game: Dashers edge Danbury in OT

DANVILLE, IL – With the FHL regular season quickly coming to a close, every game and every point are important. That was certainly the case last Saturday night when the Danbury Whalers traveled to Danville to take on the Dashers. The Dashers were hosting their “Hockey Fights Cancer” game and sent the fans home happy by defeating the Whalers 4-3 in overtime.

The Dashers opened the scoring early in the first period when John Scully set up Joe Pace for a slap shot that found the back of the net to make it 1-0. Late in the frame, Danbury evened things up when Dean Yakura scored out of a scramble.

Danville’s power play had a chance to break the tie early in the second but it backfired. Danbury’s Ilya Solarev turned the tables on the home team by scoring a short-handed goal to give the Whalers their first lead of the night. The Dashers were able to tie the score before the end of the period when Brian Soskin’s shot was deflected home by Scully to send the teams to the second intermission even at 2-2.

Danville’s crowd of 1,977 at the David S. Palmer Arena brought its energy level up in the third period and the Dashers used it to jump back in front. Alex Miley fed the puck to Jonathan Juliano who scored to put Danville up 3-2. The teams went back and forth before Danbury’s Tim Richter, who twice in the game appeared to be injured but came back, scored to pull the Whalers back into a tie.