DAYTON, OHIO – Dayton’s team is on a roll as they look to clinch the last playoff spot available, this time with a 7-2 dismantling of the Port Huron Prowlers. The win propelled Dayton’s up to a 2% lead over fifth-place Berlin. Jo St. Pierre picked up his seventh win of the season and kept the Prowlers quiet in the last two periods.
Port Huron got on the board first in Ahmed Mahfouz’s return to Dayton. At the 7:54 mark, Justin Alonzo slipped a short pass to a waiting Mahfouz, on the left step of St. Pierre’s crease. With the puck finding the back of the net, Mahfouz scored his 20th goal of the year.
Then it was time for Dayton to shine. Cory Giroux scored his first of two in the period, with some help from Ryan Timar and Myles McCauley. Giroux tipped in the last touch past Andy DiCristofaro at the 13:12 mark, tying things up at 1. Just two minutes later, here comes Robert Vanwynsberghe, Michael Dolman, and Martin Uhnak. With some solid passing, Vanwynsberghe pushed in the rebound from the left side of DiCristofaro to give Dayton the lead for good.
In the same minute, at the 15:49 mark, it was Giroux scoring once again. Giroux’s second offering was dispatched from Jacques Lamoureux and Patrick Harrison. With Dayton scoring three unanswered, Port Huron stormed down their side of the ice at the 16:31 mark, with Alonzo dishing out the last Prowler score from Mahfouz and Matt Fuller assisting. Both teams went back to the locker rooms with a 3-2 Dayton lead.
Dayton’s crew scored three times in the 2nd to put the game out of reach for Port Huron. Dolman, Timar, and Lamoureux, having helped out on the previous tallies, thrashed the net to bring the lead up to four. At the 6:33 mark of the 2nd period, Ryan Timar put the puck in an incredibly open net after a miscue handling the puck. Timar’s tally was driven up from from McCauley’s second assist and Giroux’s third point of the contest. At the 15:15 mark, just seconds after a power play opportunity expired, Dolman connected in the back of the net from Harrison’s second assist and McCauley’s third. Closing out the scoring of the middle frame, Lamoureux found home from Timar’s guidance and gave the hometown fans a lot to cheer for with a tremendous second period and a 6-2 lead.
The last score of the game was on a power play, with Martin Uhnak making the most of multiple chances on the Port Huron goalie from Lamoureux and McCauley’s passing. Dayton’s 46th power play goal was the final goal of the night, as Port Huron had no answers for a strong St. Pierre performance. Dayton was the victorious team with the 7-2 decision.
With Dayton’s win, the crew went to 19-26-5 on the year and increased the lead over fifth-place Berlin. Port Huron’s loss put the Prowlers with a 15-12 record away from McMorran Arena and a 32-17-1 overall record. St. Pierre improved to 7-6-2, while DiCristofaro fell to 22-9-0 on the year.
Game recap by Lee W. Mowen
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