Saturday evening saw the Drogheda Ice Breakers 2 host the Blackhawks in the IIHL Recreational Division. Both teams had a similar record going into this game and were close to each other in the standings. In fact the Blackhawks were ahead only on goal difference.
It was the Ice Breakers 2 who got the scoring under way with a goal from David Andrias. He actually shot the puck across the face of goal but it took a deflection of a Blackhawks defender. He did his best to cut the pass out but instead directed it past the unsuspecting Andrejs Maisaks. They were up by 2 goals a minute later when Armands Paudrups converted Kaspars Karkle’s pass. The Blackhawks spent most of the period in their defensive zone. The score after the first period was 2-0.
Despite being down 2 goals after 15 minutes, the Blackhawks enjoyed far more puck possession in the second period. They also kept the puck in the Ice Breakers 2’s defensive zone for long periods at a time. However, despite this possession they just couldn’t find a way past Michal Radusovsky. As a result of this sustained pressure, the Ice Brekers 2 had very little in the way of attack and as a result didn’t add to their 2 goals. The score after the second period remained 2-0.
In the third period, the action just broke out. The Ice Breakers 2 came out all guns blazing scoring after a minute and a half through Janis Binders. 5 minutes later they were up 4 by goals with Vladimirs Fedans scoring on the powerplay. Binders picked up the assist. The Blackhawks seemed to jump to life after this goal. The action was suddenly back and forth. Each team had great opportunities. The Blackhawks finally got on the scoreboard with 7 minutes remaining. Viktoras Bauba got the goal after an excellent transition play in the neutral zone. Armands Skalkis made a superb pass up the middle of the ice to Bauba who walked in and calmly finished. It was too little too late though as the Ice Breakers 2 got another before the final whistle through Klavs Ciprikis. Fedans picked up the assist. The score after the third period was 5-1 to the Ice Breakers 2.
Final Score – Ice Breakers 5 – 1 Blackhawks (2-0, 0-0, 3-1)
SOG – Ice Breakers 17 – 15 Blackhawks
PIM – Ice Breakers 22 – 39 Blackhawks
Saves – Radusovsky (14/15) – Maisaks (12/17)