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NEWSDate: Feb 06, 2010 FireAntz's Chance At Win Melts Away
Fayetteville Observer staff report LAFAYETTE, La. - Unplayable conditions brought an early end to Friday night's Southern Professional Hockey League game between Fayetteville and Louisiana, with the homestanding IceGators taking a 3-2 shootout victory. The rink in the Blackham Coliseum had been melted to host a recent rodeo, according to Fayetteville president and general manager Kevin MacNaught. When reflooded, the rink never froze to sufficient hardness, and by the end of the first period, the ice had turn slushy in the corners. Early in the second period, the players' skates cleaved the ice deeply enough to cut four cooling lines, according to FireAntz coach Tommy Stewart. Fayetteville built an early 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Brett Needham and Emery Olauson, but the IceGators tied it late in the period on goals by Paul McBrien and ex-Fayetteville player Mike Ruberto. Of Ruberto's eight goals this season, five have come against his former teammates. When ice conditions proved unsuitable early in the second period, the teams consulted with league commissioner Jim Combs and agreed to go to a shootout. The last-place IceGators won that, 3-1, with the decisive goal coming from Erik Kent. "It was a safety hazard," Stewart said. "It was a tie game when play ended, so we got a point out of it." Louisiana improved to 12-23-1 (25 points) while Fayetteville slipped to 22-16-1 (45 points). The teams are scheduled to meet again tonight, conditions permitting. |
