Icehawk teammates Zach Bauer and Jeffry Wood congratulate Maxim Pyluyko on his game winning shot.
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)

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TRICITY ICEHAWKS WIN!
Down Inferno 3 to 2 in OT

November 13, 2010       Leave a Comment
By: John Keuvelaar

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Pride was a major motivator as the two remaining winless teams collided at the Bay County Civic Arena Friday night. This made for high intensity action and a well played game as both teams fought and clawed for each puck possession. As the game went into overtime, the Icehawks turned their game up an additional notch, dominating puck possession and pressure on the net before defenseman Maxim Pyluyko ended it all with a slap shot in the upper corner of the net to lift the Icehawks to a 3-2 victory.

Tri City came out with heavy pressure on the net as they out shout the Inferno 17 to 5 in the opening period. Hard checking and constant puck challenges kept Indianapolis off balance but strong goaltending by Indy's Dylan Martin kept the Icehawks off the board. Maxim Pyluyko put the Icehawks on top while the Hawks were on the powerplay. Taking a pass at the blue line from Justin Lacy, the powerful defenseman blasted a slap shot from the blue line past a well screen goalie to make it 1-0 Icehawks.

The second period saw the Inferno turn up the intensity and put some heat on the Icehawks. Yury Nikonov was strong on the initial shot and the Icehawk defense stepped up to clear second chances, an area that has been a problem for much of the season.

The Inferno tied the game in the second period when winger Bryce Stenstrom came off the boards with the puck and found Bradley Voice along in front of the net for a quick one timer knotting the game at 1 apiece.

The Icehawks were determined to make this their night. Having earned another powerplay opportunity, they took the faceoff just outside the offensive zone. Captain Justin Lacy drew the puck back to Maxim Pyluyko who immediately moved the puck to defensive partner Joshua Koehn in the middle of the ice. Koehn stretched the shorthanded defense out by bringing the puck into the zone on the far boards. As he moved to the center of the offensive zone, the path opened up and he rifled a shot to the top right corner beating the Inferno goalie and putting Tri City back on top 2-1 with just over a minute left in the second period.

Twenty seconds later the Inferno got a break when they were awarded a penalty shot after an Icehawk defenseman dove to sweep away the puck from Bradley Voice as he had a step on him and was bearing down on the goaltender. Facing a potential momentum changing goal at the end of the period, Yury Nikonov waited for Voice to start his moved before poke checking the puck away to preserve the 2-1 lead.

Inferno started the third period on the powerplay and took advantage of their opportunity. As Bryce Stenstrom skated by the Icehawks net, he flipped it back at the goaltender. The shot found a hole deflecting into the net tying the game at two. The goal lifted the visiting teams energy as the attacked with renewed vigor out shooting the Icehawks 19 to 9 for the period. But Nikonov and his Icehawks defense stiffened keeping the game tied.

As the clock ticked down, both teams played with a sense of desperation wanting to climb into the win column. Play was typified of the effort when an Icehawk slap shot deflected off the shin guards of an Inferno player for a breakaway. But the determined Icehawks skated him down forcing his shot wide of the net. Icehawks defenseman Joshua Koehn almost ended the game with five minutes to play when he skated past two Inferno players and fired a shot at Martin. The puck deflected off the goaltender straight up looking destined to deflect off Martin's back and into the net. But the goaltender snatched the puck out of the air insuring overtime.

The four on four overtime play was clearly dominated by the Icehawks. They played determined to win rather than afraid to loose as they outshot the Inferno 9 to 1. Taking a pass from Koehn, Maxim Pyluyko fired a high slap shot from just inside the blue line near the boards. The heavy traffic in front of the net screened Martin from seeing the puck as it dented the twine just under the crossbar giving the Icehawks their much earned first victory of the season.

It was a well played, very exciting game as Tri City broke into the win column and are ready to take on the league with renewed energy. They will need it as they travel to Dearborn Heights to play the first place Motor City Chiefs Saturday and Sunday. The Icehawks do not return to Bay City until Saturday, December 11 when they take on the Wooster Oilers at 7:30 pm.

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John Keuvelaar
John Keuvelaar is a college student at Midwest Photography Workshops and Delta College. More from John Keuvelaar

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