By ABC/FOX Montana Sports Staff
January 24, 2014
The Great Falls Americans scored only one goal in two periods before adding two more goals in the final three minutes of regulation to hand the visiting Glacier Nationals a 3-1 loss during BioLife Plasma Services Night at the Great Falls Ice Plex.
Brady Christiaens and Lucas Stover dished off to a wide open Cody Page to give the second place Americans a 1-0 advantage at the 13:03 mark of the opening period. Great Falls went on an offensive attack as they made Glacier goaltender Pierre Gustafsson work by firing on him a dozen times while Evan Hauser stopped all six shots that came his way for the Great Falls franchise.
It was a defensive battle in the second period as neither team got into the scoring column despite 24 scoring opportunities made by the Americans. Coach Jeff Heimel’s squad held the Nationals to just four shots on goal.
Glacier’s Tanner Dodd got the puck by Evan Hauser midway through the final period to tie the AWHL league contest at 1-1. Tucker Spooner and Austin Givens added the assists for the Whitefish, Montana franchise. The 325 fans in attendance were treated to some exciting hockey in the final 2:48 seconds as Dylan Garton scored over Gustafsson to help Great Falls reclaim the lead. Austin Krantz and Zachary Mese recorded their 11th and 18th assists of the season respectively. Garton’s goal was his 13th through 35 games. Cody Page found the back of the net for the second time by scoring an empty net goal with two seconds left. Aaron McInnis picked up his team leading 33rd assist.
Great Falls dominated in the shots on goal category recording 58 shots compared to just 11 from Glacier. The Americans were unsuccessful on their five power play opportunities.
Cody Page led the Americans by scoring two out of the three goals including the empty net goal at the end of the game. Five different players assisted on the scoring drives including Brady Christiaens, Lucas Stover, Austin Krantz, Zachary Mese and Aaron McInnis.
Evan Hauser,third in the AWHL with a saves percentage of 0.929, had 10 saves on the night. Despite the loss, Pierre Gustafsson finished with 55 saves.
Great Falls won their 27th game of the season (27-6-2) while the Nationals move to 15-19-1.
The Americans return to the Great Falls Ice Plex on Friday night (January 24th) to face the top-ranked Helena Bighorns. The game begins at 7:30 p.m.
SCORING SUMMARY:
1st Period:
-Great Falls: Cody Page goal (assisted by Brady Christiaens, Lucas Stover), 6:57. (Great Falls led 1-0)
Shots On Goal: Glacier 6, Great Falls 12.
2nd Period:
NO SCORING
Shots On Goal: Glacier 4, Great Falls 24.
3rd Period:
-Glacier: Tanner Dodd goal (assisted by Tucker Spooner, Austin Givens), 9:35 (Game Tied 1-1)
-Great Falls: Dylan Garton goal (assisted by Austin Krantz, Zachary Mese), 17:12. (Great Falls led 2-1)
-Great Falls: Cody Page empty net goal (assisted by Aaron McInnis): 19:58. (Great Falls led 3-1)
Shots on Goal: Glacier 1, Great Falls 22.
Other Stats:
Shots On Goal (Game): Great Falls (58) Glacier (11)
Power Play Opportunities: Glacier 0-0, Great Falls 0-5
Attendance: 325.
Story Courtesy: ABC/FOX Montana (KFBB): Americans score late to topple Glacier (January 24, 2014)