The Ice Devils bested the Black Bears 4-2 to win the first game of the brand new AIAHL 30+ Winter hockey season at Aspen Ice in Flemington. Ice Devil captain Jim Donnelly scored 2 goals to lead his squad. Black Bear captain Steven Breheny also tallied two points for his team, netting one goal and one assist.
The Ice Devils scored in the first minute on a long shot that fooled the Black Bear netminder. The Black Bears were able to regroup tieing the game ten minutes later only to allow the Ice Devils to score with 56 seconds left in the period.
The Ice Devils won period 2 by a 2-1 goal margin to bring the score to the eventual 4-2 final as no goals by either team were scored in the third.
The game was mild mannered in the early going, with only one minor penalty in the first. But the hard fought back and forth play led to some agressive penalties in the final two periods. League Director Bill Auld commented "We talked to both teams about the tone of play in the final two periods to make sure there were no lingering issues. I think there was some excitement to this first game and the teams were unfamiliar with each other. Sometimes that lends itself to misunderstandings on the ice. In the end it was worked out and both teams played a good competitive game."
Next up-Tuesday's double header:
9:15 Buffaloes v Ice Holez
10:45 Shamrocks v Hitmen
Box Score:
Goals:
Ice Devils:
#8 Jim Donnelly (1,2)
#9 Brian Feller (1)
#29 Lou Fischl (1)
Black Bears:
#54 Steve Breheny (1)
#0 Charles Bruton (1)
Assists:
Ice Devils:
#28 Mantone
#9 Feller
#10 Russell
Black Bears:
#54 Breheny
