Recap
The Florida Independent Hockey League (FIHL) kicked off its inaugural season on Saturday evening, October 17th, at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy, as the Stingrays took on the Sand Sharks at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy in Oldsmar. The first ever FIHL goal was scored by the Sand Shark’s Nathan Souza assisted by Oscar Aguirre with 17:30 left in the first period. The Sand Sharks went on to score six more goals in the first en route to a 20-5 victory over the Stingrays. Highlights included three Sand Sharks players with three or more goals (Souza-5 goals, 1 assist; Anderson Libby-5 goals, 1 assist; and Dave Beaudin-3 goals, 1 assist). Other Sand Sharks players of note included: Andrew Shillings-2 goals, 3 assists; Ryan Tanner-2 goals, 1 assist; Andre Bobowicz-1 goal, 4 assists; and Julian Pontoni-1 goal, 2 assists. The Stingrays’ Chandler Odell had two goals and one assist on the night, while Erik Laflamme, Jaxon Law, and Alex Myers each netting a goal. Jaxon Law who was playing on a tryout contract left the game in the first period after scoring the Sting Rays first goal with a fractured elbow. Shots on goal for the game were Stingrays 36, Sand Sharks 68.