The FIHL was back at TBSA on Saturday, February 27 with the Sand Sharks taking on the Aces and the Sting Rays versus the Minutemen.
In the first game, the Sand Sharks defeated the Aces 12-3 in a game that was tight in the first period before the Sharks swam away with the game in the second. The Sand Sharks got on the board less than a minute into the game on a goal by Nathan Souza (assisted by Andre Bobowicz). The Aces tied the score less than two minutes later on a goal by Gavin Frost before the Sand Sharks’ Souza/Bobowitz combo struck again with 12:19 left in the first period. The Aces answered with a goal by Nathan Salazar with 7:15 left in the period that tied the game until Nolan Borek put the Sharks ahead 3-2 with 0:26 left in the first period. The second period was all Sand Sharks as they put up five goals (Borek, Callahan Cady, Patrick Dary, Souza, Bobowicz) to take an 8-2 lead. The Sand Sharks continued to add to their lead with four consecutive goals in second half of the third period (two by Souza for the hat trick, Jordan Chapman, and Cameron Smalley) to take a 12-2 lead. The Aces added one more on a goal by Jaxon Law with 4:31 left in regulation for the final score of 12-3. The Sand Sharks’ notable performers were Souza with five goals and one assist; Bobowicz with one goal and four assists; and Smalley with one goal and two assists. Shots on goal were Sand Sharks 54, Aces 42.
In the second game, the Sting Rays won against the Minute Men 9-7 in an exciting matchup that was either tied or within one goal for most of the game. The first period saw the Minute Men get on the board first with a goal by Cameron Smalley with 15:04 left in the period. The Sting Rays answered with 2:09 left in the period on a goal by Ben Morgan. The Sting Rays took a 2-1 lead early in the second period on a goal by Erik LaFlamme, but the Minute Men answered less than a minute later with a goal by Andrew Harmon. Less than a minute later, the Sting Rays again took the lead on a goal by Alex Myers, but less than two minutes later, the Minute Men’s Wyatt Frontiero scored to make it 3-3 with 15:02 left in the second period. The Minute Men took the lead with 11:14 left in the period on a power play goal by Frontiero before the Sting Rays answered with goals by Tyler McDuffie and Chandler Odell to give the Sting Rays a 5-4 lead with 8:32 left in the second period. A minute-and-a-half later, the Minute Men tied it at 5-5 on a goal by Vlad Handjiev before the Sting Rays re-took the lead with 5:52 left in the period on a goal by LaFlamme. The Minute Men tied it again at 6-6 with 14:39 left in the third period on a goal by Alex Noti, but the Sting Rays re-took the lead with 11:04 left in regulation on a power play goal by Odell. The Sting Rays added to their lead eleven seconds later on a goal by Kane Eanes, but the Minute Men again cut the lead to one with a goal by Max Mondo with 7:15 left in regulation. The Sting Rays scored one more time before the buzzer when Eanes scored a power play goal with 0:38 left in the game to give the Rays a 9-7 win. The Sting Rays’ McDuffie added three assists while teammates Odell and Ryan Piper each had a pair of assists. Shots on goal were Sting Rays 57, Minute Men 59.
Karis Fedor.