Frozen
flurry
Butler nets 4 goals in 11 minutes for 9-5 win over Shaler
By Derek Pyda
Eagle Staff Writer
MIDDLESEX TWP — Despite the freezing temperatures outside the Ice Connection
Monday night, the flurries came inside its confines.
Ben Rodgers took a pass from Trevor Gilliland
and beat Titans’ goalie Paul Zalakar midway through the third period to give
“We started playing like it was 4-1 and not
0-0,” said
Goals by Chris Martin, Gilliland, Jonathan Fair
and Brendan Ackelson turned the game into a rout later in the final
period.
A similar run had given the Tornado (
Shaking off an early goal by Shaler’s Michael
Fuchs, Butler’s Sam Gross, Ackelson and Ronan Miller each tallied first-period
goals. Fair then found the net in the last second of a power play that ended 31
seconds into the second period.
“Before that, we were letting them (Titans)
out-shoot us,” said Hammonds. “That’s not our game. We needed to focus on
putting the puck on the net and that’s when we started to roll.”
But Shaler remained focused and, thanks in part
to a change in its defense, turned the tables on the Tornado.
“With a team like Butler, there are some usual
suspects who are very skilled. Guys like Connor Scott, Trevor Gilliland and
Jonathan Fair,” said Shaler coach Jason Silver. “We wanted to create some
offensive opportunities through our defense. We tightened up our zone and were
able to create some odd-man rushes.”
That led to goals in the second period from
Fuchs and Zach Sarnowski and with 10:39 left in the game from Cameron
Bardsley.
All of the goals came against Butler’s Zach
Schnur, who stopped 23 shots in the game.
But it wasn’t long before Rodgers’ go-ahead
goal, which came just 91 seconds after the Titans (3-6-1) had pulled
even.
“Our goalie was solid in stopping the first
shot,” said Silver, “but we turned into a run-and-gun team and that is not our
identity. We’re a team that needs to focus on defense.”
Just moments before Rodgers’ goal, Shaler’s
Mitchell Werry intercepted a pass near center ice and had a breakaway chance,
but his backhand was off the mark.
The action became very physical in the third
period, when 10 penalties were called, including a pair of unsportsmanlike
conduct fouls on the Titans.
“There’s no history between us,” said Gilliland.
“The more we scored tonight, the more Shaler was hitting.”
Zalakar made 20 saves for Shaler.
Rodgers and Gilliland both tallied three assists
for Butler while Ackelson, Gross and Scott each contributed two.
Butler is off until next Monday when it hosts Upper
St. Clair.