Ice Flyers Beat Huntsville Havoc (With Gallery)
March 16, 2024
The Pensacola Ice Flyers overcame an early 2 goal deficit and came out on top with a 6-3 win over the Huntsville Havoc on Friday.
Returning to home ice after a three game losing streak on the road, the Ice Flyers played with a sense of urgency and battled through in a high scoring game that saw five different Ice Flyers find the back of the net.
For a photo gallery, click here.
FIRST PERIOD
The Havoc started off hot with Derek Perl (10:19) and Phil Elgstam (11:07) getting past goaltender Eric Dop.
Joseph Widmar battled his way in front of the net and started the scoring for the Ice Flyers with 6:57 left in the period.
Troy Button tied things up for the home team at the 16:47 mark after deflecting a shot by newcomer, Erik Urbank, scoring his first professional goal.
SECOND PERIOD
Captain Garrett Milan had the only goal of the 2nd period with a slapshot on a pass from Lucas Herrmann at 2:20, giving the Ice Flyers a 3-2 lead.
THIRD PERIOD
Lucas Herrmann further extended the lead at 5:52 after swooping in on a deflection off of the pads of Havoc goaltender, Mike Robinson.
The Havoc answered with a goal from Dylan Stewart with 9:39 left in the game.
Ivan Bondarenko put on the jets soon after and knocked in a goal, after a beautiful pass from Mitch Atkins, bringing the Ice Flyers back to a comfortable 2 goal lead with 9:10 left on the clock.
With :38 seconds left on the clock, Ivan Bondarenko got his 2nd goal of the game on an empty net.
QUOTABLES
Ice Flyers Coach Gary Graham:
“Every fan we appreciate. We had a hot start to the season on home ice and we kinda cooled off. You know, as a group, fans want to come see a winning product on the ice. It’s up to us to find that, so it’s good to get a win in front of the fans… We just got to make sure we stay hungry for tomorrow night.”
Ice Flyers Forward Ivan Bondarenko:
“Obviously, that was not the start we wanted, but I think the biggest thing with us was staying calm. We knew there was a lot of game left. We just had to outweigh that storm that came down on us in those couple minutes when they scored two goals… We went back to work right away. It was good to bounce back in the first period though, leading into the second or third.”
“On that first one (goal), I’ve got to give credit to my boy Mitch Atkins. What a pass! That sauce across the ice was unbelievable. All I had to do was just be there and bounce it in.”
“It’s not easy to play the same team back to back nights. Especially after a win, they’re going to come a little more angry. But we’ve been preparing for them all week, so we’re just going to stay with the structure that we have and keep doing what we’re doing.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
NEXT FACEOFF
WHO: Ice Flyers vs. Huntsville Havoc
THEME: St. Patrick’s Celebration
WHEN: March 16
WHERE: Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, FL
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