Ice Flyers Thrill Sellout Crowd Saturday With Dramatic OT Shootout Win

December 1, 2024

by Bill Vilona, Ice Flyers correspondent

The Ice Flyers began a defining week with only two wins for the season.

They picked up two in 24 hours, following a dramatic 4-3 overtime shootout win Saturday night against the Birmingham Bulls, sending a sellout crowd of 8,049 on a $5 ticket game at the Pensacola Bay Center into the chilly night air, warmed by a celebratory scene on the ice.

For a photo gallery, click here.

“It was especially a good win for our fans,” said Ice Flyers coach Gary Graham. “It’s been very frustrating to have big crowds and not be able to pay them back for all the support.

“Another amazing crowd and we keep getting them over and over again. Kudos to (Ice Flyers owner) Greg (Harris) and the front office and to the community for supporting us. Obviously, we have been in a bad funk. There’s been a lot of things that have gone wrong to start the season.”

A lot of things, however, went right this week. Even though the Ice Flyers dropped a 3-2 game Wednesday – the first of the twin $5 ticket nights – against the first-place Huntsville Havoc, the performance brought encouragement.

It carried into Friday’s road win at Macon. The team bus arrived around noon Saturday from that trip. Hours later, the Ice Flyers faced Birmingham in the Thanksgiving week’s finale.

“Obviously, it’s a great feeling,” said Ice Flyers assistant captain Ivan Bondarenko, who assisted on the team’s first goal of the game. “We’re starting to head in the right direction. Everybody is coming together. And we’re starting to play as a team and supporting each other. That is the key for us.

“Even when you’re tired you’ve got to push through it and enjoy it. That’s all we did and that’s how we came up out on top.”

The Ice Flyers tied the game 1-1 on Cayden Cahill power-play goal with 9:48 left in the period. They followed with consecutive goals in a 1-minute, 18-second span to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.

But the Bulls tied the game with a pair of goals in the first six minutes of the third period, sending a feeling a dread throughout the arena.

Ice Flyers goaltender Kevin Resop kept the score tied with saves later in the period. In the overtime, Resop saved the night for the Ice Flyers with a flurry of great saves in the final 90 seconds of the 5-minute OT. In the shootout, he was just as brilliant, thwarting Birmingham’s first four shooters to win the game.

“Kevin was the star of the game,” Graham said. “He made some tremendous saves in overtime to give us a chance to get to the shootout and for him to close the door like that in the shootout.”

The Ice Flyers’ fourth shooter, defenseman Tim Faulkner, broke the back-and-forth stops by both teams’ goaltenders with his wrist shot into the top corner.

“We practice the shootout every week and it’s sort of a running joke, but I do kind of score in the shootout, so coach (Graham) told me he might put me in,” Faulkner said. “I had a move in mind and it worked. It’s just one of those things I have done so many times.”

Hugo Koch followed with a simple deke and slid the puck smoothly through Bulls’ goaltender Hayden Stewart’s legs for the game winner.

“For Tim Faulker and Hugo Koch to be the ones that score for us, just tremendous for the group,” Graham said. “It has been very dark and gloomy around here. We have been trying to keep a positive mindset on it.

“The guys have been coming to work and buying in on the video sessions. We have some really unfortunate things happen, but it’s great to see them celebrating in there right now.”

The Ice Flyers played with four guys on injured reserve and Sam Dabrowski unable to play after getting an eye injury Friday against Macon. This is how it has been, unfortunately, for the Ice Flyers in their first 15 games of the season.

With that in mind, Bondarenko had an impassioned message for the fans afterward. In two games this week, one on the night before Thanksgiving, another on Saturday, the Ice Flyers had sellout crowds at the Bay Center.

“You all have been showing up day in and day out and supporting us,” he said, during a post-game interview. “We haven’t had the start that we wanted but you guys have not slowed down and you guys keep cheering us on and it’s unbelievable.

“A lot of this is thanks to you guys, so we appreciate your support.”

FIRST PERIOD

A scoreless opening period had its noteworthy moments.

Only seven seconds into the game, following a lengthy delay, the Ice Flyers had to send out a penalty kill unit. They were whistled for too many men on the ice in a strange sequence that came off the opening faceoff.

They kept the Bulls from a good shot and got the penalty kill. Later in the period Resop made his first big save on a point-blank wrist shot.

Ivan Bondarenko had the Ice Flyers best scoring chance with a wrap-around attempt with 6:13 remaining.

When the period ended, the Ice Flyers players remained on the ice for the ceremony saluting Jim Chestnut, the team’s equipment manager, who worked his 1,500th game in minor league, professional hockey.

For a photo gallery, click here.

SECOND PERIOD

Birmingham’s Tayor Brierley, blasted a one-timer past Resop following a faceoff with 14:47 left in the period.

Ice Flyers followed with three consecutive goals from Cayden Cahill, Cameron Cook and Adam Pilotte to take a two-goal lead into intermission.

For Cook, it was his sixth goal of the season. Bondarenko picked up his sixth assist. Koch had assists on two of the three goals before his game-winning heroics in the shootout.

THIRD PERIOD

Birmingham tied the game on a pair of goals that followed defensive mistakes in the Ice Flyers zone. It’s been the kind of thing Graham and the team have worked to try to avoid.

Offensively, the Ice Flyers had few chances and neither team had a power play. Resop finished regulation play and the five-minute OT having stopped 32 of 35 shots.

GAME NOTABLES

Ice Flyers owner Greg Harris addressed the crowd in the first intermission to honor Jim Chestnut. He was presented a glass enclosed frame with a personalized jersey. In addition, Harris announced a $1,500 gift card in honor of the 1,500 games.

Cameron Cook’s goal Saturday occurred on his 27th birthday.

The sellout pushed the Ice Flyers to a 6,000-plus attendance average for their first seven home games this season.

Four players remained on the injured list Saturday: Matt Wiesner, Tyler Adams, Sean Gulka. Graham said afterward that Gulka may have the best chance of returning soon.

WHAT’S NEXT?

WHO: Ice Flyers at Birmingham Bulls
WHEN: Thursday (Dec. 5), 7:05 p.m.
WHERE: Pelham Civic Complex, Pelham, Ala.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FRONT FEATURE, Sports, TOP sports