The first period started out fast. Both teams needed little time to get warmed up and peppering the goalies with shots. Team Axe built up a large lead thanks to goals from Houghtaling and Axe. Team Tamurian would respond with tallies off the sticks of Bryan Honeywell, Beardsley, and Sarosy. Team Tamurian relied heavily on Mahar in goal to keep Axe at bay, having to stand on his head several times to keep the ball out of the net. On the other end, Ken Murphy stood tall between the pipes, fending off the few shots Team Tamurian could muster. After the first period, Axe held a 6-5 lead over Tamurian. On the benches, Tamurian preached defense to get some help for Mahar and to keep the pressure on the other goalie. Axe told his group to keep up the hard play.
The second period saw a cool down when it came to scoring. Team Axe managed to put a couple in the net in the period to increase their lead. Both goalies proved themselves to be walls, stopping the majority of shots that came at them. However, Team Tamurian found their offense struggling to get in the zone and get quality shots off. When they did crash the net, Team Axe would quickly get the ball through the zone and hammer shots on Mahar.
The start of the third period saw the score favoring Team Axe 8-5. Team Tamurian had a game plan to crash the net often and try to keep at least one man back to prevent any breakouts. However, Team Axe soon tore into it and started piling on the goals. Mark Hayes, last year’s MVP, snapped off a couple quick goals to extend the lead while Houghtaling and Mueller both tickled the twine. Team Tamurian looked to stage a comeback when Honeywell, Sarosy, Cahill, Beardsley got four goals in a row. However, the lead would be too much to overcome and Team Axe would take the game 14-9. It was Axe’s second win in a row. Kellie Cowan, who played tenaciously the entire game, was awarded the MVP award.
Once again, the Syracuse Crunch know how to put on an entertaining event. The game was both competitive and fun for the participants and the fans. It was great to see all the players having a great time, including when they chirped back and forth for fun. If this makes you miss hockey, you don’t have to worry. The Crunch will be back in action on October 11th and be playing in what will be a new regulation rink within the War Memorial. Missed the game, check out the photo gallery.