Icemen Rally Falls Short Following in 3-2 Loss to Lions

By Jasen Mata

Last Second Heartbreak; Icemen fall 3-2 to Lions
Final Score: [Jacksonville Icemen] [2] - [3] [Trois-Rivières Lions] 
When: Friday, February 7th , 2025 @ 7:00 P.M. EST
Where: [VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena] – [Jacksonville, Florida] 

1st Period: We knew it would be an entertaining game when the Lions and Icemen faced off Friday Night. Jacksonville and Trois-Rivières did not disappoint as the action started early. The Lions would be the first on the board scoring within the game's first three minutes. Logan Nijhoff slapped in a short-handed goal to get The Lions up early. Minutes later Morgan Adams-Moisan hit almost the same goal to put The Lions up 2-0.

It seemed that the game was quickly getting away from Jacksonville, but they would swiftly answer back. It’s been a while since Chase Lang was in the starting lineup and he picked up right where he left off. Lang would score the first Icemen point of the night after multiple rebounds went Jacksonville’s way. The score does not indicate how physical and close this game was in the first period of play. The Icemen remained physical all period, checking Lion’s players, putting some big hits on, and doing their best to make the Lions uncomfortable. The period ended with The Lions on top 2-1 Lions.

Period Scoring Summary: 
End of 1^st Period Score: [Jacksonville Icemen] [1] – [2] [Trois-Rivières Lions]
JAX: [Chase Lang] (Assist : [Chris Grando, Brendan Harris]) – [9:43]
TR: [Logan Nijhoff] (Assist : [Xavier Cormier, Nicholas Guay]) – [2:45]
TR: [Morgan Adams-Moisan] (Assist : [Xavier Cormier, Nicholas Guay]) – [5:09]

2nd Period: The second period of play shot right back into the action as both teams were flying on the ice tonight. As Tony Romo would say, this second period was a game of cat and mouse as both sides exchanged multiple shots on goal. After a great power play opportunity, Jacksonville would tie the game up just seconds after that power play expired. Hakon Nilsen got the job done, with a sniper shot into the corner. This would be Nilsen’s first Icemen goal of the season and then in turn tied the game 2-2.

However, it wouldn’t be long before the Lions shot back with their third goal on the night. Vincent Sevigny whipped in a ridiculous crossbar shot to put The Lions back on top. For The Icemen, Chase Lang made his presence known as he served multiple roughing penalties. It was this physicality and intensity that kept the game within one goal as the second period would end 3-2 in favor of The Lions.

Period Scoring Summary:

End of  2^nd Period Score: [Jacksonville Icemen] [2] – [3] [Trois-Rivières Lions]
JAX: [Hakon Nilsen] (Assist: [Brendan Harris, Brayden Hislop]) – [16:40]
SAV: [Vincent Sevigny] (Assist: [Morgan Adams-Moisan, Tyler Hylland]) – [17:12]

3rd Period: The third and final period was nothing short of exciting. Despite being down most of their defensive stars, Jacksonville fought hard to keep this a close game. They did just that and managed to keep Trois-Rivières out of the net for the remainder of the game. However, The Lions were no pushovers themselves and did a great job fending off the Icemen's offensive attack. This continued for much of the period, with roughly seven minutes of uninterrupted play within this time.

In the final forty seconds of the play, Jacksonville elected to pull Goalie Justen Close and sub in a sixth skater. A tactic that hasn’t worked much for the Icemen this year was their last-ditch effort to tie this game up. The Icemen would stun the crowd and sink a shot past Goalie Hunter Jones to tie the game 3-3, or so it seemed. After further video review, the call was overturned after the officiating staff deemed that Garrett Van Wyhe interfered with the goaltender. This would ultimately lead to the Icemen falling just short following the ruling from the refs. They would lose 3-2 as a result.

Period Scoring Summary: 
End of 3^rd Period Score: [Jacksonville Icemen] [2] – [3] [Trois-Rivières]
JAX: Did Not Score
TR: Did Not Score

Next Game:
Even though Jacksonville was missing most of their key defenders, The Icemen put up a great fight against one of the better teams in the ECHL, the Trois-Rivières Lions. A loss was delivered heartbreakingly for the Icemen as they went down 3-2. The Icemen will be back in action tomorrow night to hopefully get some revenge on Trois-Rivières as the puck will drop at 7 P.M. EST.