JACKSONVILLE, FL – On Halloween night, the Jacksonville Icemen were able to survive a late Atlanta push to down the Gladiators 4-3 in overtime at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday night. Jacques Bouquot, Tim Heinke, and Colby Ambrosio all scored for Jacksonville while goaltender Michael Bullion made 23 saves in the victory.
The Icemen have now won back-to-back games for the first time this season and end the month of October with a 2-2-2 record. Jacksonville will host the Savannah Ghost Pirates on home ice on Tuesday morning at 10:00 am.
FIRST PERIOD
Jacksonville got on the board first on their first power play of the game. Tanner Kelly stepped in over the line on the right side after making a nifty move at the blue line to gain the zone. Kelly then sent a cross-ice pass to the left-wing side to find Jocques Bouqout in stride as he skated down to the left-wing circle. Bouquot then rifled home a quick snap-shot to put Jacksonville up 1-0. It marked the second straight power-play goal for the Icemen dating back to Friday night. The Icemen continued to carry the play for much of the first period, turning defensive stops into offensive chances. However, the Gladiators converted on a late power-play goal to tie it 1-1.
SECOND PERIOD
After the Icemen weathered an early storm as the Gladiators peppered Jacksonville goaltender Michael Bullion with shots in an attempt to take the lead. Instead, Jacksonville went on the attack midway through the period as Kyle Bettens sent a shot to the front of the net from the left wing that Gladiators goaltender Ethan Haider saved. Still, it produced a rebound right in the crease, and Timothy Heinke was quick to the net to bury it and put the Icemen up 2-1. Just a few minutes later, on an offensive zone faceoff, Jesse Tucker won a draw right back to Bouquot, who one-timed a shot off the draw into the back of the net for his second goal of the game.
THIRD PERIOD
After taking a commanding 3-1 lead going into the 3rd period, the Icemen opened the third period in a penalty kill. On the Gladiators' power play, the Icemen shut them down and made three defensive stops to protect their lead. However, Atlanta scored a power-play goal that was upheld after a lengthy review, trimming the Icemen's lead to 3-2. The Gladiators converted on a late shot with the goaltender pulled to tie it 3-3 with 48 seconds remaining. For the second time this weekend, the Icemen went into overtime.
OVERTIME
Tied 3-3, the Icemen entered their fourth post-regulation contest in five games. Icemen goalie Michael Bullion made three critical saves to keep the game tied. Soon after Bullion’s heroics, Colby Ambrosio began to race the puck up the ice. Ambrosio quickly dished a pass to Drew Kuzma, who zipped it right back to Ambrosio as he skated towards the net. Ambrosio, without hesitation, wired a shot blocker-side past the Atlanta netminder to score his second goal of the season and lead Jacksonville to a 4-3 win.
Photo: Andrew Fielder - Jacksonville Icemen
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