Missoula Tops Southern Oregon 5-3, Looks for Sweep

After the second game of the Spartans series, the Missoula Maulers have gained game two in their favor and are looking to sweep Southern Oregon just as the Spartans had several months earlier when Missoula was hosted in Medford. Playing with aggression and strategy, the Zoo Town players are quickly heading up the playing field and are making a name for themselves in an ever changing league. It almost seems that the boys are building up their game in order to create a very strong force, both offensively and defensively, in preparation for their anticipated battle against the Idaho Jr. Steelheads. Missoula is highly benefiting from the last roster additions Joey Sundgren and Jordan Wheatly. The top pairs of Sundgren-Schafer, Andersson-Ekestahl, and Sheptytskyy-Jaeger will be the most effective in the post season due to team chemistry and will be the ones to watch out for seeing as that they almost always record multiple points per game. Gronborg was in the cage last night during the 5-3 win and it is in no doubt that he was a huge asset in the victory. In my opinion, the beginning of the season was rough for the team because they are so comparatively young and had yet to find their footing. This post season will be for making up lost time and gaining some of the respect they have yet to receive. I do honestly believe that if these boys put their minds and their hearts out on the ice every night for their team, they will go places even they didn't think were possible.

Ukrainian rookie Nikita Sheptytskyy was the first to pick up a point in this match for the Maulers at 4:36 on a power play. He had help from Wheatly and Jaeger. The Spartans decided to play a game of catch up when they put 2 points on the board in the middle of the first. Carl Edstrom recorded the first for Southern Oregon at 9:39 on a power play with an assist from Trevor Hillman. Drew Hill had the next Spartan goal at 14:53 with apples for Cy Jenson and Tyler Spencer.

Joey Sundgren scored a geno at exactly 0:55 in the start of the second to produce a 3-2 lead for the Maulers with assists for Henrik Ekestahl and John Andersson. Grizzled veteran Corey Schafer made it 4-2 at 7:47 with help from Austin Azzinnaro and Joey Sundgren.

Trevor Hillman picked up his 2nd personal point of the night for Southern Oregon at 4:54 in the third. Arturs Buss gained the last S.O. assist. Sudgren picked up his 3rd point of the night with the last recorded goal at 18:27. Assists went to Schafer and Andersson.

 This was a great game for Missoula seeing that many of the players received 2 or more points and it bumps up their credibility going into the playoffs. Phenomenal job boys and make sure you don't miss Game #3 on March 1st at 7:30 pm MST. Be safe in these blizzard conditions though if you are in the Missoula area!

Statistics:

PENALTIES:

Period 1:
Missoula Maulers - Erik Harzell (Roughing) 2 Minutes, 1:50
Southern Oregon Spartans - Zachary Lovelace (Elbowing) 2 Minutes, 4:24
Southern Oregon Spartans - Zachary Lovelace (Unsportsmanlike Conduct)(Misconduct) 10 Minutes, 4:24
Missoula Maulers - Josh Chamberlain (Hooking) 2 Minutes, 8:19
Southern Oregon Spartans - Arturs Buss (Tripping) 2 Minutes, 12:29
Southern Oregon Spartans - Doug Gutierrez (Elbowing) 2 Minutes, 15:41
Period 2:
Southern Oregon Spartans - Tyler Spencer (Elbowing) 2 Minutes, 16:17
Missoula Maulers - Billy Bigham (Roughing) 2 Minutes, 16:17
Missoula Maulers - Matt Chamberlain (Cross Checking) 2 Minutes, 19:41
Period 3:
Missoula Maulers - Derek Griffin (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 2 Minutes, 1:49
Southern Oregon Spartans - Tyler Spencer (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 2 Minutes, 1:49
Southern Oregon Spartans - Doug Gutierrez (Hooking) 2 Minutes, 2:26
Missoula Maulers - Erich Jaeger (Interference) 2 Minutes, 4:14
Southern Oregon Spartans - Nick Beaune (Tripping) 2 Minutes, 4:38
Southern Oregon Spartans - Justus Saldeen (Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 2 Minutes, 13:38

SHOTS ON GOAL:

Missoula Maulers - 37
Southern Oregon Spartans - 27

POWER PLAYS:

Missoula Maulers - 1 for 6
Southern Oregon Spartans - 1 for 4

GOALTENDERS:

#1 Sebastian Gronborg for Missoula Maulers: 60 Minutes played, 27 shots on goal 24 saves

#31 Marco Medina Jr. for Southern Oregon Spartans: 60 Minutes played, 37 shots on goal 32 saves