By Kevin Scott
CODY, WY, November 23, 2013 — After a hard fought 6-3 victory on Friday night at home against Glacier, the Americans were on the road for only the sixth time this season as they took on the Yellowstone Quake at the Victor J. Riley Arena on Saturday night.
Yellowstone jumped out with a pair of first period goals and stopped a Great Falls comeback attempt in the final period to end the Americans four game winning streak with a 4-3 decision in Wyoming.
Jimmy Tich and Mitchell Fehd each scored for the Quake in the first twenty minutes of regulation before a power play goal by Cody Page off the stick of Aaron McInnis cut Great Falls’ deficit to 2-1 with 14:03 left in the second period. After an unsuccessful penalty shot by Yellowstone’s Mike McCullen, Trent Carter found the back of the net against Great Falls goalie Evan Hauser for the power play score. Zach Mese was able to tack on a second goal before the end of period for Great Falls as Cody Page and Brady Christiaens assisted on Mese’s eighth goal in 19 games.
The third period only saw two goals including a Lucas Lomax unassisted goal with 12 minutes remaining and a score by Dong Seo for Yellowstone. The Quake held the Americans scoreless throughout the rest of the contest and forced them to fall for only the fifth time this season.
Despite Great Falls having more shots on goal than Yellowstone in the first and third periods, the Quake pulled out the victory. Jimmy Tich led the way for the Cody, Wyoming franchise with a goal and two assists while Great Falls had help from Cody Page with a goal and an assist. The Americans had a tough time staying out of the penalty box as they team had 38 minutes in penalties.
Sean Leahy picked up the win for Yellowstone with 47 saves while Americans goalie Evan Hauser added 40 on the night.
Despite the loss, the Americans still maintain their second place standing with a 15-4 record while the Quake improves to 5-11-3. Both teams square off again on Sunday at 4:00PM in Cody, Wyoming.
NEXT CONTEST: After the Americans Sunday afternoon matinee against Yellowstone, the Americans will play two out of their next three games at the Great Falls Ice Plex. The Bozeman Ice Dogs are in town on Friday night before Saturday’s game in Billings and then they round out the weekend back in Great Falls against the top-ranked Helena Bighorns on Sunday afternoon.
Period 1 | Period 2 | Period 3 | Final | |
Great Falls | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Yellowstone | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
First Period – 1, Yellowstone, Jimmy Tich (assisted by Tommy Toohey, Sawyer Scanlan), 3:17. 2, Yellowstone, Mitchell Fehd (power play) (Jimmy Tich, Josh Neumann), 16:22.
Second Period – 3, Great Falls, Cody Page (power play) (Aaron McInnis), 5:57. 4, Yellowstone, Mike McCullen (unsuccessful penalty shot), 6:27. 5, Yellowstone, Trent Carter (power play) Jimmy Tich, Josh Neumann), 14:30. 6, Great Falls, Zachary Mese (Cody Page, Brady Christiaens), 14:54.
Third Period – 7, Yellowstone, Dong Seo (Mike McCullen, Cosimo Yapello), 4:19. 8, Great Falls, Lucas Lomax (unassisted), 7:13.
Shots on Goal – Great Falls 50, Yellowstone 44.
Power-play Opportunities – Great Falls 1-for-7, Yellowstone 2-for-8.
Attendance – 705
Box Score: Great Falls @ Yellowstone
Final | Victor J Riley Sat, Nov 23, 2013 7:30 PM MST |
Great Falls 3 | Yellowstone 4 |
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