By Phillip Goodman
The Reno Ice Raiders showed no mercy or letup in their 7-3 and 12-0 wins against the Park City Pioneers last weekend at Reno Ice.
Goaltender Justis Gyori held down the fort for Reno on Friday then Adam Lain earned the first shutout of the Ice Raiders’ season on Saturday.
“I think the difference was we were a bit more relaxed and just went out and played,” said Ice Raiders’ Captain Andrew Peterson about the Ice Raiders 19-goal outburst. “We weren’t afraid to get pucks on net and to be a bit more gritty around the net and drive pucks home.”
Friday’s game was the first of the season for the Park City Pioneers. The Pioneers kept pace with the Ice Raiders through most of two periods of play and managed to tie the score 3-3 with six minutes to go in the second.
Julian Herrera returned to the Ice Raiders lineup after an extended absence and centered a line flanked by Ramzy Anderson and Nick Anderson. That line was impressively productive on Friday, netting the Ice Raiders’ last three goals of the game propelling Reno to a 7-3 win. Nick Anderson and Jesse Woinicki (Vuh-nis-ski) had two goals each while Bobby Watson, Ramzy Anderson, and Julian Herrera each found the back of the net once.
The chemistry continued Saturday night for Herrera and the Andersons. Nick added two goals and two assists while Ramzy chipped in three helpers. Julian had three goals and one assist.
Through the weekend, this line combined for 9 goals and 13 assists (15 points).
Reno also got goal contributions from Andrew Peterson, Bobby Watson, Morgan Ellis, and Charlie Montgomery - two from Charlie including an empty netter in Park City’s desperation to thwart Lain’s shutout.
Adarm Barba also made his way back in the Reno lineup having recovered from broken ribs suffered in the January Fort Worth trip. Barba had one assist on the scoresheet yet it was an impressive defensive play in the third period of Saturday’s game that the scoresheet won’t show.
With his team already up by a handful of goals, Barba sold out his body to block a Pioneers’ shot from the point–a prime example of what Roger Hutchison said his team’s attitude would be going into the period already up 8-0.
“It’s 0-0 every period,” Hutchison said in between periods. “We gotta get ready for a tough series next weekend so we’re not gonna let up.”
Captain Andrew Peterson echoed Hutchison’s sentiment after the game. “We wanted to show the fans that we can play for three straight periods in both games and I think we did a nice job of that,” Peterson said. “With hockey, if you fragment the game into shorter time frames it helps mentally by taking one period at a time and winning those smaller battles first.”
Against Park City, Reno won all those small battles and eventually the war of the weekend. Reno killed all seven Pioneer power plays and cashed in three of seven Brewers Cabinet Power Plays.
Up next for the Ice Raiders: Reno looks to avenge two early-season losses against the Jackson Hole Moose on Friday Feb. 26 at 8pm and Sat. Feb. 27 at 8pm. Both games are sold out but you can watch the live stream on the Ice Raiders’ YouTube Channel for free.
Friday’s Midtown Diamonds Three Stars of the Game
No. 1 Star: Tony Tyrell
No. 2 Star: Nick Anderson
No. 3 Star: Julian Herrera
Saturday’s Midtown Diamonds Three Stars of the Game
No. 1 Star: Julian Herrera
No. 2 Star: Andrew Peterson
No. 3 Star: Adam Lain
Park City @ Reno Game 15 Highlights:
Park City @ Reno Game 16 Highlights: