Ice Flyers Look For Quick Turnaround After Friday Loss On Teddy Bear Toss Night
By Bill Vilona
Ice Flyers Correspondent
The hail of teddy bears from all directions provided the Ice Flyers a momentary surge, following a rough start and three-goal deficit in Friday’s game against the Huntsville Havoc.
But it couldn’t be sustained.
After battling back and trailing 3-2 at the first intermission, the Ice Flyers lapsed again in the second period and the Havoc eventually skated away with a 7-4 victory before a crowd of 3,581 on the annual “Teddy Bear Toss” night at the Pensacola Bay Center.
“We score goals. This team can score goals,” said Ice Flyers coach Rod Aldoff. “But if you are giving up bad goals, then you’re just giving goals away.”
The Havoc had a 6-3 lead entering the third period with only 15 shots on goal. After Ice Flyers starting goaltender Christian Pavlas was pulled after Huntsville took a 3-0 lead less than eight minutes into the game, backup goalie Henry Johnson was unable to locate a couple loose pucks that led to Havoc goals.
“Our goaltending has just been very inconsistent since day one,” Aldoff said. “And you can’t win with inconsistency.”
The Ice Flyers (7-8, 14 points) have a quick turnaround chance to make amends when facing the Birmingham Bulls for the first time this season on Saturday night (7:05 p.m.) at the Bay Center. The game is the annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Night with proceeds from the specialty jersey auction and other avenues to benefit the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida chapter.
Birmingham (9-4, 18 points) is off to a strong start, including Friday night’s 8-5 win against Macon. The Bulls are only two points out of first place in the SPHL standings. This season, along with past seasons, the Ice Flyers have often followed a rough loss on a Friday night with a mood-changing win the next night.
“Guys are competing for their job now,” Aldoff said. “I don’t take any pleasure in saying that, but with the inconsistency, they’ve had enough time to figure things out.”
One new player who has impressed Aldoff is left winger Dallas Comeau, who produced his first pro hat trick Friday night for the Ice Flyers by scoring the team’s first three goals.
Comeau, 25, a British Columbia native, played the last four years in collegiate hockey at the University of Vermont, a member of the NCAA Division I Hockey East conference.
“I was happy for him,” Aldoff said. “He’s a guy that works hard and found a way to get it done. “He’s learning the pro game. He is willing to learn and puts the time in and he’s been getting better and better.”
Comeau’s first goal, off an assist from John DeRoche, came with 8:47 left in the first period, trimmed the deficit to 3-1 and triggered Ice Flyers fans showering the ice with stuffed toy animals. Hundreds of the toys were collected and will be gifts for needy children at Christmas.
Less than three minutes later, Comeau followed with a second goal off a feed from Ivan Bondarenko and second assist from Mitch Atkins.
That led into a good vibe for the first intermission. But Nathan Hudgin scored for the Havoc just 2:11 into the second period and 12 minutes later the Havoc took a 5-2 lead on Rob Darrar’s goal.
Seven different Havoc players scored goals. The final of that that barrage was an empty net goal with 37 seconds left ,after the Ice Flyers pulled their goaltender with 2:35 remaining for an extra attacker, and had some chances to make it a one-goal deficit.
“Every one of (Havoc) goals was self-inflicted (by Ice Flyers), except for the empty net,” Aldoff said. “The commitment to defense was one of the worst games I’ve seen.
“You just have to find guys who can do it. I know not everyone is going to be perfect every night, but a good pro is good when he feels bad. You still have the ability to tell yourself that I got to do the little things right tonight to get through this game. My legs might not be great, but you can still give good effort.”
WANT TO GO?
WHO: Birmingham Bulls vs Ice Flyers
WHEN: Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
WHERE: Pensacola Bay Center
RADIO: Fox Sports Pensacola (101.1 FM, 1450 AM)
TV: YurViewFL (Cox Communications subscribers), MyHockeyTV.com
TICKETS: Available online at www.iceflyers.com or at Bay Center Box Office
PROMOTIONS: Big Brothers Big Sisters Night with specialty jerseys worn by players to be auctioned in post-game.
