Ice Flyers Towering Goaltender Makes Memorable Debut In Team’s OT Win
By Bill Vilona
Ice Flyers Correspondent
Earlier this month, Ice Flyers fans were informed about the likelihood of a 6-foot-8 goaltender making his debut at the Pensacola Bay Center.
Well, Stephen Mundinger’s first professional win Saturday certainly became memorable.
Mundinger, who waited last season for an opportunity that never happened, stopped all five shots in overtime as the Ice Flyers won a crowd-thrilling 3-2 win against the Huntsville Havoc and gaining a split of the teams’ home-and-home dual games this weekend.
“It was awesome,” said Mundinger, who played at the University of Maine, one of the nation’s top collegiate hockey programs. “Definitely has been a long time coming. I was happy to do it in front of these awesome fans here. And my teammates were great in front of me to make it very easy.
“They were dominating, so it was nice to have a shootout be the first one (win).”
Mundinger, 26, a Smithtown, New York native, actually celebrated twice Saturday. After stoning the Havoc’s fourth shooter, Doug Elgstram, who produced a hat trick in Friday’s 5-2 Huntsville win and the first goal Saturday, Mundinger reacted as if he had won the game.
So did the Ice Flyers teammates and the game announcer, causing a brief celebration as fans began exit.
Oops, hold on. Overtime shootouts are five shooters. So, the Ice Flyers, fifth shooter, Dante Zapata took his turn and was stopped. Then the Havoc’s Carter Cowlthorp was thwarted by Mundinger who this time was embraced in victory.
“It was a roller-coaster of emotions there,” said Mundinger, laughing. “I definitely got all hyped up there. But I had to focus back in. And what’s better than two (celebrations)?”
The Ice Flyers Brett Mecrones, who made his pro debut a week earlier in the Ice Flyers’ season-opening win, was the only goal-scorer in the shooter. He got a wrist shot past Huntsville’s Brian Wilson before all the drama ensued.
The win was gratifying for the Ice Flyers on a number of elements. They again fell behind 2-0 in their building in a quick set of second-period goals. They tied the game in the same period.
In the third period, they had a pair of power play chances and couldn’t get go-ahead goal. In the final 22 seconds of regulation play, three different Ice Flyers players had good shots that got stopped.
“It was exciting,” said Ice Flyers coach Gary Graham, whose team is now 2-1 after its first back-to-back games with travel involved. “Last week we got down 2-0 in our big home opener and showed resiliency and again you see it from the group (Saturday).
“The guys just stuck with it.”
After a scoreless first period, the teams combined on a four-goal flurry within an eight-minute span in the second period.
The Havoc took a 2-0 lead on goals only 63 seconds apart. The first was on a breakaway against Mundinger when Elgstram made a deke move and slipped a shot under a sprawling Mundinger. The second one came on a 2-on-1 and perfect pass that Brandon Osmundson buried.
“Boy is that an opportunistic Huntsville team,” Graham said. “I mean, we weren’t giving them much of anything and then, boom-boom!, all of sudden you are down 2-0. It was like were scratching and clawing and doing so much good stuff and before you know it, you’re blinking.”
The Ice Flyers then got the crowd energized when Ivan Bondarenko poked in a shot amid a scramble in the crease area with 12:14 left in the period.
Five minutes later, the Ice Flyers crashed the net with several players. The puck came lose and Dallas Comeau flicked it off his stick into the net, tying the game.
“We knew the only way you’re going to beat Huntsville is you got to win in the trenches,” Graham said. “You have to get in ugly, dirty areas, because those guys are so good defensively and they’ve shown that in the first three games they won.
“We talked about it, saying it can’t be about pretty plays, it can’t be about the perimeter, we got to get the nuts and bolts areas and we did a good job of it.”
Mundinger played four seasons for the Maine Bears, a 50-year history that includes two NCAA Division I national titles and eight appearances in the “Frozen Four” the major college hockey version of the Final Four.
His goaltender teammate was Jeremy Swayman, now in his fourth year with the Boston Bruins. Mundinger a year ago was in two ECHL camps and hoping for an opportunity, but it didn’t happen, so he sat out the entire season.
“He’s one of those rare gems,” Graham said. “He went to Cincinnati’s camp last year, didn’t make the team, decided not to go to an SPHL team. He thought he would be an ECHL goalie – he’s got a real good goalie coach– and that happens to a lot of guys coming out of college.
“So he chose to work with his goalie coach in Long Island and waiting for an ECHL team to call and never got a phone call.”
Earlier this month, Mundinger was back in Cincinnati’s camp, plays an exhibition game and he comes to us to develop and that’s what he is here to do.”
“So that was his first pro win (Saturday). He’s going to remember that one.”
For sure.
The game also included the Ice Flyers promotion as the “Small Dog Fright Night” with races between each period.
There was also post-game trick-or-treating with costumed fans on the upper concourse and autographs with Ice Flyers players.
WHAT’S NEXT?
WHO: Ice Flyers vs. Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
WHEN: Nov. 3-4, both games at 6:05 p.m. (CDT).
WHERE: Berglund Center, Roanoke, Va.
LIVESTREAM: An audio/video broadcast of both games is available through subscription on FloHockey (www.flohockey.tv)
NEXT HOME GAMES: Nov. 10-11 vs. Knoxville Ice Bears.
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS: Adult Jersey Giveaway (Nov. 10), first 1,000 adult-age fans through the doors will receive an Ice Flyers jersey. Blue Angels Night (Nov. 11). The Ice Flyers will be wearing custom-designed and approved Blue Angels uniforms. There will be replica merchandise on sale as well.
TICKETS: www.iceflyers.com/tickets. Or at the Bay Center box office. All tickets are digital purchase only.
