The host RoughRiders survived to claim a wild 6-5 shootout win over
the Sioux City Musketeers Saturday night after the Muskies rallied from
a 5-1 deficit.
Rider
goaltender Kent Patterson set a new a team single game record by making
58 saves in regulation and overtime. Patterson then went 4-for-4
in the shootout while Pat Cannone and Jacob Cepis (who also scored in
regulation) converted Cedar Rapids penalty shots to give the Riders
the 2-0 win in the shootout.
The
Riders took a seemingly comfortable 5-1 lead into the final minute of
the second period, but Sioux City’s Spencer Heichman snapped the puck
home from the high slot to narrow the gap to three with just 30 seconds
left in the middle frame.
Heichman’s
goal proved to be the starting point for the Musketeer comeback as Sioux
City produced a three-goal third period surge to even the score at five.
Dustin
Gazley scored from close range to cut the deficit to 5-3 at 7:03 of
the third.
Just
past the midway point of the period, Kevin Lohry scored his second goal
of the night off a goalmouth scramble to make a one-goal game.
Anthony
Maini caught a break at 16:35 of the third when his centering pass caromed
off a skate and into the back of the Rider net for the tying goal.
The
Riders rebounded to pull out the victory in the shootout only after
an up-and-down overtime ended without a goal. Earlier in the evening
it appeared the Riders would run away with the win.
Cepis
got the Cedar Rapids attack started when he charged down the slot to
open the scoring at 13:42 of the first period.
The
Riders were on the power play when Mike Seidel tipped in a Kevin Wehrs
shot to make it 2-0 with just 1:04 left in the first.
After
Lohry’s rebound goal got Sioux City on the scoreboard at 9:22 of the
second period, the Riders broke loose for three goals in two minutes
and twenty-three seconds to- temporarily- take control of the contest.
Robin
Bergman triggered the onslaught by scoring the Riders’ second power
play goal. Bergman swept Pat Cannone’s goalmouth feed into the
gaping net to make it 3-1 at 12:11 of the second.
The
lead stretched to 4-1 when Casey Wellman redirected Doug Jones’s centering
pass under the crossbar at the 14:15 mark.
Just
19 seconds later Tommy Wingels converted a David Boehm centering feed
to finish off a 2-on-1 rush and give the Riders the 5-1 lead.
After
Wingels’s goal, Sioux City starting netminder Josh Robinson was replaced
by Jerry Kuhn, who was perfect through the rest of regulation and overtime,
stopping 20 shots.
The
true goaltending headlines were made at the other end however, as Patterson
snapped a club save record originally set by Al Stalock, who stopped
52 shots on March 17, 2006 in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Tri-City Storm.
The Riders also established a new club regular season record for most
shots allowed (63) a regular season game.