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Dunkirk-Fredonia hockey falls to Eden-Lake Shore, 5-3

OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms The Steelers pause during a stoppage in play in their game Saturday against Eden/Lake Shore.

After dropping both of their contests on the road last week, the Steelers were back in town facing off against Eden/Lake Shore on Saturday morning, at Steele Hall Arena. With their home crowd behind them the Steelers were poised to make some noise.

The Steelers came out quick, showcasing their speed early on the forecheck.

“We definitely have team speed,” said coach Jim Rush. “We have a lot of real fast skaters, and that definitely creates a lot of opportunity.”

Dunkirk-Fredonia saw most of the early possession in the game, generating a few quick looks at the net.

The only chances Eden/Lake Shore was able to generate was off their transition, displaying good puck protection when deciding to carry up ice. A few of Eden/Lake Shore’s early chances came as a result of carrying the puck. Their speed and puck protection allowed them to beat the Steelers defense a few times, but was unable to help them get past Novelli in net.

The first goal came from the Steelers as they found themselves on a two on one after a neutral zone turnover by Eden/Lake Shore. Tate Olson brought the puck in over the line and right as the defender committed to him he sent a nice pass to Cooper Harris who put the puck upstairs for the 1-0 lead.

The Steelers lead did not last for long as they gave one right back on a breakaway by Peter Brockman.

“Speed is a situation where we try to exploit that and use it to our advantage,” said coach Rush. “There were times when we didn’t, and they were caught standing still.”

Dunkirk-Fredonia responded well to the goal as they came right back out generating their own chances again. The first period came to a close tied 1-1.

The second period started off slower than the first, with both teams exchanging possession. However, partway through the period Eden/Lake Shore got another odd man rush which they capitalized on, making it 2-1.

The Steelers responded immediately after the goal with good possession, getting good looks towards net. Unfortunately, the Steelers found themselves in penalty trouble, late into the kill, Michael Martin, of Eden/Lake Shore cleaned up a rebound giving them a 3-1 lead.

Once again, the Steelers were resilient, as they brought the pressure after another goal against. With very little time left in the period, Zach Korzeniewski found the back of the net giving the Steelers the energy they needed headed into the intermission.

“We’ve got to put shots on goal, put them into the pads and create the rebounds,” said coach Rush. “Our second goal was a goal down low, a dirty goal, that’s where we’ve got to go.”

The energy created after the goal appeared to be too much as the Steelers took a penalty while in the offensive zone, just 15 seconds after their goal.

Eden/Lake Shore began the third period on the man advantage, but they were unable to put anything together. After the penalty kill neither side took control of the game, as both teams went back and forth with no good scoring chances.

But after realizing they needed a goal it seemed that switch flipped for the Steelers as they picked up the pace. The Steelers were able to find some good chances off the cycle down low, and made sure they had a guy parked in front of the net to draw a defender.

“We played hard, we had some opportunity,” said coach Rush. “We had a couple of close calls, it’s one of those situations where you got to bury them.”

On the other end, Nick Novelli played strong in net keeping his team in the game. Novelli fended off the chances that were thrown his way.

Late in the game up a goal, Eden/Lake Shore appeared to close the contest, as Aidan Johnson beat Novelli late in the period giving them a 4-2 lead.

Clearly frustrated after a late goal against, the Steelers took a bad penalty putting them at the disadvantage when needing two goals with two to play. Instead of throwing in the towel, the Steelers played an extremely aggressive penalty kill with a forechecker below the faceoff dots in the offensive zone.

“Traditionally, we have been a group that will give 100 percent,” said coach Rush. “So after the game whether the other team is better than us, or whether we made mistakes we always worked hard. This group gives 100 percent.”

This pressure paid off as Michael Norton forced a turnover, then took the puck to the net and brought the Steelers within one.

With just 40 seconds left it was certainly a mountain to climb, but with their goalie pulled and still at even strength, Eden/Lake Shore’s Michael Martin broke through the defense and skated his way to an empty net.

“They got a couple goals, and going into the third we’re down one goal. We played hard and we try to get that equalizer, then they scored to make it 4-2,” said coach Rush. “We got the one late, but when we have chances we’ve got to bury them early. We want to get on the right side of the ledger, and the hard work will continue.”

After the 5-3 loss, the Steelers record fell to (0-3-1). They will look to get their first win when they travel to St. Joes on Dec. 8.

“If we were getting worse I’d be worried. But they’re not, we’re getting better,” said coach Rush. “We’ll be playing our best at the end of the year, that’s always the goal to play the best at the end of the year.”

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