Dryden Win Mid-week Showdown

Dryden, ON – It was a classic Wednesday night at the Memorial Arena as two powerhouse teams hooked up in mid-October for a mid-week game and both teams didn’t disappoint as the Dryden GM Ice Dogs skated away with a 5-3 win over the defending champion Kam River Fighting Walleye on the heels of a big game from a veteran forward and timely saves from a red hot goalie.

It was a back and forth first period with both teams trading chances. However, Ice Dogs goalie Michael O’Sullivan and young 16-year-old Travis VanderZwaag both made key stops with no rebounds to keep the game deadlocked. Dryden GM had the best chance to find the scoreboard with three powerplay opportunities however a staunch Fighting Walleye defence limited the second-best man advantage team to minimal scoring looks.

The stalemate ended in a flurry as Dryden GM scored two goals in the final minute of play. It started with Bryce Benfield picking up the puck near centre ice, coming down the far wing on a partial breakaway and he fired one past the glove of VanderZwagg to hit the scoreboard. That was the 7^th point in five games for the veteran forward. Thirty-three seconds later and with only 13 seconds left to play in the period Sebastiano Biagi made a beautiful feed on his own blueline to Carson Devine who found an open Max Roby. The 19-year-old from Brainerd, Minnesota would make no mistake on a quick wrist shot scoring his 10^th of the year. The Ice Dogs finished the period with a 2-0 lead but were outshot 10-9.

The visiting Fighting Walleye came out flying in the second keeping Dryden GM in their own zone. At 8:58 Daxton Lang’s shot was kicked aside by Michael O’Sullivan but the rebound went directly to Carter Poddubdy who buried his second of the season. Jeff Mintenko also earned a helper. Dryden GM would regain their two goal lead on their fourth powerplay as Bryce Benfield was left open in front of the net and turned to score his second of the game. Sean Smith made a great play to keep it alive to pick up the lone assist. Not fazed Kam River bounced back about 3 minutes later. Ryan Doucette snuck in on the far wing and was alone when he received a perfect pass from Jeremy Dunmore to make it 3-2. Isiah Kinnavanthong recorded the second assist. Kam River continued to press showcasing their speed and ended up outshooting the Ice Dogs 21-11 but O’Sullivan made some timely stops. The period would end with what ended up being a costly hooking call against Daxton Lang.

It didn’t take very long for the Ice Dogs to cash in on the man advantage and get the eventual winning goal and once again it was Bryce Benefield rising to the occasion. He found a pocket and beat Travis VanderZwagg five hole for his third of the game and sixth of the season. Eli Antoine got the play started with a nifty feed to Max Roby to complete the scoring play. Not phased the Fighting Walleye did just that, fought back, throwing everything at Michael O’Sullivan, however, the goalie who entered the game with a 3-0 record, was sensational making three highlight reel saves including two going post to post. The turning point of the contest came at the 15:23 mark of the third as Tag Bryson of the Ice Dogs took a holding penalty putting Kam River on the powerplay. Head Coach Jesse Messier rolled the dice pulling the goalie making it 6 on 4. Dryden GM would survive an early surge and Carson Devine would skate across his own blueline and dump it far down into the empty night for an insurance goal. That would go down as the third shorthanded goal on the young season for the Ice Dogs. Kam River would respond quickly making things interesting as Jeff Mintenko buried his 8^th of the year with assists going to Daxton Lang and Riley Borody with Bryson still in the penalty box. The visitors couldn’t muster anymore offence resulting in a 5-3 win for Dryden GM. The Ice Dogs improved to 6-0 at home while the Fighting Walleye dropped their first on the road moving to 3-1. Final shots were 45 for Kam River and 28 for Dryden GM.

3 STARS

1. Bryce Benfield-Dryden GM (3 goals)
2. Michael O’Sullivan-Dryden GM (42 saves)
3. Travis VanderZwagg-Kam River (23 saves)