Gems earn 5-1 victory on home ice
DAYTON, OH -- The Flint Generals had a tough outing Saturday night in Dayton, dropping a 5-1 contest against the Gems. Following a huge upset victory over the Port Huron IceHawks at Perani Arena Friday night, the outcome Saturday was not what fans expected.
Dayton was first to get on the scoreboard when a Sam Bloom shot deflected off of a Gems forward before beating Nick Niedert who was between the pipes for the Generals. Mike Vaskivuo upped the lead to two goals when a rebound off of a right pad save landed on his stick and left Niedert stuck on the other side of the crease, giving Vaskivuo a wide open net.
The middle session added to the Generals’ troubles, as the Gems put up two more goals. Vaskivuo put up his second goal on the night inside three minutes of play. Matt Moffat gave Flint an opportunity to pull within two, when he was awarded a penalty shot at 10:47. He faked out Ryan Mior with a slick leg move pulling Mior down to the ice, but his top left corner shot just missed going into the net. Jonathan Ornelas netted a power play goal after a failed clearing attempt by the G-Men. The puck took a bad Gens bounce, and despite his scrambling efforts, Ornelas managed to put one past Niedert. Flint defenseman Craig Cescon put the Generals on the board with a rocket of a shot from the point with 6:17 left in the second.
The Gems were handed their seventh power play opportunity of the night as a result of an interference call on Chris Bogas, and John Snowden made sure to convert. Former General and bruiser Derek Parker threw punches with Armando Scarlato just past the halfway mark of the final period, with Scarlato receiving an extra five minutes for high sticking along with a ten minute game misconduct, putting flint on a five minute penalty kill. In spite of 31 shots on Mior, the Gens were unable to find the offense they generated the night before.
Niedert stopped 46 of a season high 51 shots faced, while the Gens went 0 of 4 with the man advantage.
Flint resumes play tomorrow at Perani to host the Quad City Mallards for a 4:00 puck drop. The fan favorite Teddy Bear Toss returns Sunday as well, and fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears to throw on the ice when the Gens score their first goal. The bears will be collected and donated to less fortunate children in the Flint community this holiday season.
Tickets for Sunday’s game are on sale at the Perani Ticket Office, by phone 810-744-0580, or through Ticketmaster. For group ticket information, call the Generals Office at 810-744-0222. All Generals games are available for viewing on our website at www.flintgenerals.com through the B2 Networks.
