Friday 2/10/12

Game 1 set the tone for the entire series and the Saints made quick work of the Inferno. Max Culp led the Saints in scoring with 1 goal and 3 assists as the Saints took the first game 6-1.

The line of Culp, Jeremy Ebert and Colin Van Hauter led the way offensively by scoring the first 3 goals of the game and adding a fourth in the third period.

It took only 20 seconds for the Saints to strike first and Van Hauter buried goal one past Inferno goalie Brandon Loera. Culp and Ebert chipped in the assists.

Five minutes into the second period Indianapolis fought back when Christian Langlois took a pass from Cody Doyle and snuck it past Saints goalie Stephen Salek. That would be the end of the Inferno offense for the rest of the game.

The Saints regained the lead after Van Hauter found Culp in the slot and Culp buried it past Loera. It was Culp's 50th goal as a Saint, making him only the second player in Saints' history to reach that milestone.

Two minutes later Ebert scored his first of two goals on the night on assists from Culp and Saints newcomer Kevin McMorrow. McMorrow has contributed since joining the Saints late in the season.

A net mouth scramble in front of the Loera led to Connor Preston covering the puck in the crease with his glove giving the Saints a Penalty Shot. After some encouragement from his teammates Devin Fracassi was the shooter and he stick handled around Loera and got it in just under his pad before he knocked the net off its’ moorings. The goal was Fracassi’s first of the season and the smile he had on as he skated over to his teammates told the whole story.

Just passed the midway point in the third Ian Dart scored on the short side of Loera giving the Saints a 5-1 lead. Kyle Harnish and Mike Mitch picked up the assists on the play.

Jeremy Ebert would score his second goal of the game on great passes from Culp and Chase Engdahl to round out the Saints offense.

The Saints punished the Inferno by outshooting them 70-27. Salek made 26 saves and was stellar in net.

Saturday 2/11/12

Saturday afternoon was more all around solid hockey played by the Saints. Saints goalie Mitchell Hanson only gave up one goal on 13 shots as the Saints rolled to a 9-1 victory.

Last night the Saints went 0-6 on the power play, but it was a different story in Game 2. The Saints scored their first goal of the game on the power play when Jeremy Ebert fired in a shot from the low slot less than one minute in. Kevin McMorrow and Max Culp earned the assists on the play.

The Saints scored their second of five goals in the first period when Daniel Dallenbach sniped a shot past Inferno goalie James Maher. Brandon Hummel and Chad Sharkey picked up the assists on the play.

Indianapolis tried to make things interesting when Tyler Slazas put a puck past Hanson. He was unassisted on the play.

The Saints took over from there and never looked back as they scored the next seven goals.

Brandon Hummel tallied one goal to add to his point total for the night. Kenyon Godfrey picked up the lone assist.

Mike Mitch and Ian Dart scored the last two goals of the first period.

Mitch added his second goal of the night when he fired in his own rebound past Maher on the power play. Colin Van Hauter and Culp earned the assists on the goal.

The Saints scored three more goals in the third period. One from Eric Keljo and two from Van Hauter.

Max Culp had four helpers in the game and Colin Van Hauter had two goals and one assist on the night.

The Saints outshot Inferno heavily for the second straight game 50-13.

Sunday 2/12/12

The Saints dominated from start to finish and completed the sweep with a shutout victory over the Inferno 12-0.

Garret Avery earned the Saints first shutout of the season stopping all 15 Inferno shots.

Max Culp led the offense with one goal and three assists. The Saints scored two goals in the first period and added five in the each of the last two.

Colin Van Hauter and Jeremy Ebert each had two goals and 1 assist in the game. Brandon Hummel also chipped in two goals to add to the Saints margin of victory.

Kevin McMorrow added a goal and two assists, Eric Keljo and Ian Dart also chipped in a goal apiece.

Inferno goaltender Brandon Loera started the game, but was pulled midway through the second period after he gave up seven goals on 30 shots. James Maher made 19 saves on 24 shots. Loera was credited with the loss.

The Saints scored four power play goals on two opportunities after Vincent Walker was given a five minute penalty and a game misconduct for butt ending. They found the net three times on the man advantage.

This was the final home series of the season and next weekend the Saints travel to league leading Chicago next weekend. The Saints clinched a playoff spot with the win on Sunday and moved to 13-14-4-0 on the season, just one win shy of .500.