Drew and his Riverview Ice Sharks teammates finally got a chance
to play the game that was postponed back in September due to
Hurricane Ian. They travelled to Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay
Lightning, to take on the Plant Panthers. The game got off to a
good start for the Riverview team, as they managed to get the first
four shots on goal. They converted their fourth shot for a 1-0 lead,
as they were able to secure a rebound and fire the puck up and over
the Plant goaltender. The two teams would trade some quality scoring
chances over the course of the remainder of the period, and it
looked like it was going to end with the Ice Sharks up, but the
Panthers were able to convert on a wrist shot in between the faceoff
dots to tie things up with just under a minute to play. The period
would come to a close with the score tied 1-1.
Like the opening period, the Ice Sharks got off to a quick start
in the second period as well. They scored just thirty two seconds
in, on a great pass from behind the net to right in front of the net
where the puck was quickly deposited into the back of the net for a
2-1 lead. Despite a lot of back and forth action, there would be no
additional scoring the period, and the two teams would head into the
third with the Ice Sharks in the lead.
The third period definitely did not go the way the Riverview
coaches, players, or fans would have hoped. A little over two
minutes in the Panthers tied the game once again as the Ice Sharks
goaltender dropped the puck while making a save, and the Plant
forwards were able to pounce on the puck and slap it into the back
of the net for a 2-2 score. Not even three minutes later the
Panthers took their first lead of the game, this time after taking a
hard drive to the net and getting the puck over the shoulder of the
Ice Sharks goaltender. A Plant penalty gave the Riverview team a
chance to get back into the game, but a shorthanded breakaway goal
less than a minute into the Sharks man-advantage made it a 4-2 game
with a little over eight and a half minutes to play. With three and
a half to play, the Panthers would thread a pass through the crease,
where they managed to get a stick on the puck and tap it behind the
Riverview goaltender. That goal would be the final one of the game,
as the Riverview Ice Sharks would fall by a 5-2 score. |