PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Huntsville Havoc generated plenty of shots Saturday night, but couldn’t find a way past Ice Flyers goaltender Rico DiMatteo, who turned aside all 30 shots he faced in a 3-0 victory. Huntsville outshot Pensacola 30-20 and kept the Ice Flyers’ power play off the board, but a shorthanded goal in the second period helped Pensacola pull away.
The Ice Flyers appeared to strike first in the opening period, but the goal was overturned after it was determined the play was offsides on the entry. The Havoc later killed off a roughing penalty to Troy Williams with 9:13 remaining, and the teams headed to the first intermission scoreless, with Huntsville holding a 7-6 edge in shots.
Pensacola broke through early in the second period when Andrew Kurapov opened the scoring with 16:12 left in the period, with Nicholas Aromatario and Tyler Burnie picking up the assists. The Havoc had a chance to answer when Bradley Somers was assessed a four-minute double minor for high-sticking with 12:15 left, but the extended power play backfired. Burnie scored shorthanded with 10:13 remaining, with Tanner Schachle earning the assist, to give Pensacola a 2-0 lead.
Huntsville continued to press, outshooting the Ice Flyers 12-6 in the middle frame. The Havoc also earned 43 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage late in the period following slashing and delay-of-game penalties, but DiMatteo kept the puck out of the net.
The Havoc kept coming in the third, putting another 11 shots on goal while successfully killing off two Pensacola power plays. Despite the pressure, Huntsville couldn’t break through. Porter Schachle added an unassisted goal with 2:42 remaining to seal the 3-0 victory for Pensacola.
Alex Proctor finished with 17 saves on 20 shots for Huntsville, while DiMatteo earned the shutout. The Havoc went 0-for-4 on the power play but finished a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Havoc return to action Friday, October 30, when they travel to Evansville to face the Thunderbolts at the Ford Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT. Huntsville will then return home Saturday, October 31, to host the Macon Mayhem at Polaris Ice at Propst Arena, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. CDT.
