Aleksanyan’s Hat-Trick Lifts Zydeco (1/25)

Topeka, KN - After their comeback fell short last night, the Dashers looked to carry their positives and pool them into a win in Kansas on Saturday night. In a relatively clean game, Narek Aleksanyan’s hat-trick combined with a stellar outing from Brendan Colgan fueled Baton Rouge to a weekend sweep.

After their comeback fell short last night, the Dashers were eager to hit the ice in front of a rabid and lively Topeka crowd once again to take on the Baton Rouge Zydeco. There was quite the storyline ahead of tonight’s action, with former beloved Dasher defenseman Dustin Henning signing with the Zydeco earlier in the day. This was as a result of Ryo Namiki and Aaron Shahin being suspended a game for their actions last night. The Dashers opened period 1 looking rather flat, and not recording a single shot until the 11 minute mark of the first frame. The Zydeco seemed ready to go, moving the puck swiftly and skating circles around the Dashers early on. The game stayed scoreless until 14 minutes in, when a bad neutral-zone turnover in the midst of a line change gave way for Narek Aleksanyan to pot a breakaway goal and put Baton Rouge up 1-0. The door was opened for the Dashers to tie it when Dustin Henning was booked for a trip, and although they established the zone and had some chances they couldn’t find the equalizer. As the clock winded down, the Zydeco continued to pepper Oscar Wahlgren. The Dashers would literally be saved by the bell, as just after time expired Garrett Johnson one timed a rebound off the boards into the goal, but it wouldn’t count. So the Zydeco settled for just a 1-0 lead into the locker room, while outshooting the Dashers 14-6.

After a frame dominated by the Zydeco, the Dashers looked to shift the momentum back in their favor. Off the opening faceoff in period 2, Sean Goar and Kaleb Melanson dropped the gloves for the second straight night. Both men landed some shots, and the fight concluded as a draw. With two energized benches and a buzzing building, it was time for some more hockey. It took just 2:32 for the Zydeco to double their lead when Dmitry Kuznetsov batted home a rebound off a Narek Aleksanyan net drive. 5 minutes later, Tyler Larwood muscled home a loose puck that snuck under Wahlgren’s arm off a Jake Cox shot to make it 3-0. So the workload grew for the Dashers, but it seemed to spark some energy. Brendan Colgan began to be tested more consistently in the back half of the period. The Dashers were rewarded when Bohdan Zinchenko created a breakaway and tucked one back door to get his squad on the board at 3-1. The second period shots were even at 11-11, but a 2 goal deficit provided a good challenge for the Dashers ahead of period 3.

So with work to do, the Topeka crowd would try to rally around the Dashers to make it a close contest. Throughout the game there were far less penalties or whistles than the previous night, so even strength hockey set the tone for this Saturday matchup. The teams traded opportunities throughout the front half of the period, but just across the midway mark Narek Aleksanyan sniped a vacant puck home to make it 4-1 and put the game virtually out of reach. For old time sake, Sean Goar and Kaleb Melanson for a third time on the weekend. The bout resulted in a draw, with both players pancaking to the ice before the officials stepped in. The exclamation point on the night was an empty-net hat-trick goal for Narek Aleksanyan as the Zydeco cruised to a 5-1 victory. The Dashers outshot the Zydeco 14-9 in period 3, but quality prevailed over quantity.

The Dashers will return to Topeka to face-off with the Port Huron Prowlers next Friday and Saturday at 7:30 CST inside the Stormont Vail Events Center. Their record drops to 1-24-3 while the Zydeco win their 6th consecutive matchup of the season against the Dashers and improve to 21-7-4. They will travel to Athens next Friday, Saturday and Sunday to take on the Rock Lobsters.