Moccasins Strangle Dashers in Gill’s Debut (12/6)

DANVILLE, IL - Into the second quarter of the season, the Dashers looked to bounce back with a weekend set against the Monroe Moccasins. In a back and forth game that came down to the wire, Scott Coash’s late goal proved to be the difference in yet another devastating Dashers loss. Monroe’s 3rd coach of the season Gary Gill earned his first win behind the bench in his season debut. 

Period one began with both teams flying around. Scoring chances were exchanged on both sides, but no one could cash in through the first half of the frame. Corey Cunningham opened the scoring with just over 8 minutes in the first with a five-hole breakaway goal. The Dashers came right back with a Jacob Gagnon rip over the shoulder of Kuhn to make it 1 a side. A back and forth first period concluded with the game tied. 

Period two felt like period one until the midway point. Monroe began to control the zone and pepper Wahlgren, and eventually were rewarded with a Frank Steinway tally. Less than 6 minutes later, Blake Anderson added another on the powerplay to extend the margin to 2. However, a deflated Dasher group found some quick life with Brandon Stojcevski’s 8th of the season just 25 seconds later. The two teams began to get more physical with some pushing and shoving. Monroe had 13 of their previous games decided by 1 goal, and were no stranger to the pressure.  At the end of 2, it was 3-2 Moccasins.

It was yet another high stakes third period for the Danville boys. On the ropes trailing by a goal, Monroe controlled the tempo for the first half of the frame. Trygve Many Guns continued to stir the pot in front of the net, warranting a consistent series of extracurriculars between the two sides. A fortunate rebound off a Brad Denney shot was pounded home by Stojcevski and the Dashers tied the contest at 3. The next goal would carry a lot of weight, and Dashers enforcer Thomas Murphy answered the bell. 40 seconds after the equalizer, a Monroe D-zone turnover allowed Gagnon to find Murphy in front of the crease to wrist home his first of the season and give the Dashers their first lead of the night at 4-3. In the under 5 media timeout, AJ Tesoriero brought his group in for a tight hug. Family had been the identity for the Dashers all season, and they were minutes away from snapping an 11 game slide. The building came alive, but the hockey gods had other ideas. Lester Brown took a bad delay of game penalty and you could feel the energy shift. On the ensuing powerplay, the Dashers began to park the bus. A screened shot from Frank Schumacher was tipped home by Many Guns to tie the game with 3 minutes left. A collective groan could be heard from the Dasher faithful, reading this script too many times before. 1:03 later, Monroe took the lead on a deflection goal in front by Scott Coash. Everyone’s jaw hit the ground in shock. The Dashers couldn’t make a miracle, and fell for the twelfth straight time. 

The Dashers fall to 1-12-2, as the Moccasins improve to 7-7-4. The two teams will square off for an action packed night once again tomorrow at 7:05 CST inside the David Palmer Arena.