 The Evansville IceMen saw a 5-2 lead evaporate in the third period Sunday before losing a heartbreaker to the Quad City Mallards 6-5 in overtime at the Ford Center.
IceMen leading scorer Daultan Leveille put Evansville on the board 39 seconds into the game, when he fired a shot that ricocheted off the glove of a Quad City defenseman and into the net. It was Leveille’s third goal in the last two games. The Mallards tied the game at 7:01 when Guillaume Gelinas found Olivier Archambault open in front, and Archambault swept a shot past Evansville goalie Keegan Asmundson.
Quad City took its first lead of the game on a power play early in the second period, when Matt Carey blasted a one-timer into the top shelf from the point, but Evansville dominated the rest of the period. Alex Guptill scored his fifth goal in the last four games when Matthew Zay fed him in front of the net to make it 2-2.
Then Tyson Fawcett gave the IceMen the 3-2 lead on a deflection at the edge of the crease for his first of two goals in the game. The goal was originally credited to Leveille, but will be changed. Jordan Sims fired home a rebound past Mallards goalie Steve Michalekafter Troy Rutkowski rang a shot off the post to give Evansville a 4-2 lead entering the second intermission.
Fawcett scored the fourth straight IceMen goal short-handed on a give-and-go with Leveille on a 2-on-0 rush to make it 5-2. Quad City responded with four unanswered to steal the win. Zach Pochiro scored a power play goal from the slot 18 seconds after Fawcett’s to bring the Mallards within two.
Shortly after Evansville had a goal waived off on a controversial ruling that the puck was played with a high stick, Alex Gudbransonripped a shot off the post and in for Quad City’s fourth goal. Gelinas swatted in a loose puck out of a net-mouth scramble to tie the game 5-5 with 11:33 to play, and the two teams skated towards overtime.
In the 3-on-3 overtime period, an Evansville defenseman turned the puck over exiting the zone, and Jake Baker set up Mike Monfredo, who buried the game winner with 2:10 left to complete the Quad City comeback. Michalek stopped 39 shots in the win, while Asmundson saved 29 in the loss.
The two teams meet six more times, including four more at the Ford Center. The next meeting is December 30 in Moline, IL at the iWireless Center, and the teams play the following night, New Years Eve, in Evansville.
The IceMen have four games in five days this week, starting Wednesday when Evansville makes its first trip to Toledo for a 6:15 CST start against the Walleye. Fans can catch the action on www.evansvilleicemen.com or ECHL TV. Bar Louie in Evansville, the official headquarters for IceMen away games will also show the contest Wednesday night, with coverage starting at 6pm.
Evansville then hosts the Cincinnati Cyclones Friday at 7:15pm at the Ford Center. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com or the Ford Center Ticket Office. Discounted tickets are available for groups of ten people or more by calling an IceMen Account Executive at 812-421-GOAL (4625).
The IceMen then head to Cincinnati Saturday night for the rematch at US Bank Arena, before wrapping up the week in Fort Wayne Sunday at Memorial Coliseum.
