It was an exciting weekend for the Jacksonville Icemen, who wrapped up a six-game home stand Saturday night. The Icemen played a second game against the Orlando Solar Bears Friday evening, picking up a 5-2 win to open the month of December. On Saturday, the team took on the North Division’s Trois Rivières Lions in an action-packed 4-3 loss. Friday’s win over Orlando helped propel the team forward in the standings and extended the team’s win streak to four games. Saturday’s game, though a loss, came with an offensive display for a crowd of 8,500+, as the team hosted their annual Teddy Bear Toss night.
It was a jam-packed weekend for the Jacksonville Icemen, and we break it all down in the Icemen Weekend Recap.
Friday 12/1: vs. Orlando Solar Bears 2-5 W
Craig Martin got on the board first for the Icemen in Friday’s win over the Orlando Solar Bears. The 1-0 goal was Martin’s fourth of the season since returning to the team from injury. Matheson Iacopelli extended the Icemen lead 4:11 into the second period with a quick shot off the face-off. Captain Chris Brown bookended the third period with a goal in the early minutes, as well netting the empty net goal in the last minute of play. Iacopelli tallied his second goal of the night, and his ninth of the season just five minutes into the third.
Dominant puck possession and an ability to open up the ice were the keys to Friday’s win over the Solar Bears. Like their 7-2 previously in the week, the Icemen found it easy to move the puck around and control the flow of the game. It was a complete 60-minute effort best capped off with a win and helped push the team into second place in the division standings as well.
Click here to view Friday’s full game gallery by ITR Photographer Andrew Fielder
Saturday 12/2: vs Trois Rivières Lions 4-3 L
While Friday’s performance against Orlando mimicked that of Wednesday’s, Saturday’s game was a fast and aggressive contest. Trois Rivières played a fast, engaged game and used the size throughout their line-up to impose themselves physically.
The first period was all Trois Rivieres, as the visitors from Quebec racked up a 3-0 lead. Jake Bricknell, Chris Ortiz, and Cedric Montminy were the Lion’s goalscorers. The Lions goal-scoring display led to Icemen goalie Matt Vernon being replaced by Michael Houser in net to start the second.
Responding well to the early pressure, the Icemen got an energy boost when new defenseman Jeff Solow dropped the gloves with Lions forward Nicolas Lariviere. Though, when rookie RFS lit the lamp with 12:30 left in the second period, the offensive floodgates would open. His second goal of the evening would follow in rapid succession, as well as a third Icemen goal from Matheson Iacopelli. Within minutes, the Icemen made it a 3-3 game. However, with the offense being poured on by both teams, Trois Rivieres retook the lead with a goal just 13 seconds after Iacopelli’s tying marker in the second period.
Even if the game didn’t end in the desired result, the Icemen didn’t shy away from the hard-hitting, quick transition pace set by Trois Rivières. Jacksonville stayed in the mix by forcing the puck deep and working the ice laterally in the offensive zone. Connor Russell joined in the fisticuffs, mixing it up with Lions captain Cedric Montminy late in the middle frame. Russell’s fight helped the team maintain the energy they generated, but not without trying; the Icemen couldn’t find the back of the net outside of their second-period burst. As disappointing as the win streak being broken may be, the team cannot be disappointed by their response to a tough team playing a fast, physical style of hockey. At no point were they ever truly out-matched.
Click here to view Saturday’s full game gallery by ITR Photographer Andrew Fielder
Run the Numbers:
Craig Martin became the Icemen organization’s all-time points leader with his first-period goal on Friday. Now, with 134 points in 179 games with Jacksonville, Martin is only three games away from becoming the player who’s played the most games in an Icemen uniform. Ara Nazarian currently holds the record with 181 games played.
Additionally, Martin leads the team all-time in assists with 78 and is four goals away from becoming the club’s all-time goals leader. Nazarian holds that record with 59 goals, while Martin currently has 56.
A new teddy bear record was set during Saturday’s teddy bear toss. Last year, roughly 12,000 bears found themselves over the glass and on the ice. Fans shattered the record set last season by tossing 14,762 bears during Saturday night’s wild second period.
Saturday night’s second period saw the Icemen score three goals in three minutes and 39 seconds. Both goals from RFS came within two minutes and 25 seconds, followed by Matheson Iacopelli’s tally just 1:14 later.
Remarkable on its own, the team has made it a trend to score goals with lightning quickness lately. In the November 25th game against the Savannah Ghost Pirates, Craig Martin and Chris Grando had third-period goals 25 seconds apart. Wednesday’s showdown with the Solar Bears also saw Garrett Van Wyhe and Logan Cockerill register two third-period goals in 10 seconds. How’s that for efficiency?
Looking Forward:
Now 9-7-2, the Icemen currently sit in second place in the South division. It is important to note the team is tied with the South Carolina Stingrays, who also have 20 points in the standings and have played one game less than the Icemen so far this season. After the way November got started for Jacksonville, making up ground on home ice over the back half of the month has been crucial to staying in the mix in the long-run.
The team now has a chance to pick up 10 points on the road with their upcoming five-game trip. The Icemen will take on Savannah on Tuesday, Dec. 5th, followed by a pair of games in Norfolk on Dec. 8th and 9th. The trip wraps up with a second game in Savannah on the 14th and a game against the Atlanta Gladiators on the 15th. The Icemen will return home for a game against the South Carolina Stingrays on Dec. 16th, which is the team’s ugly sweater game.
