Hockey is back in the South! On Friday and Saturday Night, the Savannah Ghost Pirates (SAV) and the Jacksonville Icemen (JAX) had their two preseason games at the Community First Igloo in Jacksonville, Florida. The Icemen took the first game by a score of 3-2 in a shootout; the second game, which was played on Saturday, was won by the Ghost Pirates, 4-2
The first period stayed mellow with no goals, six shots on net by each team, and only one penalty on JAX. In the second period, no one was able to find the back of the net, yet there were seven shots on net for SAV and six for JAX. Penalties started to pick up as Darian Skeoch of SAV and Easton Brodzinski of JAX both got two minutes for roughing. At 16:45, Garrett Van Wyhe of JAX got a two-minute for holding.
The third period is where things started to get a little rowdy. Both teams were able to put up two goals each, SAV having nine shots on net and JAX having 11. The first goal was for JAX at 3:26; the goal was scored by Carson MacKinnon, assisted by Van Wyhe and Luke Bignell. The second goal of the period was also by JAX at 6:17, scored by Logan Cockerill and assisted by Nicolas Savoie and Derek Lodermeier. The third goal of the game and period at 7:23 was put in by SAV’s Sebastian Vidmar, assisted by Carter Long. To tie up the game, SAV’s Matt Ustaski scored at 13:42 with assists from Brendan Soucie and Robbie Fromm-Delorme. Between the SAV goals, guys got a little feisty; Cole Stallard of SAV and Connor Russell of JAX both got five minutes for fighting. Seconds after, Skeoch of SAV and Van Boekel of JAX both got five minutes for fighting and ten minutes for continuing the altercation; at the same time, Scarfo of SAV got two minutes for tripping. Once the teams calmed down, there was only another penalty for Jake Hamilton of SAV and Michael Turner of JAX, both taking minors.
Going into overtime, neither team was able to score; SAV had three shots on net, and JAX had six. Only Easton Brodzinski of JAX got a penalty, two minutes for roughing.
With the game still tied, it now went into a shootout. Those shooting for SAV were Vidmar, Fromm-Delorme, and Jett Jones; unfortunately, none were able to get a puck past Vernon. The three shooters for JAX were Derek Lodermeier, Riley Fiddler-Schultz, and Cockerill; Fiddler-Schultz was the only one to find the back of the net in the shootout.
That gave the Jacksonville Icemen the shootout win of 2-3 in preseason game one against the Savannah Ghost Pirates. The three stars of the game were all on JAX: Matt Vernon, Riley Fiddler-Schultz, and Logan Cockerill.
In the first period, the Savannah Ghost Pirates got a goal by Anthony Collins, assisted by Noah Carroll. In the first, SAV had 12 shots on net, and JAX had five. No penalties were given in the first.
In the second period, JAX was able to get a goal by Garrett Van Wyhe, assisted by Carson MacKinnon and Jacob Panetta. SAV also got a goal during the second by Vincent Marleau, assisted by Simon’ Pinard; SAV having ten shots on net and JAX nine. Jack Van Boekel of JAX received two penalties during the period, both two minutes, one for roughing and the other for elbowing. Pinard of SAV also received a two-minute penalty for slashing.
In the third period, SAV was able to put in two goals! The first goal of the period was by Alex Gilmour, assisted by Joe Fleming and Logan Drevitch. Getting his second goal of the game and fourth for the team, Marleau scored at 15:29 and was assisted by Brent Pedersen and Pinard. Jax got was to get a goal as well by Damien Giroux, assisted by Christopher Brown and Brendan Harris. Shots for the third period were five for SAV and 17 for JAX. Also, within six seconds of the start of the period, Collins for SAV and Van Boekel for JAX both got five-minute penalties for fighting. After two minutes, Carson MacKinnon for JAX received a two-minute penalty for boarding. Michael Bullion of SAV also received a penalty for hitting the puck out of play; his penalty was served by Anthony Collins. Lastly, Cole Stallard and Brendan Soucie both received two-minute high-sticking penalties at 15:34 and 18:47, respectively.
The Savannah Ghost Pirates won 4-2 in the second preseason against the Jacksonville Icemen. The three stars of the game were all on the Ghost Pirates: Vincent Marleau, Michael Bullion, and Simon’ Pinard.
The Savannah Ghost Pirates play against the Norfolk Admirals on Friday, October 20th, the Jacksonville Icemen play against the Florida Everblades on Saturday, October 21st. Both teams are home for their first regular season games!
