Reno Pond Hockey played Mid-Ice Crisis in their last game. It was game four of the RIAL D-League Winter 2022/23 season. The game took place on Wednesday, January, 11th, 2023 at 10:45PM. The game was at Reno Ice.
Reno Pond Hockey was coming off of a 2-1 shootout win verses the The Guardians. Reno Pond Hockey was 2-1-0. Reno Pond Hockey had won back to back games. Reno pond Hockey was in 3rd place. Mid-Ice Crisis was coming off a 9-2 win against the Nevada Police Foundation. Mid-Ice Crisis had a record of 3-0-0 leading up to this game. They were in 1st place. The all time record between Reno Pond Hockey and Mid-Ice Crisis was 2-1-0. The last game between Reno Pond Hockey and Mid-Ice Crisis was on August 3rd, 2022. Reno Pond Hockey won that game 5-1.
Check out the game preview here.
Reno Pond Hockey opened the scoring halfway through the first period. After a solid effort to keep the puck in the offensive zone, #72 Mitch Costa got the puck to #46 Brett Horachek. Brett drew in two defenders. He gave a no-look behind-the-back pass to #4 Matthew Stewart who was wide open in front of the net. Matthew put a move on the goalie to score.
With about two minutes to go in the first period, Reno Pond Hockey added to their lead. Mid-Ice Crisis tried to carry the puck into the offensive zone. #32 Greg Scott would steal the puck. He took it from the defensive zone all the way to the offensive zone. He took a shot that found the back of the net. That goal gave Reno Pond hockey a 2-0 lead.
Mid-Ice Crisis would score with less than 30 seconds left in the first period. The puck was put toward the net from below the goal line. The puck bounced into the slot. Mid-Ice Crisis was able to take an uncontested shot that found the back of the net. Reno Pond Hockey held a 2-1 lead after the first period.
Reno Pond Hockey would score again 45 seconds into the second period. Mid-Ice Crisis failed to clear the puck out of their defensive zone. #46 Brett Horachek got the puck and gave it to #4 Matthew Stewart. Matthew took a shot that went wide of the net. Brett recovered the puck from behind the net. He was able to score with a wraparound. His goal gave Reno Pond Hockey a 3-1 lead.
Reno Pond Hockey would make it 4-1 with just under 5 minutes to go in the second period. Reno Pond Hockey won an offensive zone faceoff to the left of the goalie. The puck came back to the defense. #45 Brian Janas took a shot from the point. His shot went off of a defender. #20 Garrett Deering recovered the puck. Garrett took a shot that was saved by the right pad of the goalie. #23 Joshua Schaap got the rebound. He got the goalie to stretch out. He was able to find the back of the net with his shot.
With under 2 minutes to go in the second period, Mid-Ice Crisis would cut the lead back to two. Mid-Ice Crisis scored on a 3 on 1. The puck carrier was able to get around the defender. He then put a move on the goalie to score. The score was 4-2 going into the third period.
Mid-Ice Crisis scored 5 minutes into the third period to cut the lead to one goal. Reno Pond Hockey failed to get the puck out of their zone. That turned into an odd-man rush. The initial shot was saved. The rebound ended up right in front of one of the Mid-Ice Crisis players who put it away. Mid-Ice Crisis would tie the game about halfway through the third period. On the rush they put the puck on net. It was initially saved. The trailing Mid-Ice Crisis player taped #40 Justin Farmer in the mask with his stick. At that point the puck went in. It was ruled a goal.
With three minutes to go Reno Pond Hockey went on the power play. With about two minutes to go Live Barn stopped recording. #9 Tristan McKnight scored the game-winning goal with less than a minute to go. The final score was a 5-4 Reno Pond Hockey victory.
This is the third win in a row for Reno Pond Hockey. It is now a winning streak. This is the first game this season where Reno Pond Hockey scored first. They did let Mid-Ice Crisis stick around. Ultimately they did get the win. I think the game-tying goal should have been goalie interference. The goal should have been disallowed. The official who called the goal said “he did not touch your mask”. I have it the mask tap on video. I think I would be more understanding if she said “I didn’t see it” like most officials do instead of trying to tell players what happened. Trying to tell someone they didn’t just get hit in the head when they did is an odd choice. Luckily Justin was ok. Players being allowed to hit the goalie is a safety concern though. It was a strong team effort from Reno Pond Hockey. They just need to work on closing out games better.
Reno Pond Hockey’s first goal was scored by #4 Matthew Stewart. It was assisted by #46 Brett Horachek and #72 Mitch Costa. The second goal was scored by #32 Greg Scott. It was unassisted. The third goal was scored by #46 Brett Horachek. It was assisted by #4 Matthew Stewart. The fourth goal was scored by #23 Joshua Schaap. It was assisted by #20 Garrett Deering and #45 Brian Janas. The fifth goal was scored by #9 Tristan McKnight.
Goals – #4 Matthew Stewart, #32 Greg Scott, #46 Brett Horachek, #23 Joshua Schaap, #9 Tristan McKnight
Assists – #72 Mitch Costa, #46 Brett Horachek, #4 Matthew Stewart, #20 Garrett Deering, #45 Brian Janas
Stats were not published on the league website
Reno Pond Hockey vs Grrrowlers | RIAL
9:15pm
Location: Reno Ice
Jan.
25th
Zac Electrifly 