The reigning CCHL Champion Musicmen came to town sporting an 18 game winning streak. The Spurs, hoping to extend an 11 game win streak of their own, pounced on the Musicmen in the second half of the opening frame coming out with a 4-1 lead at the end of the first.
While the 'men appeared a bit tired from their recent road trip, they somehow managed to launch 16 shots at Spurs' goalie Marty Brodeur who was up to the task on all but one of them! He also turned aside 38 of 40 shots in the game in stifling the Musicmen. This game saw sog equal, which has been a rarity lately, with the Spurs launching 41 shots at Tomas Vokoun, who may need a bit of a rest given his performance.
Gaborik (38) opened the scoring of the game, unassisted, for the 'men but then the Spurs roared back with four unanswered goals by Clark (4), Marc-Andre Bergeron (8), Sakic (33) and McCabe (12). The 2nd period saw Vinny Lecavalier score off the opening faceoff at the 43 second mark, his 37th, and it visibly took the wind out of the 'men's sails. The Spurs then added two more markers. One by rookie Paul Stastny, who reached the 20 goal mark on the season, and the other by Parrish (21) at 12:53 of the period.
Milan Hejduk scored his 29th for the Musicmen, a shorthanded marker, to close out the 2nd period with the Spurs leading by a hefty 7-2 margin. That proved to be the end of the scoring in the game as the Spurs laid back in the 3rd period not mounting much of an attack. While the 'men outshot the Spurs 18-9 in the period, they could not get another one past Marty Brodeur.
Dasher Notes
The win extended the Spurs current winning streak to 12 games, a club record. Comptroller Barney has reported that all tickets for remaining Spurs' home games are sold out. There were a few remaining but were sold within 30 minutes of the end of this game. This delights Spurs' management and CCHL league offices as the club had problems putting fannies in the seats in Yellowknife. The turnaround is remarkable.
The Spurs travel to Portland tomorrow for a game at The Nest. It appears backup Martin Gerber may be between the pipes for the Owls. Initial reports have starting netminder, rookie Nik Backstrom, sitting out with a strained groin. Blueliner Rachunek is also out for the Owls. The Spurs report no injuries.
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