Icemen score first in Commander's Cup, lose to Grizzlies' pressure play

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shad Eidson
  • 354 Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Despite their best efforts, the Eielson Icemen couldn't hold against the Fort Wainwright Grizzlies' pressure play, which lead the Army to a 12-2 victory at the 12th annual Commander's Cup at Fairbanks' Big Dipper Ice Arena Saturday.

Eielson now ties the Grizzlies in the series 6-6 in the derby game held annually since 1996.

The Eielson Icemen won the faceoff and a heated battle started for dominance of the puck. At the three-minute mark in the period, Eielson's Scott McCreedy made the first goal of the match. The Grizzlies tightened up their zone control, which they maintained throughout the game.

"The Army played hard. They controlled center ice and never gave us a chance to get into a rhythm," said Icemen coach William Renner. We were not able to get into their zone to challenge their goalie.

The first period had strong plays up and down the ice including steals and slap shots. The Grizzlies team play came out ahead to end the period with a 6-1 lead.

The Icemen fought for control of the zones in the second period. A dozen saves by Icemen goalie Jeffrey Dwyer, held back the Grizzlies power drive and allowed only two goals.

"The Army was looking for payback from Monday's game," said Dwyer. "After we scored, I knew I had a lot of work heading my way. They were out for no-mercy kind of scoring."

Halfway through the third period, Eielson's Steven Brown made a drive to the Grizzlies' goal to score the Icemen's second and final goal of the match.

With 14 total goals scored and more than 30 stops by Icemen goalie, each side experienced their own share of power plays and fast forwards for plenty of goal-zone action.

"One thing we didn't control today that we normally controlled throughout the Armed Forces tournament was stopping them when they came out of their zone," said team captain Dan Morin. "We never gave up. We kept playing hard all the way to the end. We never hung our heads low."