The most noticeable thing about the Screaming Squirrels-Panic game Sunday night was the bench. There were only three players sitting on it at any given time, no where close to the recommended 10 subs per team. The Squirrels only had one sub, and the Panic had two. The Squirrels would like to think that made the difference in their 12-2 loss.
Matt Borlik scored the first goal of the game for the Squirrels, who held the lead up until two minutes remained in the first period. Then Panic started scoring. Three in the final minutes of the first period, four in the second, and five in the third. Goaltender Drew Thiemann faced 45 shots, saving 34 of them. Panic’s final goal was a short-handed empty netter as the Squirrels pulled the goaltender for one final flurry. The Squirrels only had eight shots in the first two periods, and 11 in the third. Ben Sumner scored the second goal for the Squirrels midway through the third period.
Besides Sumner, Borlik and Thiemann, Desi Richelson, Adam Hughes, Chris Long, and Greg Wenograd showed up for the Squirrels. The teams, both shorthanded, were supposed to play on the smaller Logsdon rink. Without warning, The Gardens Ice House moved the game to the much larger Resor rink, though Logsdon was not being used at the time.
The Squirrels now have a long layoff. They’ll return to the ice July 10, at 9 p.m. against the Dead Kings.