Squirrels 5, Invincibles 3

The Squirrels got off to a slow start Tuesday, but finished strong for a 5-3 win against the Invincibles.

The Invincibles scored the first goal of the game late in the first period with a shot from the left point, which the Squirrels accidentally redirected into the net.

But early in the second period, Don Marks took a slapshot that went straight in. The Invincibles would roof a shot and take the lead halfway through the game, but Bob Valdes, who hasn’t played in several months, made a great play out of nothing to tie the game, 2-2, late in the second period.

The game began to unravel for the Invincibles very early in the third period, when the Squirrels took a slapshot from center ice, which bounced behind the net and then out front, but the Invincibles’ goalie was still behind the net. Brent Machado was the only player skating, and hit the puck into the empty net.

Machado would score another a few minutes later with an offspeed knuckler into the top corner, then Mario Constantinou made the score 5-2 only 30 seconds later. There was still plenty of time on the clock, however, and the Invincibles made it 5-3. Down the stretch, they didn’t pull their goalie or take a timeout, and that worked out just fine for the Squirrels.

Dave Tran made 33 saves for the  Squirrels.