4-0 deficit too much to make up
By KATHY GIERER
kgierer@ledger -enquirer.com
Columbus Cottonmouths defenseman Andrew Dwyer and forward Orrin Hergott summed up the Snakes’ 4-3 home loss to Fayetteville the same way:
Playing one period of hockey won’t beat anybody.
The Snakes fell into a deep hole, trailing the FireAntz 4-0 with just over 8 minutes to play in the second period. They mounted a comeback, but the deficit was too large.
Friday night, the Snakes posted a 4-1 victory with few mistakes. What a difference one day makes.
“It took a couple of periods for us to get going,” Dwyer said. “We were trying to feel each other out. Playing one period out of three just isn’t good enough.”
Hergott scored a pair of goals, giving him three in two games.
“We came out flat and weren’t working smart,” Hergott said. “Guys were flying all over the place. I think, coming off yesterday, maybe we took them a little lightly. But there’s a lot of character on this team. I’m not surprised we came back.”
Rookie Steve Bounds was in net for the Snakes for his first complete regular-season game. Bounds played 30 minutes in one exhibition game and one full period in the other. He and Ian Vigier were on the opening-night roster. Cottonmouths coach Jerome Bechard will decide this week if Bounds or Chad Rycroft will share goaltending duties with Vigier.
“I was a little nervous,” Bounds said. “But I got better as the game went on. I let in a soft goal for their third one. I had a good feeling when we started to come back. I know I faced a lot of shots (47), but I’d rather face 40 shots. It was just unlucky for our team that some of them went in.”
Bechard disagreed with one of Bounds’ statements.
“He saw 47 shots; that’s way too many shots,” the coach said. “The first period, he was phenomenal. The first two goals were not his fault. There were missed assignments. The third one, he got beat upstairs, and the fourth one was a two-on-one.’
Fayetteville put Bryan Bridges in net after Guy St. Vincent gave up 12 goals in the first two games. Bryan stopped 37 of 40 Columbus shots.
The Antz scored twice in the first period and twice in a 1:42 span of the second to take a 4-0 lead.
The Snakes scored a pair of power-play goals. Adding in one from the previous night, they now have three in the first weekend of play. Nic Boucher and Hergott scored with the man advantage.
Hergott made it interesting when he sliced the lead to one with 5:10 left in the game. But the Snakes failed to score the equalizer. Bechard called timeout with 1:02 left and pulled Bounds. They banged away, firing one shot after another, but none found the net.
The defending Southern Professional Hockey League champion Knoxville Ice Bears come to town next weekend for a pair of games: 7:30 p.m. Friday and a Halloween matinee on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Saturday at Columbus Civic Center
Fayetteville 2 2 0—4
Columbus 0 1 2—3
First period—1, Fayetteville, Sich (Leveille, Cooke) 16:58; 2, Fayetteville, Needham (McConnachie, Free) 19:15. Penalties—Sich, Fayetteville (roughing) 2:19; Leslie, Columbus (elbowing, fighting) 5:07; Needham, Fayetteville (fighting) 5:07; Geerlinks, Fayetteville (interference) 10:25; Barlow, Columbus (slashing) 12:57; Free, Fayetteville (high-sticking) 14:28.
Second period—3 Fayetteville, Needham (McConnachie, Free) 10:00; 4, Fayetteville, Sich (Cooke, Leveille) 11:42; 5, Columbus, Boucher (Martens, Johnson) 17:01 PPG. Penalties—Lundale, Columbus (fighting) 10:58; Magnussen, Fayetteville (fighting) 10:58; Hessler, Fayetteville (holding) 15:16.
Third period—6, Columbus, Hergott (Lundale, Lind) 7:05 PPG; 7, Columbus, Hergott (Cole, Lind) 14:50. Penalties—McCarthy, Columbus (roughing) 2:33; Geerlinks, Fayetteville (tripping) 6:28.
Shots on goal: Fayetteville 16-20-11—47; Columbus 11-14-15—40
Goaltenders: Bounds (loss) 58:48, 47-43-4; Bridges (win) 60:00, 0-37-3.
Power plays—Columbus 2 of 5; Fayetteville 0 of 3.
Referee: Brent Coulombe. Linesmen: Justin Bell, Michael Sheehan.
Time: 2:04. Attendance: NA
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