Post by QC Mike on Apr 14, 2022 15:47:47 GMT -7
The Quarrymen made their annual trip to Belfast to take on the high flying Patriots hoping to reverse their recent losing streak. Belfast held an early edge in play over the jet lagged visitors and were rewarded for their hard work when Joel Eriksson Ek put one past Philip Grubauer at 4:24. Just over two minutes later Jakub Vrana doubled the Patriots lead with a power play marker with Nick Schmaltz off for hooking. Just over a minute later Grubauer had to be helped from the ice after a goal mouth scramble where Tom Wilson came in looking for a late rebound. Watch their goalie being helped from the ice seemed to spark the Q-Men who began to apply some pressure to the home side. However it was Eriksson Ek who again found the back of the net at 17:12 to stretch the Patriot lead to three. Schmaltz pulled one back for Quad Cities just over a minute later to give the visitors some momentum going into the break down 3-1. The second frame was closely fought with the Quarrymen holding a slight edge in play but Eeli Tolvanen's marker with less than a minute to go restored the Patriot's three goal lead and take back any momentum Quad Cities had built up. The third saw Nick Leddy pull the Q-Men back within two at the four minute mark. Just over a minute later Connor Helleybuck went down in a heap with James van Riemsdyk in a goal mouth scramble necessitating Alex Nedjelkovic making an appearance. Valeri Nichushkin restored the Patriot's three goal lead and Goalie Ned held the fort as Belfast escaped with a flattering 5-2 win.
Quad Cities 2 (13 chances on 39 shots) vs Belfast 5 (9 on 33)
1. Eriksson Ek- GWG, 2G, 1A
2. Tolvanen- 1G, 1A, 2 chances on 5 shots
3. Leddy- 1G on 5 shots
The Patriots then traveled to the Quad Cities Qualcomm Quonset Hut for the rematch. Goalie Ned continued to hold serve in Belfast's crease while Grubauer returned to the net for the Q-Men. Belfast got off to a fast start thanks largely to a lengthy 5-3 power play that the Quarrymen were able to kill off. While this energized the hometown crowd, it didn't do much for the team who seemed to get stuck in a defensive mindset. This was not helped when Rasmus Asplund's wrister beat Grubauer on the stroke of eight minutes and put the visitors ahead 1-0 which is how the period ended. The second frame was a tight checking affair which saw Nick Leddy catch Artem Zub with a hard hip check when entering the zone and only one decent scoring chance that Nedjelkovic was able to bat aside. 1-0 after two. The third saw the Q-Men come out and generate some sustained pressure that was finally rewarded when Joel Farabee caught the Patriots on a line change and leveled the score at ones. Quad Cities continued to press in an effort the split the series when a horrible give away by JVR resulted in Asplund getting his second of the game at 13:36 of the third. Rasmus Ristolainen then caught Leddy looking for the puck in his feet on a zone entry. Leddy finished the shift but did not return. A late power play for the hosts with Eriksson Ek off for interference and Grubauer on the bench for the extra attacker didn't generate any real opportunities and the Patriots escaped with the 2-1 victory.
Belfast 2 (6 on 40) vs Quad Cities 1 (5 on 28)
1. Asplund- GWG, 2G
2. Farabee- 1 G on 2 chances (2 shots)
3. Nedjelkovic- Win, 1 GAA on 28 shots (5 chances)
Quad Cities are now 5-6-1