IHL recaps for Dec. 20, 1997

Monday, Dec. 22, 1997 | 11:17 a.m.

Las Vegas Thunder 4, Grand Rapids Griffins 2

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--Jesse Belanger scored twice in the first period, including the game-winner at 17:16, to lead the Las Vegas Thunder (18-12-3) to a 4-2 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins (19-11-1) Saturday at Van Andel Arena. The game attracted the Griffins' 12th home sellout crowd of the season, 10,834. Belanger put the Thunder on the board with his 23rd goal of the season, 5:11 after the opening faceoff. Rob Pattison also scored in the first period, and assisted on a third-period goal by Joe Day. IHL scoring leader Patrice Lefebvre picked up a pair of assists, giving him 36 on the season. Brian Sullivan led the way for the Griffins, scoring on a second-period power play after helping to set up Greg Clancy's first-period score. Manny Legace picked up the win in goal, with 31 saves on the 33 shots he faced. Ian Gordon got the start for Grand Rapids, and stopped eight of 11 in the first period. Patrick Lalime turned away nine of ten in relief.

MICHIGAN K-WINGS 5, DETROIT VIPERS 4 (SO)

KALAMAZOO, Mich.--Petr Buzek's goal in the sixth shootout round pushed the Michigan K-Wings (14-10-6) past the Detroit Vipers (17-9-6) 5-4 Saturday in front of 4,532 at Wings Stadium. Marty Flichel and Chris Tancill also scored to give Michigan the tiebreaker by a 3-2 margin. The K-Wings trailed 2-1 through two periods, but rallied at the start of the third with goals by Buzek, Peter Douris and Alex Galtcheniouk. Galtcheniouk and Tancill both picked up two assists during the flurry. Dan Kesa kept Detroit in the game with goals at 14:33 and 19:04. Ian Herbers scored for the Vipers in the first period, as did Darren Banks, who is playing for his third team of this IHL season. Winning goalie Jordan Willis did not enter the game until 2:19 of the opening period, due to equipment problems. He stopped 25 of 29 shots in regulation to help the K-Wings to their third straight win. Starter Manny Fernandez was unchallenged. Detroit netminder Jeff Reese faced 36 shots and made 32 saves.

Houston Aeros 3, Indianapolis Ice 2

HOUSTON--The Houston Aeros (20-10-3) defeated the Indianapolis Ice 3-2 Saturday night on Greg Hawgood's goal at 14:26 of the third period. The Aeros snapped a three-game losing streak before a Saturday night crowd of 7,255 at the Compaq Center. Cam Stewart and David Oliver each had a goal and an assist for the Aeros. Todd White scored both Indianapolis goals, on a power play at 15:07 of the first period, and unassisted 3:18 into the third. Goalie Frederic Chabot picked up his first IHL win of the year, with 26 saves on 28 Indianapolis shots. Kirk Daubenspeck stopped 33 of 36 for the Ice (12-18-3), who are winless in their last three.

Fort Wayne Komets 5, Milwaukee 1

FORT WAYNE, Ind.--The Fort Wayne Komets (14-13-1) scored four unanswered goals on their way to a 5-1 win over the Milwaukee Admirals (17-14-1) Saturday before 6,264 at Memorial Coliseum. Ian Boyce started the Fort Wayne scoring at 16:43 of the first period. Tom Pederson and Konstantin Shafranov made the score 3-0 after two, and Viacheslav Butsayev and Robin Bawa capped the win in the third period. Butsayev and Shafranov also had two assists apiece. Martin Gendron spoiled the Komets' shutout with a power play goal at 12:10 of the third period. Winning goalie Kevin Weekes faced 31 shots and made 30 saves. Mike Torchia stopped 15 of 20 on the way to the Admirals' third straight loss.

Cincinnati Cyclones , Orlando Solar Bears 3 (SO)

CINCINNATI--Shootout goals by Pat MacLeod, Todd Simon and Mike Casselman gave the Cincinnati Cyclones a 4-3 win over the Orlando Solar Bears Saturday at The Crown. The teams traded goals in regulation, starting 6:12 into the game with Cincinnati's Glibert Dionne. Kevin Smyth equalized for the Solar Bears at 7:37, but Jeff Wells put the Cyclones back on top 2-1 with just under three minutes left in the period. Orlando's Hubie McDonough and MacLeod scored in the second stanza, and Eric Nickulus tied the score at 3:31 of the third to force the tiebreaker, Cincinnati's fifth in their last seven games. Geoff Sarjeant made 30 saves on 33 shots in regulation, and thwarted three straight shootout tries, to post the win. Scott LaGrand made 21 saves on 24 chances in goal for Orlando.

Utah Grizzlies 2, Long Beach Ice Dogs 1 (SO)

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah--The Utah Grizzlies (20-9-4) scored on their fourth and fifth shootout chances to edge the Long Beach Ice Dogs (19-13-4) 2-1 Saturday in front of 10,212 at the "E" Center. Jeff Sharples and Fred Knipscheer had Utah's tiebreaker goals. Russ Romaniuk was the lone Long Beach scorer in the shootout. Both regulation goals came in the second period, on power plays. John LeBlanc gave Utah a 1-0 lead at 5:22, and Patrik Augusta equalized at 10:52. IHL goaltending leader Wade Flaherty picked up his 12th win of the season with 26 saves on 27 Long Beach shots. Mike Buzak stopped 29 of 30 for the Ice Dogs.

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