No Hockey Bugs for Black Hawk

Travis Triplett

2/9/2006 - The Black Hawk Ice Hawks didn’t need bleach or Lysol to get rid of the Germs. All they needed was a relentless offense and clutch goaltending.

  The Ice Hawks improved to 7-5-1 on the season and remained in the hunt for the C3 division’s top spot with a harrowing 3-2 triumph over the pesky Germs. Black Hawk applied tremendous pressure on The Germs' net, but they would have to come from behind to win this game.

  It took all of thirty seconds for Jeremy Neal to extend his gaudy point streak. His shot went through the goalie's five-hole and it was the only scoring for almost thirty-five minutes. The one-goal lead would turn into a 2-1 deficit going into the third as the Germs found the back of the net.

  “We shelled their net, and we knew the goals would come,” said Matt Lindberg. “All we had to do was keep the pressure up.” Black Hawk faced a similar situation in a game last December against Battalion. Down by a goal, the Ice Hawks continued to mount pressure and win the game. History would repeat itself.

  The number one rule in hockey is to always crash the net, and nobody preached that louder than Jeff Moeller after the goalie gave up a rebound to him. He had little trouble finding the open net to tie the game for Black Hawk. Just a couple of minutes later, while Black Hawk had the power play, they would take the lead - thanks to Joe Prudente. He scored by…you guessed it, crashing the net. Black Hawk fired twenty-two more shots than the Germs and dominated the play in their end.

  Black Hawk also had Tracy Jonkoniec in net, and she played her best game as an Ice Hawk. During a Black Hawk power play, the Germs stole the puck and had a shorthanded scoring chance as they quickly approached the Ice Hawks’ net. Garrett Ladd tripped up the Germs' Christopher Abell and the referees called for a penalty shot. It was just Jonkoniec and Abell going one-on-one in the most exciting play in hockey! Abell tried to beat Jonkoniec low on her left side, but she telegraphed the shot the whole way as she made a clutch save. The crowd went ballistic! Jonkoniec would come up with another save to preserve victory. A last ditch effort to score with just seconds on the clock ended with Tracy covering the rubber disc while lying on her back! The Germs skated away with their defeat secured, shaking their heads in disbelief.

  “Tracy was, hands down, the number one star of the game,” said team captain Garrett Ladd.