The Charlotte Hounds certainly know how to entertain their home crowd; after jumping out to a 12-3 lead in the first half of the game, Charlotte nearly allowed the New York Lizards to come back and win, but held off for a 13-11 win. The win puts the Hounds into a fourth-place tie with the Boston Cannons with just three games left in the 2013 regular season. Peet Poillon was named the Game MVP following a three-goal performance including a SportsCenter Top 10 play and a two-pointer.
Nine different Hounds registered goals in the 13-11 win over the Lizards, with Poillon leading the way. Fresh off his first All-Star game, Ryan Young tallied two goals against his former team. Despite winning just 7 of 24 face-offs all night, the Hounds offense made it look easy in the first half scoring a season high 11 goals before halftime. Rookie LSM Mason Poli registered three points in the game ( one goal, two assists) and fellow rookies Jake Tripuka ( 1 goal, 1 assist) and Mike Sawyer ( 1 goal, 1 assist) both added a pair of points. Goalie Adam Ghitelman shook off whatever had been holding him back the last few weeks as he saved 12 of 21 shots to give him a 57% save rate for the game.
The New York offense was led by none of than rookie all-star Rob Pannell. Scoring one goal in the first quarter, and two in the fourth Pannell finished the game with five points (three goals, two assists). Greg “The Beast” Gurenlian showed why he was the first pick in the All-Star game by winning 16 of the 22 face-offs he took against the Hounds’ Tim Fallon. Pannell’s “other half” at Cornell, Steve Mock, scored two goals for the Lizards, as did David Earl. Goalie Drew Adams faced a ridiculous 30 shots on goal, and was able to stop 18 of them (60% save) but unfortunately couldn’t get his offense to produce the last two points in the final minutes to secure the upset.
Next Saturday (July 27) the (5-6) Charlotte Hounds will travel to Ohio and attempt to sweep the (1-10) Machine for the second consecutive season. For the (3-8) Lizards, they will get to stay at home as the (4-7) Rochester Rattlers come to town. With just three weeks left in the season, every game is important for the Charlotte Hounds who are still dreaming of grabbing the fourth and final playoff spot. Both the Denver Outlaws and Hamilton Nationals have clinched a spot which leaves two more open heading into the final stretch of season.
