Over 5000 fans made their way to American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, NC to watch their hometown Charlotte Hounds defeat the Ohio Machine 13-7. The two teams ended the first quarter tied at 3 all, but after that it was all Charlotte. Second year player Eric Lusby led all players in the game with five points (5g, 0a) and the Hounds played a great game all around. Defenseman Ryan Flanagan was named defensive player of the game for his very aggressive performance against the last place Machine. The Hounds are now (3-3) and tied for fourth place in the league with the New York Lizards while the Machine fall to (0-6) and continue their search for their first win of the year.
Local boy Mike Sawyer’s return to his hometown Charlotte was greeted by a great hometown crowd. Sawyer, in his first home game with the Hounds, scored two points (1g, 1a) against Ohio. Former college teammate Lusby scored five goals in the game, a new high for him. Veteran player and team captain Matt Danowski also impressed the crowd with a four-point performance (3g, 1a) including a hat-trick. Newcomer Ryan Young didn’t find the back of the net, but dished out two assists in the game. Face-off specialist Tim Fallon went over 50% at the X, winning 12 of 23 face-offs. All-star goalie Adam Ghitelman played a great game for the Hounds, stopping 11 of 18 shots on goal (61%). The win against the Machine make it two-in-a-row for Charlotte as they wait for the Boston Cannons to come into town next week.
Defending Rookie of the Year Steele Stanwick led the Machine offense but wasn’t able to carry them to a victory. Stanwick (1g, 2a) tied with Joe Cummings (2g, 1a) with three points apiece for the winless Machine. Rookies Logan Schuss (2g, 0a) and Marcus Holman (1g, 1a) each added two points for Ohio as they continue to impress in their first year in the league. Schuss looked really good for Ohio, as both of his goals were nifty on-the-run goals which did not look easy. Face-off guy Eric O’Brien was just under 50% in the game, as he won 11 of 23 from center field. Machine goalie Brian Phipps played a solid game for the Machine, but faced too many shots to stop them all. Phipps saved 14 of 26 shots on goal to finish the game with a 54% save rate.
Next week the Charlotte Hounds will look to defeat the Boston Cannons in their first meeting of the year. The Cannons will enter the game against Charlotte with a (1-5) record with their only win coming against the Chesapeake Bayhawks in week four. For the Machine, they will host the (3-3) Rochester Rattlers next weekend. The Rattlers won yesterday against the Boston Cannons at home in Rochester.
