With a playoff spot locked up, the New York Lizards could have simply taken it easy and rested some of their stars. However, that wasn’t their intentions as the Lizards got off to a hot start against the Denver Outlaws and never looked back on their way to an 18-15 victory.
This game was New York’s last home game of the season until the playoffs, so they wanted to send their fans home happy with a win after a successful season at home. The Lizards were 5-1 at Shuart M. Stadium coming into the game.
There was no shortage of offense from the Lizards. Just five seconds into the game, New York got on the board thanks to Greg “The Beast” Gurenlian, who won the first of 30 face-offs and zipped the ball past Outlaw goalie Jesse Schwartzman. The Lizards would add four more goals, two of which came from Tommy Palasek, and one came from Jo-Jo Marasco and Pannell. The Outlaws would score two goals to end the first quarter with the Lizards in front 5-2.
For most of the season, taking advantage of man-up opportunities was an issue for the Lizards. Yet no one would’ve known that from seeing New York’s play in the second quarter. After trading goals with the Lizards, the Outlaws started to draw penalties, and New York was ready to advantage. Ryan Walsh and Paul Rabil scored two consecutive power play goals to further extend the Lizards. Walsh would add the second of his two-goal night before Denver scored again to end the first half 10-5 in favor of New York.
The third stanza was Pannell’s as his outstanding offensive performance continued into the second half. After Steve DeNapoli began play in the third with a goal, Pannell added his third goal of the game to enlarge the deficit to seven goals. It wouldn’t last the time fans heard Pannell’s name as he assisted on Marasco’s second goal of the night, then Pannell fired the ball into the back of the net for his fourth goal. Rabil would close out the scoring in the third quarter, and Lizards had a comfortable 15-8 lead going into the final quarter of play.
The Denver Outlaws, however, weren’t going to go down without a fight. They scored six goals, one of which was a two-point goal near the end of the game. Those seven points would’ve been enough to tie the Lizards and send the game into overtime if they had prevented New York from scoring one goal in the fourth quarter. This task was too difficult to complete, as Marasco scored a goal midway through the fourth, and Pannell added his final goal of the night to round-out a seven-point night, with five goals and two assists, and sealed the Lizards’ 10th win of the season.
With the win, the Lizards improve to 8-2. They have already clinched a spot in the playoffs. New York now awaits the result of the Boston Cannons versus Ohio Machine match. With two games left on the schedule, should Boston lose to Ohio, New York will secure first place in the standings. The Lizards will travel to face the Ohio Machine in Ohio next week and the Outlaws for the second time in Denver as their last game of the 2015 campaign.
