The Charlotte Hounds on Saturday afternoon lost their 2015 home finale 17-16 to the Florida Launch in overtime. With the loss, the Hounds drop to 3-9 on the season and are officially eliminated from the MLL playoff picture. After a back-and-forth game, Hounds defenseman Michael Ehrhardt tied the game at 15 with 9.3 seconds remaining to force the extra period. The Launch earned the first possession in overtime and Ryan Flanagan was hit with an early holding penalty, setting up Lyle Thompson for the game-winning, power-play goal just 1:34 into play. It was Thompson’s sixth goal of the night, earning him Coca-Cola Player of the Game honors. The Hounds, meanwhile, were lead by Mike Sawyer with six points (5g, 1a). Both the five goals and six points are new personal bests for Sawyer.
Neither team could score on its first possession of the game, but Sawyer got the Hounds on the board two minutes into action with a shot on the run. Thirty seconds later the home team was up 2-0 thanks to a goal from Terry Kimener and assist from Kevin Cunningham. On the next Launch possession, Brett Schmidt was hit with a cross-checking penalty and Steven Brooks scored immediately off the restart to put the visitors on the board. One minute later, Jovan Miller intercepted a Hounds pass and dished the ball to Kieran McArdle, who found Miles Thompson in front for the equalizer.
Lyle Thompson gave the Launch their first lead of the game off an unassisted goal with 8:24 left in the first quarter. The Hounds responded with a goal from Cunningham, but the Launch were back in front three minutes later. Mike Chanenchuk took a shot that bounced off the post and sailed downfield. McArdle scooped it up and dished to Miles Thompson for a 4-3 lead. Each team tallied one more before the clock wound down, leaving the Launch in front 5-4 after the first quarter.
Joey Sankey opened the scoring in the second half, showing some patience before ripping one past Launch goalkeeper Austin Kaut. Sawyer followed with his third of the night to put the Hounds back in front 6-5. The teams then traded goals to knot the game at 8-8, but Lyle Thompson recorded his third of the night to give the visitors a 9-8 advantage with 1:47 remaining in the half. Chris Mattes won the ensuing faceoff for the Launch and quickly got the ball to McArdle for another goal. John Haus beat Kaut low off an assist from Kimener 30 seconds later, cutting the Hounds deficit to one goal at the half.
Early in the third quarter, the Launch defense left Jake Tripucka standing wide open on the left side, and he made them pay, tying the game at 10. But the visitors were able to respond with two goals of their own from McArdle and Miles Thompson to regain a 12-10 lead. Each team would net two more before the period was over, including the fourth of the day for Sawyer, to make it a 14-12 game going into the final 15 minutes.
It took just 40 seconds for Sawyer to score in the fourth quarter, as he dunked the ball over Kaut’s should after an assist from Cunningham. The next six minutes went scoreless before McArdle threaded a shot through the defense to put the Launch up 15-13. The Hounds regained momentum though, getting a second goal from Tripucka and then the equalizer from Cunningham with seven minutes remaining in the game. Lyle Thompson beat Pierce Bassett over the left shoulder for the go-ahead goal four minutes later, and Ehrhardt forced OT with 9.3 seconds left on the clock.
Mattes earned the Launch the first possession in the extra period, but his shot missed the net and the next was blocked by Bassett. It was then that Flanagan got called for holding, giving Florida a 30-second man-up opportunity. Lyle Thompson took advantage and won the game for the Launch, 17-16.
The Hounds will close out the 2015 season with two road games, the first on Friday, July 17 versus the Rochester Rattlers. The Rattlers will be coming off a short week thanks to a Sunday afternoon game with the Chesapeake Bayhawks on July 12. Faceoff between Charlotte and Rochester is schedule for 7:30pm at SUNY Brockport’s Shriver Stadium.
