April 12, 2009
A busy Saturday night saw each series take the ice for Game Two. Sixty minutes wasn't enough to decide a pair of contests as both Cedar Rapids and Green Bay earned overtime victories.
Green Bay trailed 3-1 in the third period to Waterloo before capitalizing on the power midway through the frame. The Gamblers pulled their goaltender in favor of the extra attacker and tied the game with 21 seconds remaining in the period on the second goal of the evening by Michael Forney. At 7:48 into overtime, Ryan Furne found the net to become the hero and give the Gamblers a 2-0 series lead. Furne had also scored the game-winning goal in Game One.
Kyle Flanagan of Cedar Rapids had two goals in regulation to match the pair scored by Stanislav Galiev of Indiana, but it was Flanagan who sealed the win by completing the hat trick just over a minute into overtime. Cedar Rapids pulled the series even at one game apiece.
Sioux Falls scored a pair of shorthanded goals, including one with one-tenth of a second remaining in the first period, on their way to a 4-1 victory on the road to even the series 1-1. Dane Walters of Sioux Falls finished the night with three points (2g, 1a). Clay Witt made 41 saves in goal for the Stampede to earn the victory.
Omaha twice had the lead, but Fargo evened the game each time and eventually took the lead and the 4-2 win. Fargo now heads home after winning the first two games of the series on the road. Matt Leitner had three points (1g, 2a) to lead the Force. The teams now head to Fargo for a Sunday night match-up in Game Three of the best-of-five series.
The USHL is celebrating its 30th season of junior hockey in 2008-09. With over 160 players already committed to NCAA Division I schools and 16 NHL Draft picks playing in the league, the USHL is the nation's foremost producer of junior hockey talent. For more information, visit us on the web at www.ushl.com.
