April 28, 2009
The Indiana Ice advanced to the Clark Cup Finals after defeating the Green Bay Gamblers 5-3 in Game Four on Tuesday night. Indiana wins the best-of-series 3-1.
Green Bay took control of the game in the first period scoring on two power plays just over two minutes apart and went into the first intermission leading 2-0. The Ice exploded in the second period with four goals by four different players to shift the momentum in their favor.
William Rapuzzi brought the Gamblers back within one goal during the final 20 minutes after scoring his second goal of the night, but it would be as close as Green Bay would get as defenseman Joe Hartman added the empty net goal for Indiana in the final seconds to seal the victory and the series. It was the first playoff goal for Hartman.
Playoff scoring leader Mike Cichy tallied three assists for the Ice as 10 different players for Indiana registered a point, including goaltender Brett Bennett who recorded an assist on the final goal. Bennett also made 21 saves in net.
Grant Blakey scored his first goal of the playoffs which also proved to be the game-winner. Max Cook scored a goal for the second consecutive night and Ice teammate Zach Golembiewski scored a goal for the second straight night and pushed his playoff point streak to four games.
Indiana will now face the Fargo Force in best-of-five final series to determine the Clark Cup champion. The schedule for the finals will be released on Wednesday.
The USHL is celebrating its 30th season of junior hockey in 2008-09. With nearly 170 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.
