The Green Bay Gamblers won their 12th straight as they defeated the Des Moines Buccaneers 2-1 in overtime on Saturday night at the Resch Center. A season-high crowd of 6,448 tossed a record 6,437 teddy bears on the ice when forward Chris Crane gave the Gamblers a 1-0 lead at the 5:54 mark of the 3rd period.
After a Des Moines timeout, the Buccaneers pulled goaltender Charles Williams, who made 28 saves in the game for the extra attacker. With six men on the ice, the Bucs notched the equalizer as forward Ryan Walters turned on the red light at the 18:44 mark.
A fast paced overtime session ended when Robert Francis and Ryan Furne coverted on a 2-on-1 odd man rush. Francis darted to the net, put on the breaks, did a spin-a-rama and capped off a great individual effort with a perfect pass to Furne who was trailing the play uncontested. Furne finished off the highlight reel goal when his wrist shot found the top corner.
Goaltender Steve Summerhays continued his solid play with a 23-save effort. With the win Summerhays improved to 20-2-1 on the season.
All bears collected at the 11th annual Teddy Bear Toss are donated to th pediatric care units at Aurora Bay Care hospitals.
