Red Squadron came into Tuesday’s matchup at Sherwood as the league’s top-ranked team, riding a 9-1 record through their first ten games. They left having been shut out for the first time all season. Goaltender Lacy Taghon stopped all 17 shots she faced to record a 4-0 win over Red Squadron, marking the first shutout of her career and handing the league leaders just their second loss of the year.
A Quiet First, Then a Storm
Taghon was sharp from the opening puck drop, but it was her composure through a scoreless first period — one in which Red Squadron carried the bulk of the offensive pressure, outshooting the Dark Knights 10-4 — that set up everything that followed. She turned aside every look Red Squadron threw at her, weathering the early storm and giving her teammates time to find their footing.
Third-Period Breakout
The breakthrough came in the second period, when center Dawne Griffith buried the game’s first goal to put the Dark Knights on the board. From there, the floodgates opened in the third. Jeffrey Hanson, Matthew Newberg, and Devan Baldwin each found the back of the net in the final frame, while Scott Griffith, Todd Ryan, and Jennifer Zorick all chipped in with assists. Christopher Godzyk was especially active, setting up two of the third-period tallies to lead all skaters with two points on the night.
Even as the Dark Knights piled on the offense — outshooting Red Squadron 31-17 for the game, including a 14-shot third period — Taghon never let up. She finished the night having faced 17 shots and stopped every single one, a perfect 1.000 save percentage across a full 60 minutes between the pipes.
Special Teams
The penalty kill did its part too, holding Red Squadron scoreless on both of their power-play chances. Rachel Mathison had a couple of nice moments guarding the backdoor, breaking up two shot attempts before they could get to the net. The Dark Knights’ own power play went 0-for-2, but on a night when 5-on-5 play carried the game, it barely mattered.
A Career-First Night for Taghon
For Taghon, the shutout is a milestone moment — the first of her career. Through eight games this season, she carried a 5-3-0 record (with one shootout loss mixed in) and a .818 save percentage; Tuesday’s performance stood well above that mark, a perfect 1.000 save percentage and 0.00 GAA in a game where she saw everything Red Squadron sent her way.
The Dark Knights will look to carry this momentum forward as the Sherwood regular season continues, having handed the league’s top team a result it hadn’t seen all summer.