The Dark Knights didn’t have their usual goalie Tuesday night — Lacy was out celebrating her daughter’s 18th birthday — but Brian Ireland stepped into the crease and never let the game get interesting. By the time the final horn sounded, the Knights had put up eight goals, spread the wealth across the lineup, and walked away with an 8-2 win over the Crows.
Fast Out of the Gate, and They Never Slowed Down
The Knights came out firing, peppering the Crows’ goal with 13 shots in the first alone and building a four-goal cushion before the period even ended — while Ireland faced just 3 shots and turned them all away. The Crows picked up the pace in the second, bringing home two goals on 10 shots, but the Knights answered back with three goals of their own. The third told the same story as the first — the Crows managed 6 more shots but couldn’t get any into the back of the net, while the Knights tacked on one final goal to close it out.
The Knights racked up seventeen total points on the night — 8 goals, 9 assists — and eight different skaters got their names on the sheet. Chris led the way with 2 goals and 2 assists, and Jay wasn’t far behind with 2 goals and an assist of his own, including the power-play marker. Cam put together a 1-goal, 2-assist night, while Tabitha and Jeffrey each chipped in a goal and an assist. Jen scored, and Grif and AJ each picked up a helper to round out the scoring. When eight different players are touching the puck before it goes in, that’s not a one-line team — that’s depth.
A Clean Night, Mostly
Special teams did their part too. The Knights went 1-for-2 on the power play, with Jay cashing in the man-advantage goal. Cam took the team’s only penalty of the game — a rare quiet night for a team that usually spends a little more time in the box.
The power play now sits at a division-best 50% on the season. The penalty kill is a respectable 83.3% across 6 chances — good, but a step behind Red Squadron’s perfect 100% on 3 kills. Room to tighten up, though Red’s clearly setting the bar for everyone in Bronze right now.
Three Stars of the Night
- Christopher Godzyk — a four-point night, with 2 goals and 2 assists.
- Brian Ireland — stepped in as a backup goalie and stopped 17 of the 19 shots he faced.
- Jaylen Fast — 2 goals and an assist, including one on the power-play.
Where the Knights Stand
The offense is doing plenty of the talking lately, and it shows up across the Bronze leaderboards. Tabitha sits at the very top of the division in points (9), goals (5), and assists (4), and she’s not carrying the load alone. Chris, Jeffrey, Jay and Cam are all in the top 10 points leaders. Chris, Jay and Jeffrey are also amongst the top 10 goal scorers in the division. The Knights make up a whopping 8 of the 10 assists leaders, with Tabitha, AJ, Jeffrey, Grif, Cam, Chris, Jay and Dawne all claiming spots. Add it up and the Knights hold 5 of the top 10 spots in points, 4 of the top 10 in goals, and 8 of the top 10 in assists — nearly the whole division leaderboard, all in one jersey.
The Knights improve to 2-1-1 on the season, good for second place in Bronze, with 10 games still to play.