Nordiques end Aviators 3-game winning streak; Defeat Elmira 6-2
ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira Aviators (11-13-3-1) dropped Game 1 to the Maine Nordiques (15-12-2-1) 6-2 at the LECOM Event Center Friday night.
The Nordiques ambushed the Aviators with five unanswered goals in the third period.
Elmira got off to a solid start with Andrew Horn firing a puck off the post and in to give the Aviators a 1-0 first-period lead. Friday night’s game was Horn’s first as an Aviator.
The Nordiques answered less than a minute into the middle period. Shane Kozlina wristed the puck off the end boards and off the back of Elmira goaltender Carson Barnes and into the goal to tie things up at one.
The Aviators answered back on their own power play with Jett Otwell coming through. Otwell has now scored a goal in four straight games.
The Aviators led it 2-1 after two periods of play. To that point, Elmira had not trailed for eight straight periods.
However, the Nordiques dominated from puck drop to the final whistle in the third period. Usko Laaksonen scored a power-play goal less than a minute into the final frame to tie the game at two.
Maine continued to ride the momentum with Laurent Trepanier giving the Nordiques the lead shortly after. During the six-game losing streaks the Nordiques held entering Friday’s game, Maine had scored three or more goals just once.
After getting their third goal Friday night, the Nordiques knew a win was within their grasp. Michael Stenberg freed a puck off the wall and pushed it into a dangerous area to give Maine a 4-2 lead.
Elmira failed to get much going in the attacking zone for the rest of the night. The Aviators were handed two late-period power plays to try to get back in it, but the Nordiques killed them with a commitment to detail and great shot-blocking.
The Aviators will battle it out with the Nordiques for Game 2 of the series on Saturday at 7 p.m. Saturday’s game will feature a teddy bear toss and a Coke BMX bike giveaway.
Tickets are available on Ticketmaster and at the LECOM Event Center box office. The game can be streamed on NATV and listened to on Big Foot Country Legends.
Mac Young is the play-by-play voice of the Elmira Aviators. To contact him email [email protected].