Bobcats Bust Black Bears Streak With 5-2 Triumph

WYTHEVILLE, VA

The Blue Ridge Bobcats sent an emphatic statement across the FPHL landscape, with a dominant and resounding 5-2 victory to end the Binghamton Black Bears 18-game win streak before a crowd of nearly 2,000 on Autism Awareness Night at Hitachi Energy Arena. 

Gavin Yates opened the scoring for Bingo unassisted just 80 seconds in, followed shortly by a Patrick Colgan penalty. It seemed like Saturday's game was going down the same path as the previous night. But off the momentum of a strong penalty kill, the Bobcats took the reigns of the contest.

Just 3:54 after Yates, Hunter Godmere sniped home a wicked wrister past Nolan Egbert, just over half a minute into a power play of the Bobcats own to tie the game at 1.

Brandon Reller intercepted a clearance attempt from Egbert less than 90 seconds into then middle frame and sniped a wrist shot past him far glove side for his first goal as a Bobcat to put Blue Ridge ahead 2-1. Tyson Kirkby responded to tie the game at 2 just 37 seconds later, but that would be the last that Binghamton would get past Greg Hussey.

Justin Daly's first of two on the night, muscling the puck past Egbert out of a net mouth scramble, served as the eventual game-winning goal and gave the 'Cats a 3-2 lead exactly 12:30 into the second period. Blue Ridge never looked back from there.

Just over five and a half minutes into the third, former Black Bear Nick Stuckless burned his former club, tapping in a backdoor pass from Austin Bellefeuille to stake a dagger through Binghamton. Daly put an exclamation point on the evening with his second, an empty netter at 19:14 of the third to push the score to the eventual final of 5-2.

Daly's double goal night earned him first star, while Godmere's multi-point night netted him third star. Second star honors went to Hussey, who stood on his head making 55 saves in net.

Both teams wrap the weekend and season series tomorrow afternoon at 4:05pm.