Hussey Blanks IceCats, Blue Ridge Snags Franchise Record Seventh Straight Win

WYTHEVILLE, VA-

Greg Hussey stopped all 34 Pee Dee IceCats shots he faced, backstopping the Blue Ridge Bobcats to a 4-0 win, their franchise record seventh consecutive victory and a weekend sweep before a crowd of 2,123 at Hitachi Energy Arena on Saturday night.

For the second straight night, Filip Hlavac opened Blue Ridge's scoring account on the evening, sending a shot from the weak side half wall off the skate of Dzianis Zaichyk and through the five hole of Breandan Colgan to put the Bobcats on top 1-0 at the 10:35 mark of the opening frame, a lead they would carry into the intermission.

The lone goal of the middle frame came from Steven Alvo, who one-timed home a blast from the center point for his first goal as a Bobcat to double the Blue Ridge advantage just under two minutes into the 2nd period. 

Mike Mercurio provided some insurance at the 12:36 mark of the third, putting a shot top shelf past the right shoulder of Colgan off a great setup from Carson Gallagher to make it a 3-0 game. Nick Stuckless found the back of the net for the 5th straight game, potting an exclamation point empty netter while shorthanded at the 18:25 mark of the final frame to cap off the 4-0 win.

Hussey made a series of key stops down the stretch of the final two periods, stonewalling Pee Dee as they turned up the pressure late in the contest. His 34 save shutout earned him first star honors on the evening. Stuckless earned third star for extending his goal sreak, and a three-point (1G, 2A) night for Filip Hlavac netted him second star.

The Bobcats hit the road to Biloxi next weekend for a two game set with the Breakers from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Both games are slated for 8:05 ET (7:05 CT) puck drops, with pregame coverage of both contests beginning at 7:50 ET (6:50 CT) on the Blue Ridge Hockey Network.