Richard the Great Makes His Debut
Richard Albrecht made his comeback in style. After being told 6 months ago he would never play Hockey again, the "Mexican Beast" as he is known to his teammates has worked hard in rehab and got his first start of the year. It was good to have some new blood in the line up, with so many players still out with injuries and suspensions every extra body would help. Niki Kraus from the Prep team was also available to help us out and give us 4 lines to match up with Graz. We rolled 4 lines in the first period allowing the Stars to keep the game tempo up. The first period flew by and the Stars outchanced the 99'ers but the score would remain 0:0.
The Stars came out very aggressive in the second and it would be Matt Flamand with a great forecheck causing the turnover for Niki Krauss who walked in and Shelved a Back Hander like he knew what he was doing. The Stars would continue to pressure, but the momentum would sway. Again it would be the same Duo. First Matt Flamand, this time he would catch a Graz player with his head down and lay him out with a check. The Referee's call would be a hit to the head. A 5 minute major and time for the showers. Shortly into the Penalty Kill Niki Krauss would be called for slashing. With two men in the box the 99'ers took advantage with a PP goal which seemed to spark them. They would add another to take a 2-1 lead into the third.
This game was almost a copycat of the Game we played in Graz, but this time the outcome would be different. The Stars played a very tight game all night working as a team, aggressive forechecking and always finishing their checks. This would pay off in the Third. Again Niki Krauss who had an outstanding game cut to the middle and made a great drop pass to Nikita Zantmans who would find the low left corner to tie the game, and with only a few minutes remaining, Baltram's aggressive forecheck would free a puck for Irhuesogie who would feed Kusnetsov in the slot to bury the game winner. Graz pulled their Goalie and threw out the extra attacker but the "Mexican Beast" would not be beaten again.
The Stars won't have long to celebrate this win as the bus leaves the next morning to Klagenfurt. A Big win for the Junior Varsity and stealing points from Graz made it even a bigger win for the Academy. LA Jr. Varsity:Graz 99'ers 3:2 (0:0,1:2,2:0)
