Cook got assist but Morris, according to coach, won game for INDY

ICE TAKE OUT THE FORCE 6-3 BEHIND BIG EFFORTS FROM GOUMAS AND MORRIS
11-13-2009
In a matchup of the 2009 Clark Cup finalists, the champion Indiana Ice met the runner-up Fargo Force Friday at the Pepsi Coliseum. The Ice returned only five skaters from their league championship roster while the Force remained more intact with 14 holdovers.

Logic dictated Fargo would hold the upper hand in the finals rematch but Indiana earned a convincing win over the Force in a 6-3 victory.

Indy used a four-goal second period to build a 5-0 lead to withstand a trio of unanswered third period Fargo goals and make a winner of goaltender Cab Morris. Morris shut down the defending West Division champs the first two periods while his team built their large advantage.

“Overall it was a good effort,” summarized Ice head coach Jeff Blashill. “Cab was the difference. He outplayed their goaltenders tonight.”

Returning home after playing eight of their first 11 games on the road, Indiana enjoyed the home cooking after compiling a 6-4-1 record in a heavy travel schedule to start the season.

Indy needed only 23 seconds of the second period to increase their first period lead to
2-0. Alex Wildman redirected a John Parker shot while roaming in front of the Force goal. Nick Mattson started the scoring play and received an assist.

Anti Roppo, Shane Berschbach, and Justin Agosta combined to make it nine different players notching points in the game when Roppo pushed home a loose puck at the 5:02 mark of the middle session. Despite holding a 3-0 lead, the Ice was still being outshot 11-10 through the first 36 minutes of play.

The hosts broke through on the power play as the lead swelled to 4-0 as Mattson buried a blue line slapshot at 9:45 of the stanza. Berschbach and Parker earnest their second assists of the period while skating with the man advantage.

Indiana skated to the second intermission with a five-goal cushion when Kevin Goumas notched his second goal of the contest with 3:22 remaining putting home a carom of a Nic Dowd shot.

Fargo dominated the first dozen minutes of the contest outshooting Indy 7-1, but the hosts scored on their second shot of the contest. Max Cook found Goumas on the weak side of the visitor crease and Goumas had plenty of net to bury his first goal of the evening.

“I was in the right place at the right time,” commented Goumas. “Max (Cook) tried to pass to me and it got stuffed. He got it again and went backdoor to get it to me.”

Bryon Paulazzo was credited with an assist on the only goal of the opening frame at 12:27 while Morris turned away all ten Fargo shots in the first 20 minutes of the game.
The Force made it interesting when they scored three goals in succession to close the gap to 5-3 with 4:16 remaining. Nic Dowd scored an empty net goal with 1:23 remaining on Berschbach’s third assist of the match.

The teams meet again tonight at 7:05 p.m. from Pepsi Coliseum.