The
Indianapolis Racers came out hot, taking shot after shot on the Stingers. Finally
defenseman Pat Stapleton put one past the pipes at 4:16 in the first period. Stapleton
found the puck astray after a left circle faceoff and slapped it past Stingers goaltender
Paul Hoganson. Hoganson who initially held strong with the Racers attack, batted the puck
high on his left side but failed to stop it. After Ron Plumb was sent to the penalty box
for holding, Stapleton followed with another goal at 9:34. He slapped another from
practically the same spot he scored his first. But teammate Karlander apparently touched
the goal as it was heading into the net. So after the period ended, the credit for the
goal was changed to Al Karlander with Stapleton in on the assist.
Former Cincinnati
Sword Hugh Harris made a great attempt to score the fourth goal of the game after a
break away. But his attempt came up empty as John Hughes dove head first to break up the
play. John Hughes again attempted to break up another Racers goal, this time by Karlander,
but failed after accidentally getting bumped out by teammates Terry Ball and Ron Plumb.
The puck was sitting undisturbed in the circle just ripe for the plucking, when Karlander
snatched it up and scored.
The Stingers picked it up offensively in the early
minutes of the second period. The club maintained great puck control and took nice shots,
but all was for not as the Stingers skated away with no goals. The Stingers top plus-minus
scorer on the team Murray Myers missed a wide open net from only a few feet back. Dennis
Sobchuk then took two hard shots that were rejected by Racers goalie Michael Dion. The
Stingers out shot the Racers 11 to 5 with nothing to show for it. Despite the Racers only
taking 5 shots, they managed to bag another to make it 4-0. The goal came from Al
Karlander at 9:22 in the period when he grabbed the puck that had bounced off the glass
behind the net. The puck then bounced back over and in front of the Stingers net. Hoganson
lost sight of the puck and Karlander tapped it in. The goal completed his hat-trick and
Hoganson was then replaced on the ice with John Kiely.
Moments after the third period began, the Stingers got
on the board when Murray Myers nubbed in a rebound right at the left pipe. It was his 10th
goal of the season. But the Racers would score again late in the final period to maintain
the victory. |
