The Stingers would play their first game at home since opening the season
on October 7th against the Fighting Saints. And the club would not disappoint.
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© Courtesy of Cincinnati
Public Library. |
The Stingers mascot Slapshot with a friend
who received a stick prior to the game. Every child under 14 years of age and who was
accompanied by an adult received a hockey stick courtesy of the Enquirer. |
The Stingers came out of the
gates on fire, scoring three straight goals in the first five minutes of the game. The
first goal was a product of the "LSD" line that consisted of Richie Leduc,
Blaine Stoughton and team captain Rick Dudley. Leduc scored the goal after LSD-mate Rick
Dudley took a shot on the net that was deflected. Leduc nabbed the rebound and knocked the
puck past Mariners goalie Ken Luckett. The second Stingers goal came from the stick of
Dennis Abgrall who also knocked in the puck on a rebound. This time from right in front of
the Mariners net.
The third Stingers goal would be the
second scored by the LSD line. This time the goal was scored by Rick Dudley. Dudley skated
swiftly around the Mariners defensman Randy Legge and moved to the side which fooled the
Luckett. Dudley then batted in the puck for the score. As a result of the goal, Mariners
bench boss Ron Ingram pulled the shell shocked Luckett and replaced him with Ernie Wakely.
Early in the second period, Blaine
Stoughton put the Stingers up by four goals after skating up to the Mariners net. He the
flipped the puck over Wakely's shoulder and into the corner of the net for the score.
In the third period, Cincinnati began
to get to comfortable with their four goal lead and as a result, the Mariners put two
goals on the score board. The first goal came from Don Burgess and the second coming from
Tony Cassolato. Cassolato had been just called up from Charlotte Checkers and had been
playing in his first game as a Mariner. |
