(Photo Credit: Mick Lite)
Right from the start you could feel the electricity at the Family Arena and the players fed off the record crowd en-route to a 5-2 win over the defending Central Hockey League champion Allen Americans with the legendary Bobby Hull looking on.
The Chill (11-39-6) started the game by controlling the action in the offensive end, delivering big hits on the forecheck that set up the first goal of the night when Cameron Cooper fired a shot from the blue line that deflected off the arm of Nicklas Lindberg for a 1-0 lead at the 6:31 mark. A disciplined defense backed up by some great saves from Linus Lundin held the lead into the second period when the Chill would extend it to 2-0.
T.J. Moor blasted a shot from outside the circle 97 seconds into the second period for his first professional goal but Allen (31-20-4) would battle back in the second period. Greger Hanson’s one-timer pulled the Americans within a goal midway through the period and after a string of five-straight penalties against the Chill, Allen finally capitalized on the power play to tie the game at 2-2 on a goal from Bruce Graham. St. Charles would respond on the back of former American John Snowden, who snapped off a shot from the left circle just 59 seconds later to give the lead back to St. Charles.
The Chill would hold the one goal lead into the final period and Travis Ouellette would make it 4-2 under a minute into the third on a beautiful set up from Snowden after the pass from Lundin. The Chill defense was on point the rest of the way, clearing loose pucks from the crease and getting a goal-saving stop from Nick Schneider after Lundin was pulled out of position. Martin Hlinka added an empty netter for the final tally of the night to send the crowd into an uproar.
The two teams face off again on Sunday at 4:05 for the Pucks N Pooches game. Fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to the Family Arena or can adopt their new best friend at the game and enjoy a variety of dog-friendly businesses on the concourse. Tickets start at five dollars for dogs and humans and can be purchased at the Family Arena box office or at Metrotix.com.
The St. Charles Chill is a AA professional hockey team playing their inaugural season in the Central Hockey League. For more information on the Chill, or for group tickets, call 636.724.SHOT (7468) or visit www.stcharleschill.com.
