AMES, IOWA -- Let’s put this rumor to rest right now. There is no truth to the rumor that Eddie Belfour, Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek are calling Ice Eagle Goalie Brandon Kruse for tips to improve their game. Not yet, at least. But it could happen if Kruse continues his brilliant netminding for the Eagles, as he chalked up his second, third and fourth CONSECUTIVE shutouts in leading the Eagles to three wins this weekend. The Eagles defeated the Bantam Select team by a score of 9-0 on Saturday afternoon at the QCSC, and then traveled to Ames Sunday morning, and came away with two more wins, shutting out the host team by scores of 2-0 and 5-0, pushing their season record to 16-12. Game summaries follow.
For the second time in a week, the Eagles were challenged by the House Select Bantam team. In the game played on January 3, the Select squad was able to stay with the Eagles through the first period, which had ended with both teams scoreless. That was not to be the case in the rematch played Saturday afternoon at the QCSC. The Eagles quickly broke on top just two minutes in when Dave Warta scored an unassisted goal to put the Eagles ahead to stay. Just twenty-four seconds later, Josh Moon increased the lead to two when he converted off passes from Austin Busch and Jason Corcoran. Four minutes later, Defenseman Trent Lidholm took a pass from defense partner Corcoran and scored from just inside the blue line. Adam Derrick also picked up an assist on Lidholm’s goal. Moon then continued the first period onslaught when he added the fourth goal, with the assist going to Kevin Dow. Less than a minute later, Warta scored his second of the period, again assisted by Dow, giving the Eagles a five-goal cushion after one period.
In the second period, Grant Reuter scored a pair of goals, both assisted by Dow, and Dave Warta scored his hat trick goal late in the period, with assists going to Moon and Derrick. The only goal of the final period was Moon’s third of the game, assisted again by Dow. The offense was in high gear, with both Moon and Warta registering hat tricks, and Dow picking up five assists. Kevin was also plus-7, for the game, which is the highest for any Eagle player this year. The Select team greatly increased their number of shots, but were still outgunned 39-14 for the game.
The Eagles braved icy roads and bitter winds as they headed for Ames for two Sunday games with the Flyers. The first game was a tightly played contest, which saw the Eagles take command midway through the first period, when Chad Dotterer intercepted an Ames clearing pass and fired in a long shot from just inside the blue line. The teams played on even terms thereafter, with Ames putting on excellent pressure for much of the third period in an attempt to score the tying goal, but Kruse and the defense continued to hold them off. With less than five minutes left in the game, Josh Moon took a pass from Dow and circled in front of the Ames net, before beating the goalie with a backhander to increase the margin to two. For the game, the Eagles outshot Ames 30-16.
The Eagles came out hot and put the second game away early, scoring four goals on just five shots to take a commanding lead. On the first goal, Austin Busch broke in on the left side on a two-on-one break with linemate Warta on the right. Busch glanced at Warta, and at the same time fired a shot just inside the post to the goalie’s right for the tally. Before the period was over, Josh Moon had scored two unassisted goals, one coming with his team shorthanded. Drew Carlson netted the fourth on a nifty stick-handling play on assists from Reuter and John Carr.
The Ames goalie was outstanding the rest of the way, allowing only a power play goal to Moon in the third period, while stopping many point-blank opportunities. At the other end of the ice, Brandon Kruse also was dominating, kicking out all 22 Ames shots. Besides Kruse’s acrobatic goaltending, the other highlight of the game was Josh Moon’s second hat trick of the weekend. It was what oldtimers call a "Gordie Howe hat trick," one even strength goal, one short-handed goal and one power play goal.
The weekend sweep give the Eagle momentum for their upcoming tournament in Chicago next week-end, when they will play teams from Stoughton, Wisconsin; Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Pikes Peak, Colorado.
