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Amarillo wins 2-1 in a shootout
- VS -
Amarillo --- Monroe
Febuary 11, 2000

News by "The News-Star" Monroe, Louisiana
By
James Crawford


Mocs fall, 2-1

Monroe's home woes continued Friday night, thanks in large part to the stellar play of Amarillo goalie Craig Lindsay.

Lindsay stopped 42-of-43 shots in regulation, then six-of-seven in the shootout, helping the Rattlers post a 2-1 win over the Mocs in their 100th game in the Monroe Civic Center.

"He played well," Rattlers coach Kevin Abrams said after his team's second-consecutive win. "we had an awful lot of penalties and a lot of special teams action both ways. He was certainly tested often and equal to the task."

Lindsay's play, and forward Ron Bowers' goal through the five-hole of Monroe netminder Clint Owen, gave the once struggling Rattlers their second consecutive win. Before winning at Lake Charles on Wednesday, Amarillo had not won a game in 18 chances, a franchise low.

Conversely, the Mocs dropped their fourth consecutive decision, the last three coming in shootouts. Monroe, once 5-1 in shootouts dropped to 5-5 overall in the extra frame.

"We played good and worked hard," Monroe coach Brian Curran said. "We killed a lot of opportunities. Their goaltender made some big saves, but if you can't put the puck in the net you can't win.

After a scoreless first period, the Rattlers and Mocs traded second-period goals.

Amarillo defenseman Ryan Esselmont broke the deadlock 4:53 into the period, flipping the puck past a sliding Jami Yoder and above Owen to give the Rattlers a 1-0 lead. The lead stood until late in the period, when the combination of Mocs center Darren Dougan and right wing Dorian Anneck agian hooked up for a goal.

Anneck collected a loose puck in the middle of the Rattlers' zone and fired a shot at Lindsay. The puck deflected off of the Amarillo netminder, but right to Dougan, who skated in and backhanded the puck into the net.

Other than that, both Lindsay and Owen stood tall between the pipes. Owen stopped 21-of-23 shots overall, but Bowers' puck trickled through his legs into the net for the winning goal, spoiling a solid night in net.

After Bowers gave the Rattlers the 2-1 lead in sudden death of the shootout, Mocs left wing Kelvin Solari had the final shot. Again Lindsay was up to the challenge.

He made a save into the body, repelling the Mocs' final attempt to end their home and overall losing streaks. Monroe has now dropped six consecutive home games in a row.