Rob Renaud
Carson 7, Douglas 2
Carson beat Douglas Friday night 7-2 in roller hockey action at the Total Sports facility in Sparks.
In a game of friendly but intense rivals who know each other well, defense was the key early. Douglas defenders took Carson's Charlie MacQuarie down on the first play after the opening face-off to set the tone, and they held Carson without a shot on goal until 11:15 left in the first period. Carson answered with its own tight defense, as the first period saw both teams hold the puck between the blue lines. Douglas broke through first as Amanda Essary took a pass from Mike Trute on a two man break away with 5:08 left. Carson scored next with a slap shot from the right point by Derek Zastre. Zastre scored again with five seconds left in the period with his own break away as he took the puck after a face off in the Carson zone.
The defensive pressure was even greater in the second as Carson scored the only goal. Matt Miller scored on a Douglas turnover in its own zone.
Carson broke the game open in the third, scoring four goals to one for Douglas. Carson's Dustin Zastre opened the scoring 1:40 into the period. The Douglas squad looked to close the Carson lead with Essary feeding Trute on another two man break with 9:02 left to make the score 4-2. That would be all for Douglas, however, as Carson finally wore down the defense. Using speed and passing, the Carsonites were able to keep the puck in their offensive zone and create scoring chances. Dustin Zastre scored on a pass from his brother Derek with 6:45 left. Colin Cormier scored next on a feed from MacQuarie after a takeaway at the center line. Derek Zastre finished off the scoring with a short-handed goal with 24 seconds left to claim his hat-trick.
Final stats for both teams were fairly even, with Carson shooting 25 times to Douglas' 20. Chris Marchant, the Douglas goalie, had 15 saves, and Travis Best, normally the Carson JV goalie, also had 15 saves. The win gives first place Carson a record of 8-0-1, with Douglas in fourth in the Northern Nevada Roller Hockey League behind the Senators, Bishop, and Reed.
DOUGLAS JV 4, CARSON 3
The Douglas JV team reached a milestone Friday night, beating the Carson JV for the first time. Eric Hastings scored first for Carson with 3:57 in the first period. Douglas evened the score with 34 seconds left in the second as Jake Kangas fed Sean Page in the crease. Douglas scored three times in the third. Jake Hess scored on his own at 13:13, and then fed Cole Hamzik 59 seconds later for a 3-1 lead. Evan Sells scored with 9:17 left to end the Douglas scoring. Carson mounted a come back effort, with Austin Bartosz getting a goal at 5:06. McCollough scored the final goal for Carson at 3:48 remaining with a shot that hit Douglas goalie Chris McDowell in the chest and bounced up and over his shoulder. Carson outshot Douglas, 28-20, but McDowell was tough in the pipes, making 20 saves to Best's 16. The win puts the Douglas Squad in second at 8-1-0 behind Bishop at 8-1-1, and Carson in third with a record of 7-1-1.