Steffen Bell
Ogden Mustangs Broadcaster
OGDEN, Ut. -- Season 11 is officially underway as Ogden welcomed USPHL Premier foe Las Vegas T-Birds for preseason action before beginning their regular season.
In Friday Night's game, it was the T-Birds who jumped out to a lead on the opening shift and quickly pounced on a great scoring chance. From then on, it was all Mustangs.
Paced behind a collective 11-point performance from Jake Meure (G, 4A), Cory Mater (G, 2A), and Lukas Washco (2G, A), Ogden quickly bounced back from the early deficit and never trailed again during the entire weekend.
Second-year defenseman Stanford Zito started the scoring for the Mustangs this season, with his first coming midway through the opening frame. His team would score twice more while on the powerplay (Daniel Pfalzer and Jack Jones) before the close of the first period.
Both sides continued to trade chances throughout the second period until Ogden scored three goals in a span of 3:57. Then, during the final minute of the period, Meure found his centerman streaking on a breakaway, and Washco sent the crowd into a frenzy with a highlight-reel goal.
Goaltenders Savva Serdiuk and Antonio Tarantino combined for 21 saves (Eight in high-scoring chance areas) while nearly splitting 60 minutes of work equally, en route to 8-3 victory. The tandem fought off nerves and stamped exceptional performances between the pipes for their team.
Saturday Night was a much quicker start for the home team as Andrey Shmakov potted two consecutive goals in the opening 5:55 of the first period. Rookie Dimitri Voyatzis added another 1:01 later, and the Mustangs never looked back with an 8-1 win.
As the end drew near, frustration began to show as various penalties were assessed to the youthful T-Birds with 17 penalty minutes in the final 13:44. Ogden converted four powerplay goals during the third period of play.
Goaltender Randon Striplin was nearly perfect in his Junior hockey debut, stopping 27 of 28 shots before surrendering a powerplay goal 5:27 into the third period. His night was highlighted by a terrific save on a penalty at 5:40 of the second period.
Offensive leaders from this past weekend (Games do not count toward regular season stats and standings):
Jake Meure - 2 goals, 4 assists
Lukas Washco - 3 goals, 2 assists
Jack Jones - 2 goals, 2 assists
Cory Mater - 1 goal, 3 assists
Tempers flared throughout the shortened series as both teams combined for over 100 penalty minutes. Ogden converted eight powerplay goals and added another shorthanded.
The Mustangs are next on home ice Sep. 24, when the Northern Colorado Eagles make their first trip to Ogden this season for the regular season home opener. Be sure to join and share our event page to help us pack the house.
Roster Notes:
Antonio Tarantino and Cade Herrera have signed with the Mustangs. Tarantino made his debut Friday vs. Las Vegas. Herrera will travel and play with the team vs. Northern Colorado.
Schedule Notes:
Friday, September 24th vs. Northern Colorado | 7:15 PM
Regular Season Home Opener | The Ice Sheet | Ogden, UT
First 250 fans at the game will receive a rally towel
Tickets are available at tickets.ogdenmustangs.com
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Go Mustangs!