The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Debut is a success outside of the score
Mentor’s new professional hockey team plays first game; Watertown spoils opener
Professional hockey came to Mentor Ice Arena in high style on Oct. 27.
A near-capacity crowd of 1,200 turned out to watch the Mentor Ice Breakers, an expansion team in the Federal Hockey League, play the Watertown (N.Y.) Wolves.
The Wolves prevailed, 4-1, in the first of 56 regular-season games for both teams and the inaugural game for the Mentor franchise.
Beyond their understandable disappointment with the final tally, Ice Breakers general manager-head coach Iain Duncan and managing partner
Cary Ross could not have been more pleased with the way the evening unfolded.
“I am so proud of my players and these fans. What a great atmosphere,” Duncan said. “We played hard and just didn’t get the outcome we wanted.
“The most important thing is, we made a name for ourselves tonight,” Duncan added.
Ross said before the game fans at Mentor Ice Arena would be treated to “good, oldtime hockey with end-to-end action, scoring and fighting.”
The Ice Breakers and Wolves delivered on all those counts. There were 51 shots on goal (29 by Mentor), 22 penalties (12 for Mentor), plenty of hard hitting and five fully engaged fights with multiple punches thrown and landed.
The Ice Breakers broke through with the game’s first goal with 12 seconds remaining in the first period when forward James Kakos got a rebound of his own shot and fired a wrist shot past Watertown goalie Cody Karpinski.
Watertown turned the tide 13 minutes deep into the second period on goals by Tyler Gjurich and Josh Newburg to seize a 2-1 lead.
The Wolves extended the lead to 4-1 early in the third period on goals by Gjurich and Gavin Yates.
They could have had more if not for some stout work between the pipes by Ice Breakers goalie Matt Camilleri.
The 23-year-old Ontario native made a series of first-rate saves as the Wolves pressed the issue in the second and third periods.
“I may have erased a few for them, but they did the same for me,” Camilleri said, smiling. “I could not be prouder of our boys and the way they played in front of me,” Camilleri said.
Camilleri also sang the praises of the fans and the atmosphere in the arena.
“Coming down from Canada, I didn’t know what to expect. But is was great in here tonight,” he said.
The Icebreakers next play on Nov. 2 and 3 on the road against the Danville (Ill.) Dashers. They return home on Nov. 9 and 10 to face Watertown.