Going into Thursday night’s matchup, Gentry Academy was focused on redeeming itself after its last time out against Chanhassen—a 6-1 loss back in December.
After what was a gritty defensive battle for most of the first two periods on Thursday night, the game exploded at the end of the second. A goal for each team within 23 seconds left the score at 1-1 after two periods before the Stars came out of nowhere with two goals in the final 1:33 of the game. The last-ditch attacking gave the Stars a 3-1 win, despite losing the shots on goal battle 38-13.
“It was crazy, and it was obviously a good win for the boys after losing 6-1 to (Chanhassen),” sophomore forward Ryder Betzold said. “You saw, I was filled with emotions at the end and it’s a huge win for us.”
The non-conference showdown between Chanhassen and Gentry Academy proved to be a back-and-forth contest on Thursday night at Victoria Recreation Center—a much different story than the first time these two teams met this year.
After the Stars took a 6-1 loss to the Storm back in December, they came back tonight with real fight. Despite being on the wrong end of a lopsided 38-13 shots total, Gentry Academy found a way to win thanks to two quickfire goals in the final two minutes.
Sophomore forward Ryder Betzold opened the scoring for the Stars (14-8-0) in the second period just 23 seconds after the Storm (19-3-0) took the lead on a power play goal by Tyler Smith. It took a while for both teams to find a groove, but once they did late in the second, the game completely opened up. Junior Eli Bailey recorded a goal and an assist late in the third period on the Stars' two late goals.
Gentry Academy senior goaltender Anthony Zolezzi also had himself a game. His massive 37-save night kept his team in it all night long, allowing it was the Stars’ offense to shined, all the way to the 3-1 win.
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