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Comeback nearly complete

By Justin Magill, MN Hockey Hub staff, 11/30/12, 8:00AM CST

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Blaine storms back from a three-goal defecit to tie Roseau

Just 17 minutes into its season, Blaine found itself in a big hole.

It may have played host to Roseau a little too graciously, as it spotted the Rams a 3-0 lead after the first period and with solid play in goal from junior Ryan Anderson, a comeback was looking bleak.

"We just said, when we get into their zone, just throw the puck at the net," Blaine forward Dallas Gerads said.

And that is exactly what the Bengals did to mount a comeback to tie Roseau 3-3 on Friday, November 30 at Fogerty Arena in Blaine.

"The first period was obviously not our best," Blaine coach Dave Aus said. "There wasn't a lot of panic, maybe a little tense, but that happens in the first game of the season and once we got the first one in, it took a bit of pressure off of us."

That pressure started to leave the Bengals when Tyler Cline powered a low wrist shot by Anderson in the opening minutes of the second period.

Cline's goal was indicative of how Blaine played the final two periods, plus overtime.

Aggressive.

After taking a pass from Joey Lau, Cline went straight to the net and was able to fend off a Roseau defenseman before getting off his shot.

It continued that way in throughout the rest of the game as Blaine was able to accumulate 50 shots on goal.

"They just came at us and were really fast," Anderson said. "They were flying their wings out really fast and we had a hard time keeping up with them."

Tyler Frischmon put Blaine within one went he beat Anderson to the upper shelf and Gerads completed the comeback when he was able to score while Anderson fended off a scrum in front of the Rams net.

"I just love that feeling," Gerads said. "Being able to score a goal like that to tie the game and being down as far as we were, I just love it."

For as excited as the locker room may have been in Blaine's locker room, it was more of a mixed bag for Roseau.

To open the season on the road against a top 10 team, a tie would not be all that bad.

However, when a three-goal lead disappears, there is a different tune.

"When you have a three-goal lead and lose it, it stings," Roseau coach Andy Lundbohm said. "It's great that we had it, but it just stings you when you lose it."

If it wasn't for a 47-save effort from Anderson, a tie would have been out of the question for the Rams.

As the game progressed, Blaine's offensive presence increased, accounting for 14 shots in the second period and 18 in the third.

Many of those shots were high quality, but Anderson was able to turn away 35 of them in the final two periods and overtime to keep Roseau off of the loss column to open the season.

"Congrats to him," Gerads said. "Not a lot of guys are going to open the season to face 50 shots and goal and say they won or tied a game. He played a great game for them today."

"I honestly thought we were going to score six or seven goals after that first period," Aus said. "We played like we could have and won just about every loose puck out there, but their goalie was very, very good for them and a lot of credit goes to them for that."

Roseau is not the only opponent to come into Fogerty Arena and give up a big lead to the Bengals.

In a key Northwest Conference showdown last season, Andover had a commanding 4-1 lead against Blaine, but the Bengals stormed back to win 5-4.

"It happened last year, so we know we can do it again," Gerads said. "When we get down, there isn't a lot of panic. We just keep playing."

Game Recap

Roseau came into Fogerty Arena and stormed out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, but it was unable to hold on as Blaine came back and tied the Rams, 3-3 on Friday, November 30 in Blaine.

Dylan Mielke scored just 35 seconds into the game when his wrist shot beat Bengals goalie Bailey Ketola.

Zach Yon and Alex Strand each followed with power play goals that stretched the lead to three before the teams went back to the locker room.

Tyler Cline started the comeback with a goal in the second period and a pair of third period goals by Tyler Frischmon and Dallas Gerads tied the game.

Rams goalie Ryan Anderson faced 50 shots and was able to turn away 47 of them to preserve a tie.

Yon had a goal and an assist to lead all scorers on the night.

With the tie, Roseau is now 1-0-1 on the season and will play Buffalo on Saturday, December 1 in Buffalo.

Blaine will get a break until Thursday, December 6 when it will stay at Fogerty Arena to play Osseo.

Statistics, Summary

1. Ryan Anderson, Roseau
If it isn't for Anderson, the Rams are not even in this one. He stopped 47 shots on the night and was able to stop the bleeding after Roseau built a 3-0 lead. A majority of the shots he did face were quality ones and as the game continued, Blaine created more traffic and chances, but Anderson stood his ground to help the Rams escape Fogerty Arena with at least a tie.

2. Dallas Gerads, Blaine
The biggest goal for the Bengals, although so early in the season, belongs to Gerads, as his shot found the back of the net in the third period to complete the comeback for Blaine. His line had a lot of fire to it all night long and Gerads was the spark. His goal tied the game up and gave the Bengals even more confidence to build on for the rest of the game.

3. Zach Yon, Roseau
The one player that Blaine coach Dave Aus did not want to touch the puck often was Yon and he showed why. A crafty shot on the power play in the first gave the Rams a 2-0 lead and an assist on Alex Strand's goal gave Yon a multiple point night, the only player on the ice to register two points.

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