By Dave Hart
LocalSportJournal.com
MUSKEGON – The Muskegon Risers welcomed a high-powered offensive team to Trinity Health Arena on Friday night, and for most of the game, the defense kept them off the scoreboard.
But the Risers struggled to find the back of the net and a four-goal, fourth-quarter outburst led the first-place Iowa Demon Hawks to a 9-3 victory over Muskegon.
The Demon Hawks entered the contest with a perfect 6-0 record and 84 goals scored for an average of 14 goals per game.
Muskegon limited its high-powered opponent to three goals during the first quarter and one tally during both the second and third quarters before the Demon Hawks’ offense exploded late in the game.
The Risers (2-5) will look to avenge their loss to Iowa Saturdaty night at home. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
“They are very good offensively and you just can’t take any plays off,” said Risers coach Michael Vollmer. “We had some positives against them earlier in the season in Iowa. Tonight, we would take a 4-2 game at halftime defensively.”
Muskegon started off the game on fire, but cooled off offensively during the final three quarters of the contest by only finding the back of the net once during that 45-minute stretch.
“We created some chances offensively, especially in the third quarter,” Vollmer said. “I think that it’s just a composure thing in front of the goal and an urgency problem. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to put six or seven goals on the board so it’s a little bit disappointing.”
The Risers struck first, and quickly, opening the scoring with a goal from Miguel Flores just 9 seconds into the contest.
The Demon Hawks answered 2:54 into the opening period on a goal by Joao Victor to tie the contest.
Muskegon responded with a goal from Jonah Dancer 8:01 into the first period to give the Risers a 2-1 lead.
Iowa scored a pair of late first-period goals as Victor notched his second of the night at 10:52, then Gustavo Murtha gave the Demon Hawks their first lead of the night with a power-play goal at the 13:54 mark.
The Demon Hawks led 3-2 heading into the second quarter.
Both teams struggled to put the ball in the net the entire second quarter.
Iowa scored the lone goal at the 9:08 mark of the period on a goal from Lucas Silva that gave the Demon Hawks a 4-2 lead heading into the halftime break.
The Demon Hawks also scored the lone goal of the third quarter at the 9:58 mark from Bruno Henrique to take a 5-2 advantage going into the final 15 minutes of play.
The Risers had a chance to score a goal late in the quarter after Iowa was ticketed for a two-minute blue card, but Muskegon continued its two-plus quarter goal drought.
Iowa continued to hold on to the momentum, scoring three straight fourth-quarter goals to take an 8-2 lead. Thiago Freitas (2:05), Lucas Silva (5:28) and Henrique (6:18) each scored early in the final quarter for the Demon Hawks.
Muskegon finally ended its long drought with a goal from Flores at the 6:45 mark.
The Demon Hawks fought right back 7:33 into the quarter with a goal from Luan Silva to increase their lead to 9-3.
Both teams failed to scored during the final seven minutes of action.
Take a look at photos from Michael Banka.