In a showdown between two unbeaten teams in the NABLL Upstate Division, the Thousand Island Spirits came away with a road win at the hands of the Oswego River Hawks in a close 12-8 decision.
The River Hawks jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first minute of play as Dylan Smith scored just 28 seconds into the game, and on the ensuing face-off, Oswego’s Nate Schultzkie picked up a loose ball and took it the length of the floor en route to an unassisted goal just eight seconds later.
The Spirits got on the board about two minutes later, but Oswego’s Luke Hoskin scored the first of his three goals to give the hosts a 3-1 lead. That edge didn’t last, however, as the Spirits tied the score at three before tallying the go-ahead goal with just 27 seconds left in the first quarter.
The second quarter was also close, with each team scoring three goals. After Thousand Islands went ahead 5-3, the River Hawks scored three straight goals to take a slim 6-5 lead. Hoskin scored his second of the game, followed by a transition goal from Oswego’s Carson Colucci and a go-ahead tally from Shane Cook. However, the Spirits scored twice in the final three minutes to retain the one-goal lead going into halftime.
Oswego’s offense went quiet for the third quarter, shut out by the Spirits’ defense. Meanwhile, Thousand Islands extended their lead to 9-6, scoring two goals in that frame. Oswego’s Cook scored again with about 10 minutes remaining, but another Thousand Islands goal negated that tally. Another Spirits goal with about nine and a half minutes remaining made it 12-8.
A brief scuffle broke out about a minute later and an upper body injury to an Oswego player caused a delay as he received medical assistance. The coaches of the two teams agreed to cancel the remaining eight minutes and the game was called with a final score of 12-8.
In goal for Oswego, Kobie Gibson played the entire game and recorded 30 saves. For Thousand Islands, Gage King also played the entire game and was also credited with 30 saves. The River Hawks were just one-for five on the power play, while the Spirits went zero-for-one.
The River Hawks return to action this Friday when they travel to Utica’s Nexus Center to play the Yeti at 7:30. In the first game of the River Hawks’ season, they defeated Utica by a 16-12 score.
