Garfield Dominates Metro Rival Ballard

The fans at the Genessee Park were assaulted by some light hail right before faceoff. It turned out to be a foreshadowing of the storm of little white pellets that Garfield would throw down on the gallant Ballard Beavers. The Garfield Bulldogs came into the contest in first place in the Metro Division, but the Beavs are in a tight three-way race for the third remaining playoff spot.

The game started with sunny skies, and the two teams spent the first few minutes feeling each other out. Lots of turnovers in the passing games sent the ball back and forth until, with 9:30 to go, Cedric Rhodes found the back of the net unassisted to put the Dogs ahead 1-0. The rest of the quarter progressed slowly as both teams fumbled through the midfield and then were shut down by the defense. Garfield was able to kill a double-man-down situation with Ballard's shots sailing off cage. Both goalies made a couple of saves  and the quarter ends with the Bulldogs still up 1-0. The hailstorm returned in the second quarter in the form of Garfield shots. They dominated the time of possession, ringing the ropes seven times in the period. Things got a little chippy between some players and control was quickly reestablished by the referees. Aided by five Ballard penalties, Carl Barnes, Jackson Lanning and Montana Reed all tallied two and Rhodes added two assists. Justin Guity snuck one in as well and the half ended 8-0.

In the third period, the Bulldogs began to step on the Beavers' necks. Five goals were scored in the period, four of them by Nico Ver der Meulen. Rhodes added three assists, consistently finding VdM cutting down the middle for a barrage at point blank range. But Ballard battles back and at the 3:37 mark Brian Gemme takes a feed from John DeGarmo and gets Beavs on the board. Ballard came out strong in the 4th, the defense taking the words of Coach Brian Main to heart. They figure out how to deny the cuts to the cage, and hold the Bulldogs to just two more goals. Meanwhile, their stick-handling comes together, they patch together a couple of nice clears, and throw a couple into the net. Including a nice score by d-pole Joe Kirkendall. Final score is Garfield 15-Ballard-3.

At the end of the day, these are two programs in different stages of growth. Garfield is looking to return to past glories and appears to be on track. Ballard, in its first year, is battling for a playoff spot. That's a good showing for a program that's just getting to know each other.

Players of the Game

Garfield

Cedric Rhodes (8pts - 1g, 7a)

Nico Van Der Muelen (6pts - 5g 1a)

Jackson Lanning (2g, 13gbs)

Danny Strick (6 saves, 3 GA)

Ballard

Joe Kirkendall (1g, 9gbs)

Nick Onstad Hanes (8 saves, 15 GA