Photo Credit : Noah Markunas
Polistina, Mustangs shine; get back on winning track in Affton
Affton, MO – The Mustangs and St. Louis Jr. Blues met for the 5th and 6th times this weekend the first time in Affton, MO. The Jr. Blues grabbed their first lead of the season series, but the Mustangs would have the last laugh as they scored 6 unanswered Saturday afternoon and capped off the weekend with a Sunday morning victory ahead of the NA3HL showcase in Blaine, MN. With the duo of wins the Mustangs improve to 16-7-1 on the season, 33 standings points, and remain in 3rd place in the Central Division.
Saturday: PEO 6 – STL 1
Saturday afternoon the Jr. Blues grabbed an early lead before the Mustangs rattled off 6 unanswered goals enroute to their 5th straight victory over the Jr. Blues this season.
St. Louis opened the scoring early in the opening period when Tyler Williams snapped a shot just past the outstretched leg of Cam Pendleton and into the back of the net for the 1-0 Jr. Blues lead at 2:57 of the opening stanza.
The Mustangs tied things up later in the opening period while skating on the man advantage. Perry Lagatuz put an initial shot on goal that fluttered in front of St. Louis netminder Jordan Behnen, Lagatuz swiped at the loose puck and eventually stuffed it under Behnen and into the back of the net, tying the game 1-1 at 13:34 of the first period.
Peoria built a commanding lead in the middle frame as Massimo Polistina cashed in just 62 seconds into the middle period with the game winning goal. Polistina raced into the attacking zone and snapped a shot that whizzed past Behnen and into the back of the net for the 2-1 Mustangs advantage at 1:02 of the middle period.
The Mustangs added a pair of goals in the ladder stages of the frame, Ethan Chesney and Chris Kondiles built a 4-1 Mustangs lead through 40 minutes of action. Chesney netted his 16th of the season at the 14:31 mark, and Kondiles added his 5th of the campaign at 18:56 of the second period.
Peoria picked up in the final period where they left off, JD Duenwald netted his 3rd goal of the season off a magnificent feed from SP Merck, and Massimo Polistina rounded out the scoring with his 7th of the season and 2nd of the afternoon for the eventual 6-1 final score.
Cam Pendleton earned the win between the pipes stopping 14 of 15 shots faced in the contest. The win, Pendletons first since returning to the lineup improves the Dallas, TX native to 3-5-1 on the season.
Sunday: PEO 4 – STL 2
Sunday morning the Mustangs took a 3 goal lead and never looked back as Massimo Polistina netted a pair of tallies, Ethan Chesney added the game winner, and Justin Hubble tacked on an insurance tally as the Mustangs danced to a 4-2 victory at the Affton Ice Rink.
The Mustangs opened the scoring late in the first period when Massimo Polistina stole the puck in neutral ice and raced into his attacking end all alone and slipped the puck past Jr. Blues netminder Ian Zeumer for the 1-0 Mustangs edge at 13:55 of the opening period.
The Mustangs built a 3 goal lead in the middle frame as Polistina tallied his second of the game while the Musangs were skating on a power play. Ethan Chesney added a goal of his own just past the midway point of the second period for a 3-0 Mustangs lead.
St. Louis got on the board in the closing seconds of the second period when Aidan Besedic chipped the puck past Mustangs goaltender Joe Ambroffi and into the back of the net at 19:26 cutting the Peoria lead to 3-1.
Justin Hubble added an insurance goal in the third period while the Mustangs were once again on the man advantage, striking at 6:19 of the period and a 4-1 Mustangs lead.
The Jr. Blues added a goal just prior to the midway point of the final frame, Anthony Bagnole scored his 3rdof the season at 9:59 for the eventual 4-2 final score.
Joe Ambroffi earned the win between the pipes Sunday morning stopping 28 of 30 shots faced in the contest. With the victory, the Plainfield, IL goaltender improves to 8-1-0 on the season.
Stable Notes:
-Forward Massimo Polistina collected 4 goals on the weekend, 2 even strength and 2 on the man advantage.
-Mustangs defenseman Declan McDermott collected his first point of the season in Sunday mornings contest.
-Blue liner Justin Hubble collected his first career power play goal Sunday.
-Forward JD Duenwald had 3 total points on the weekend, a goal and 2 assists.
-With a pair of assists on the weekend, Joey Rancilio has at least a point in three straight outings.
What’s Ahead:
The Mustangs remain on the road as they head to the NA3HL Showcase in Blaine, MN the 18th, 19th, and 20th of December. Sunday the 18th the Mustangs play the Long Beach Sharks at 3:35 p.m., Monday the 19th Louisiana Drillers at 12:15 p.m., and Tuesday the 20th a 12:30 contest with the Mason City Toros. All the action can be viewed on HockeyTV or by following along on Mustangs social media.
