The L/A Fighting Spirit opened up the NA3EHL Fall Showcase in Tyngsboro, Mass., on Friday with a 2-0 victory over the New York Aviators.
After scoreless first period, the Fighting Spirit peppered 6-foot-7 New York goaltender Stephen Mundinger with 20 shots in the middle frame. The Fighting Spirit started shooting low on the towering netminder, and it worked. Mike Heffernan and Colby Siering both went five-hole in a 68 second span.
Heffernan opened up the scoring 12:38 into the second period with Thomas Kuntz and Nick Hudson notching the assists. Siering’s goal came at the 13:46 mark with defensemen Tyler Sheridan and Jordan Crowe tallying the assists.
“That’s the way it seems to be going for us,” Fighting Spirit coach Rod Simmons said. “Even in the game earlier in the week on Tuesday, where we outshoot a team 70 to (14) and we just keep coming. We have to play 60 minutes and they didn’t. We just need to keep coming. Sooner than later, we hope the floodgates will open.”
Claes Endre made 23 saves for his first shutout of the season, while Mundinger stopped 41 shots for the Aviators.
The Fighting Spirit return to action Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Jersey Shore Wildcats in a rematch of last season’s NA3EHL Championship series. On Sunday, they face Skylands Kings at 12:40 p.m.
“We get see some of the teams that we don’t get to see,” Simmons said of the showcase. “Like tomorrow will be a huge game against Jersey and Sunday we get to play Skylands in the afternoon. So, those are teams we don’t normally get to see. It’s always good to play other competition.”
Fighting Spirit add a player
The Fighting Spirit announced Friday they have acquired Mark Ferullo from the Northern Cyclones of the Eastern Hockey League for future considerations.
The 19-year-old defenseman had four assists in 20 games with the Cyclones 18U team last season in the Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League. He appeared in no games with the Cyclones’ EHL club this season.
In his Fighting Spirit debut Friday, he was a plus-1 and had four penalty minutes.
“He’s a young man who we talked to over the summer,” Simmons said. “He had been with the New Hampshire Cyclones and we got a call from the Cyclones’ staff, he wasn’t really happy there and wanted to know if we had any interest in him. We said yes, and he ended up getting here this week.”
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