February 22, 2018

Fayetteville, NC–  Patrick Spano produced 45-saves, but couldn’t overcome the Pensacola Ice Flyers 50-shots on net, including Charlie Adams’ hat trick, leading the Ice Flyers to a 5-2 victory over the Fayetteville Marksmen on Education Day on Thursday at the Crown Coliseum.

The Ice Flyers came out of the gate well rested and took advantage of the Marksmen, jumping out to the 1-0 lead, following extensive time on the man-advantage. Nathan Bruyere launched a cross-ice feed to the tape of Adams, who buried the one-timer.

Despite bringing in a new coach the day before, the Marksmen held tight and ended the first period with a one goal deficit.

Early in the second frame, Pensacola extended their lead to 2-0. Garrett Milan, working a two on one with Adams pushed a pass through the skate of a Marksmen defender to the tape of Adams for his second of the night.

While on the power play, the Ice Flyers made it a 3-0 lead with just over five minutes to play in the middle stanza. Similar to the first two goals, an Ice Flyer skater snuck down the weakside for a backdoor feed and the easy tap in, with Bruyere as the beneficiary.

With under one-minute to play in the second frame, the Marksmen cut their deficit to two. Darren McCormick held the puck in at the blue line, dishing a pass to Jake Hauswirth, who effortlessly slid the puck to the tape of Jamie Hill. Hill, with time and space, used a forehand-to-backhand deke to freeze Gordon Defiel and push the chance home.

With several early scoring chances, it appeared as if the Marksmen would find a way to claw back into the contest, but Adams’ third goal of the day broke the momentum. While on the power play the Ice Flyers cycled the puck low-to-high, with Milan finding Adams for the cross-ice, one-time ripper past Patrick Spano.

Not content with the three-goal deficit, the Marksmen pushed their way back to within two. Off a faceoff win, McCormick pushed a centering pass towards the crease, where Kyle McNeil was camped out and tipped home the opportunity.

That would be as close as the Marksmen would get, as Ken Neil added an empty-netter late to seal the game.

Next Game: Friday, February 23, 2018 vs Pensacola

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The Fayetteville Marksmen are owned and operated by Union Pro Hockey Group and play their home games at Crown Coliseum. The Marksmen are a committed community asset, designed to provide premium entertainment to families and individuals in Cumberland County and surrounding areas.