Fayetteville falls in Game 3, ending season

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.- The Fayetteville Marksmen, proud members of the Southern Professional Hockey League, were eliminated from playoff contention by the Quad City Storm on Saturday night.

There are never any words to soften the crushing and sudden end to a season, and for the Marksmen, a defeat in the opening round of the playoffs has rendered a devastating silence after a record-setting regular season.

It was quiet in the Crown Coliseum when Taylor Pryce, a former Marksmen, and Tristan Theriot opening the scoring for the Storm to take a 2-0 in the first period.

Roaring to life as they had all season though, the Marksmen found a way to tie the game on  goals from Bryan Moore and Nick Mangone halfway through the second period. Moore’s goal was his first of the playoffs and Mangone’s was his first as a Marksmen coming against his former team.

With a hallowed hush over the crowd before roaring to life to start the final period, the game would be determined in the third. In every game during the series, the contest was tied going into the third period.

Ben Duppereault, who scored in game one on Wednesday, unlocked the tie game on a turnover in front of Brent Moran. He would score an insurance marker on a breakaway to secure the game and the series.

After back-to-back opening round game one wins, the Marksmen have faltered in games two and three and have yet to win a playoff series as the Marksmen.

Quad City will advance to their final league semifinal in team history after winning their first playoff series since joining the league in the 2018-2019 season.

As the fourth season of Marksmen hockey comes to a close, the Crown Coliseum will begin the melting process and reset for a fifth season of Marksmen hockey next October.

Let the quiet mark the calm before a strong season next year.