IceCats Roll past Avalanche in Satisfying Rout

The IceCats 10U Squirts A1 rolled into the Ice House on Sunday and took it to the rival NJ Avs, cruising to an 8–2 win— and, no matter the level, no matter the year… beating the Avs constantly hits different. 

Just 43 seconds in, the Cats came flying. After a battle up top, George Sandel wins a 1-on-1 along the right boards, walks into space, and rips one through a screened goalie who never saw it. The Avs tied it on an ugly turnover, but the Cats answered right back. Charlie Gibber steps in from the left dot and sneaks one through the tender. Liam Fruchter one-upped his teammate, as he got sprung, fended off a defender, and tucked it around the goalie for a 3-1 IceCats lead, before the Avs made it a 3-2 game, finishing the opening stanza. 

Early in the second period, the game featured back-and-forth hockey, then Gibber struck again. Simple shot, traffic, results. His second of the day. A few minutes later, off a defensive-zone faceoff just outside the blue line, Fruchter turned the corner and picked the right corner, giving the IceCats a 5-2 cue gain through two. On a power play in the third, Morris Hidary forced an Avs turnover, Fruchter wheeled with it, and when two defenders took away the middle, he fed the biscuit backdoor to Abraham Mosseri. First shot saved, rebound buried. Gibber added two more, completing his hat trick on the goalmouth and then taking a pass from Jonah Topiel and depositing his fourth of the afternoon. 

Meanwhile, even on a light workload — just eight shots — Lenny Rosen came up with a couple of beauties between the pipes, when the Avs tried to push, ensuring this was a drama-free IceCats statement victory. Aren’t those the best?