Panthers Torpedo Admirals; Gio Gulino gets second hat trick of season

Dateline: December 20, 2009, Glen Ellyn, Illinois.  Coming off a disappointing performance against the Barrington Redwings, GM Panthers 1 were looking to rebound with a solid performance.  Rebound they did.

Coach Tony Bertuca mixed up his lines again, starting a new defensive set.  Defensive line Sarah "Go-San" Steadman and Maggie VanErmen started with the Sliwinski/Babich for the first time this season.

The first period went mainly the Admirals' way.  They scored with 5:46 on the clock on a breakaway.  Forward Joe Gulino chased the play down and threw a crafty trip, but the Admirals found the back of the net anyway taking the lead 1-0.  Shortly thereafter the Admirals suffered a casualty, as number 12 fell to the ice hurt, apparently kicked by another player.

The highlight of the first period came when defenseman Sarah Steadman broke her stick on a hard play in the corner.  Her clueless equipment manager/father, alerted to the broken equipment by another team father immediately ran to the car to get the replacement -- of course, the back up stick was actually in the locker room, so all he found was dog hair and uneaten granola bars.

The second period began much as the first ended, with the Panthers playing from behind notwithstanding advantage in the shots and puck control columns.  The Panthers finally figured out the Admirals' goalie at 5:09 when Zander Babich scored on a nice feed from Sliwinski and Pelini.

With 2:43, Steadman broke up a play but the Admirals got a lucky bounce and scored anyway.  The second period thus ended with the game knotted 2-2.

That's when the fireworks started.  Center Gio Gulino went nuclear, scoring on a highlight-reel play stick-handling around two defenders at 9:00.  Less than a minute later, Guilino scored on another nice move.

Gio celebrates!

The Ads called a timeout but it didn't help.  At 4:42 following two nice breakaways by defenseman Sammy Holy, Gio got his third goal for the hat trick.  The referees cleared his father's hat from the ice with a scowl, but it was all-she-wrote for the Admirals.

After the game, coaches and fans alike praised the Panthers.  "We really rebounded from yesterday," Steadman said.

Panthers celebrate!