Saturday, December 18, 1999
Mighty Ducks 3, Louisville 3
Cincinnati can't capitalize on 3-0 lead
BY JOHN P. WISE
Enquirer contributor
The Mighty Ducks still can't figure out the Louisville Panthers.
Cincinnati raced to a 3-0 lead, but the visitors tied the game on a goal by Chris Wells with only 3:36 remaining in regulation. The teams skated five scoreless minutes in overtime, and went away with a 3-3 tie before 5,094 Friday at the Gardens.
“We made a couple of mental mistakes, and once again, (Louisville) capitalized on them,” Ducks coach Moe Mantha said. “They play hard for 60 minutes, and we just have to match their effort.”
Louisville remains unbeaten in five games this year against Cincinnati, and maintains its three-point edge over the third-place Ducks in the Mid-Atlantic Division. The Panthers are now 15-14-5-1, while Cincinnati is 13-8-5-2.
Midway through the first period, Cincinnati's Torrey DiRoberto raced down the right side and scored on a slap shot from the faceoff circle. His fifth goal of the season beat Louis ville goalie Sean Gauthier, just called up Wednesday from ECHL Louisiana.
Shane Hnidy and Marc Chouinard added second-period goals less than two minutes apart for the Ducks, but the offense wasn't enough. Louisville countered with a goal late in the second period from Craig Ferguson, and another early in the final period by Kirby Law.
Wells, in his first game since being assigned by NHL parent Florida, then tied it with his late goal.
The Ducks could only muster 13 shots on goal in the final 45 minutes, after 17 in the first period.
“We made a couple of mistakes, but I think we played pretty well overall,” said Ducks wing Frank Banham, who had an assist. “But we're trying to catch these guys, so we need to win these games. They're division games; they're important.”
The teams travel down Interstate 71 for tonight's tail-end game of a home-and-home series at Freedom Hall.
Louisville ....... 0 1 2 0—3
Cincinnati ....... 1 2 0 0—3
First period — Cin DiRoberto 5 (Balmochnykh, Hnidy) 10:09.
Second period — Cin Hnidy 4 (Davidsson, Stevenson) 4:33; Cin Chouinard 5 (Audet, Banham) 6:51; Lou Ferguson 18 (Nilson, Boyle) 15:02.
Third period — Lou Law 15 (Duerden, Reichert) 1:09; Lou Wells 1 (Brousseau, Nilson) 16:24.
Overtime — None.
Shots on goal: Lou 14-11-11-1 37; Cin 17-7-5-1 30. Power plays: Lou 0-for-1; Cin 0-for-4. Goalies: Lou Gauthier (27 saves); Cin Naumenko (34). Attendance: 5,094. Time of game: 2:45.
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