A fourth-quarter collapse by the Boston Cannons proved costly as they dropped a 14-10 decision to the Carolina Chaos on Friday night in PLL action.
The Cannons had the game tied 10-10 early in the fourth quarter but gave up a four-goal run over the final 9:20 to the Chaos, allowing the victory to slip away.
Zac Tucci was dominant at the faceoff dot for the Cannons, winning 17 of 25 draws, while Justin Inacio won eight of 21 for the Chaos.
Blaze Riorden and Austin Kaut split time in goal for the Chaos, combining to stop 16 shots. On the other end, Colin Kirst stopped seven of 21 shots in the loss.
Jackson Eicher led the way for Carolina with four goals, while Brendan Nichtern had a hat trick and an assist.
Coulter Mackesy had a six-point night for the Cannons with three assists, a two-point goal and a one-point goal. Jeff Trainor added a two-point goal and an assist for three points.
First Quarter
Carolina jumped out to a quick lead 2:13 into the game, with Chris Aslanian scoring from long range for two points.
Boston replied at the 3:21 mark on the power play, with Asher Nolting finding Marcus Holman to make it a 2-1 game.
The Chaos finished the first quarter with a two-goal run to extend their lead. Eric Spanos found the back of the net at 4:53 for his first career goal, followed by Nichtern with 6:12 left on the clock as Carolina held a 4-1 lead at the first break.
Second Quarter
Nichtern extended Carolina’s lead 50 seconds into the second quarter. However, the Cannons kept chipping away.
Trainor scored a key two-point goal at the 2:26 mark to narrow the lead to 5-3. Mackesy then scored off an assist from Nolting at 4:14 to make it a one-goal game.
Eicher scored for the Chaos, unassisted, at 6:05, but Tye Kurtz replied for the Cannons 54 seconds later to make it 6-5 in favour of Carolina.
Eicher rounded out the scoring with another unassisted marker on the power play with 4:36 left on the clock as Carolina led 7-5 at the half.
Third Quarter
Boston got off to a hot start in the second half with a pair of goals to tie the game.
Mikey Weisshaar scored at the 2:28 mark for his first career PLL goal, followed by Holman 25 seconds later to knot the game at 7-7.
Carolina retook the lead at 5:51 with Nichtern scoring unassisted. Boston replied right back at 8:33 with Mic Kelly finding the back of the net.
The Chaos took a 9-8 lead heading into the final frame with Ross Scott scoring unassisted with 1:13 left on the clock.
Fourth Quarter
Eicher scored for Carolina 57 seconds into the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 10-8.
However, Mackesy scored a two-point goal at 1:25 to tie the game 10-10.
The wheels fell off after that for the Cannons as they surrendered a four-goal run to end the game.
Shane Knobloch scored for Carolina at the 2:40 mark to break the tie. Teddy Malone then scored at 4:54 to make it 12-10.
The fourth-quarter collapse continued for the Cannons. Eicher scored off an assist from Nichtern at the 8:06 mark, followed by Knobloch 34 seconds later to make the final 14-10.
You can watch the post game press conferences below:
Top Scorers
Carolina Chaos
- Jackson Eicher, 4g
- Brendan Nichtern, 3g 1a
- Shane Knobloch, 2g
- Chris Aslanian, 1-2g
Boston Cannons
- Coulter Mackesy, 1g 1-2g 3a
- Jeff Trainor, 1-2g 1a
- Marcus Holman, 2g
- Asher Nolting, 2a
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