Matt Rambo made his return to the PLL Friday night sporting new colors, after the New York Atlas claimed him off waivers from the Maryland Whipsnakes. Rambo impacted the game against the California Redwoods early, scoring on his first shift and adding two assists, but it was not enough for the Atlas to halt their current losing streak. The Redwoods held on to win 12-11, improving to 2-1 on the season; they will face a resurgent Utah Archers two weeks from now in Long Island. The loss is the third straight for the Atlas, who now sit at 1-3.
Rambo makes impact early, but Redwoods lead at half after 5-goal run
It took all of 35 seconds for Rambo to announce his return, as he beat Redwoods goaltender Dillon Ward on his first touch in an Atlas uniform. Dylan Molloy (1:50) responded for California before Rambo fed Xander Dickson (3:37) for a 2-1 Atlas lead. The Redwoods then went on a five-goal run, starting with goals from Chris Kavanagh (4:31) and rookie Michael Leo’s first career goal (5:39). Jared Conners (6:02), Michael Boehm (6:43), and Andrew McAdorey (7:22) followed for a 6-2 lead.
Levi Anderson broke the run at 9:52, assisted by Rambo, but California continued to apply the pressure, as Sam English (10:16) and Brian Tevlin (10:24) pushed the Redwoods lead to 8-3. A buzzer beater from Tyler Carpenter (11:57) cut New York’s deficit to 8-4 after one quarter. Cullen Brown’s first career goal (3:11 second quarter) pushed California’s lead back to 9-4, but Hugh Kelleher (4:28) and Anderson’s second (6:32) pulled the Atlas within three, 9-6 at halftime.
Can Rambo, Atlas turn things around on their Homecoming?
Atlas fought their way back into the game in the third quarter, as Dickson (2:21) and Shellenberger (3:25) narrowed the margin to 9-8. But Kavanagh scored back-to-back (6:02; 7:01) giving Redwoods an 11-8 lead going into the fourth quarter. Shellenberger opened the final frame with his second (1:49) to pull within two, 11-9. McAdorey’s second (3:58) increased the lead back to three. Kelleher fired a 2-point goal with just 14 seconds remaining to cut Redwoods’ lead to 12-11, but the Atlas could not find an equalizer in the closing seconds of the game. New York will have in-conference matchups with the Boston Cannons and the Whipsnakes during their Homecoming weekend in two weeks and will need to find a way to rebound and avoid falling four games below .500 before the All-Star break.
Other Stats Of Note
Redwoods: Kavanagh (3g); McAdorey (2g, 1a); Boehm (1g, 3a); Molloy (1g, 2a); English (1g); Conners (1g); Brown (1g); Tevlin (1g); Leo (1g)
Atlas: Dickson (2g, 1a); Shellenberger (2g, 1a); Rambo (1g, 2a); Kelleher (1g, 1 2-pt g); Anderson (2g); Carpenter (1g)
Dillon Ward (Redwoods): 15 saves; Liam Entenmann (Atlas): 7 saves
Trevor Baptiste (Atlas): 14-25 Faceoffs; 14 Ground Balls (led all players)
