The Carolina Chaos took on the California Redwoods in the final game of Carolina’s Homecoming Weekend on Saturday night in Charlotte. Chaos were coming off a 12-9 win over Denver the night before, with goaltender Blaze Riorden breaking his own PLL single-game saves record. Meanwhile, the Redwoods upset the Denver Outlaws during Week 1 in Albany, and looked to take sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. Redwoods overcame a 4-0 first quarter deficit and then some, outscoring Chaos 14-2 in the second and third quarters. The 16-10 win puts the Redwoods in first place in the Western Conference at 2-0, while Carolina falls to 1-2 on the season, splitting their games this weekend.
Redwoods rally from first quarter shutout
Carolina got on the board first, with Adam Charalambides (1:44) scoring. Jarrod Neumann followed up with a 2-point goal (3:13), and Jackson Eicher (6:27) made it 4-0 after one quarter. But California came alive as the second quarter began, outscoring the Chaos 9-1. Top draft pick Andrew McAdorey (2:32) and Dylan Molloy (4:12 power play) cut the lead in half. Cross Ferrara pushed Carolina’s lead back to three just 27 seconds later, but Jared Conners found Chris Merle in transition (4:56) to ignite a seven-point Redwoods run to end the half.
Showcasing a strategy of working quickly on the shorter post-faceoff shot clock, Ryder Garnsey (8:32) and TD Ierlan (8:44) scored 12 seconds apart to tie the game at 5-5. Josh Balcarcel (10:09) and Garnsey again (10:41) gave Redwoods their first lead, 7-5. Molloy then intercepted a pass from Riorden, who had left the crease to pick up a ground ball on a change of possession, and fired a 2-point goal with just eight seconds remaining for a 9-5 halftime lead.
Redwoods pour it on in the third quarter
Halftime did nothing to change the momentum of the game, as Redwoods scored five more unanswered goals to open the third quarter. Molloy netted his third of the game (1:49), then Chris Kavanagh scored back-to-back (2:23; 5:59), including one between the legs, for a 12-5 lead. Nearly halfway through the third quarter, Carolina had just 7 shots on goal for the game, while California had taken more than 30. McAdorey’s second goal (7:18) and Garnsey’s third (8:51) extended the Redwoods lead to 14-5, before Charalambides (10:42) finally broke the 12-point run for Chaos.
Charalambides scored twice more in the fourth quarter (1:27; 9:37), and Neumann added another 2-pointer (6:25) for Chaos. However, it was not enough to overcome the gap that Redwoods built over the middle two quarters. Balcarcel added his second (3:49), and McAdorey his third (8:58) to close out the scoring for the Redwoods. With the win, California now has key victories over two conference rivals, as well as the best goal differential in the league. The Redwoods can make it three in a row when they face the Utah Archers next week in Philadelphia.
Other Stats Of Note
Redwoods had 37 shots on net for the game, and registered 12 Caused Turnovers, to just 2 for Chaos.
California rookies McAdorey, Balcarcel, and Kavanagh combined for nine points on the night.
TD Ierlan went 17 of 24 at he faceoff dot against Nick Rowlett, and picked up a game-high 8 Ground Balls.
Riorden made 15 saves, giving him 40 on the weekend, before being pulled in favor of Austin Kaut at the start of the fourth quarter.
With the win, California now has key victories over two conference rivals, as well as the best goal differential in the league. The Redwoods can make it three in a row when they face the Utah Archers next week in Philadelphia.
