AMBUSH FINISH SEASON WITH THREE STRAIGHT WINS

by Jim Fossell

St. Charles, MO

The St. Louis Ambush won their third consecutive game before 7,056 fans Saturday night at the Family Arena when they handed the Tacoma Stars a 13-3 loss. Saturday’s match was the season finale for St. Louis, who finished the season with an 8-12 record.

St. Louis Ambush forward Gordy Gurson celebrates with fans after scoring one of his three goals Saturday, February 21, 2015 at the Family Arena. Photo by Scott Neer/TSN Photography.

The Ambush struck first when Gordy Gurson scored off a pass from Chris Mattingly at 5:34. The next Ambush goal came when Chad Vandegriffe passed to Ross MacGregor, who went on a long run and beat Tacoma goalkeeper Chris Kintz with a shot into the corner at 10:51. Tacoma goalkeeper Kintz was charge with a foul that resulted in a shootout and Gordy Gurson made good on the opportunity to put the Ambush up 3-0 at 11:20. Elvir Kafedzic increased the lead to four on a restart when he executed a perfectly placed shot that went right by Tacoma’s line of defense and Kinz at 12:49. The Stars got on the board with a goal by Derek Johnson at 13:57 and the opening period ended with the Ambush leading 4-1.

Anthony Arico increased St. Louis’ lead to 5-1 with a goal at 5:33 of the second quarter, assisted by Blake Ordell. Jeff DiMaria was sent to the penalty box for boarding at 12:03, giving Tacoma a power play opportunity that they used to their advantage when Nate Ford scored at 13:04. The Ambush responded just 21 seconds later when a restart corner kick from Elvir Kafedzic found Ross MacGregor, who scored at 13:25. With no further scoring in the period, the Ambush enjoyed a 6-2 lead at halftime.

The third quarter saw only one goal and it belonged to the Ambush. A shot by Blake Ordell went wide and hit the board, but Anthony Arico was in position to kick the rebound into the net at 11:26 to increase the Ambush lead to 7-2.

Arico assisted on Elvir Kafedzic’s second goal of the night at 1:33 of the fourth quarter. Kintz was charged with an inentional handball at 5:26, giving Gurson another shootout attempt, which resulted in his third goal of the night at 5:26. Just over a minute later, Kintz brought the ball toward the yellow line and an alert Arico darted from the side to steal it away and complete the hat trick with his goal at 6:27. Chad Vandegriffe increase the Ambush lead to 11-2 with his goal at 7:54. Kafedzic completed his own hat trick with his third tally of the match at 9:22. Gurson was sent to the penalty box for holding at 11:13, giving the Stars another power play opportunity that Johnson took advantage of when he scored his second goal of the night at 12:18. Seconds later (12:52) Kafedzic scored his fourth goal of the game, assisted by Richard Schmermund. It would be the last tally of the night, as the Ambush closed out the season with the 13-3 victory.

Ambush goalkeeper Alan Hagerty registered 15 saves on 18 save opportunities to finish the season with a 3-3 record. Tacoma goalkeeper Kintz saved 17 on 30 chances.

For the latest Ambush news, watch the Ambush official website, stlouisambush.com and the team’s Facebook page, facebook.com/stlouisambush. Season tickets for the 2015-16 season are now on sale. Call the Ambush office at 636-477-6363 for more information.