Exception Line Lifts Biloxi (11/8)

Biloxi, MS - Yaro Yevdokimov, Khaden Henry and Lucas Piekarczyk, get familiar with those 3 names. Otherwise known as the “Exception Line,” the trio combined for 13 points in a 6-5 OT thriller, led by Khaden Henry’s first career Hat Trick and Lucas Piekarczyk’s overtime winner.

After the two teams had to be separated last night at the conclusion of the contest, one could imagine that Game 2 between these proximate foes would be a fun one. Period 1 certainly didn’t disappoint. Just 32 seconds after the puck was dropped, Khaden Henry sprung free off a slick feed from Yaro Yevdokimov and buried a far side wrister to grab the momentum and put the home team up 1-0. With the crowd already buzzing, AJ Schlepp and Brice French squared up for round 2 at center ice. The exchange appeared to be relatively equal, until the Breakers new enforcer pulled the jersey of French over his head and threw him down. Once French was back up to his feet, it could be seen that his uniform had been ripped in half during the altercation. The heavyweight tilt had the building jumping, and as Schlepp skated to the box he waved his arms to formally introduce himself to the home crowd at Breaker Bay. A minute later, Khaden Henry struck again. In a similar play to the previous, Yevdokimov hit Henry in stride and this time he beat Coffey with a backhander to double the margin. The next ten minutes featured numerous shoving matches and jawwing between the two sides, but the officials understood where the tensions were and did a tremendous job of diffusing each altercation without heading to the penalty sheet. Across the midway point, a turnover made way for a Narek Aleksanyan breakaway. With a head of speed, Aleksanyan cashed in for the first goal against Rosenzweig in over 70 minutes of ice time. The score held at 2-1 through 20 minutes, with the shots a measly 7-6 in favor of Biloxi. 

Period 1 was about as good as it gets for what a fan enjoys, so period 2 would have a high bar to surpass. The first 10 minutes the teams began to trade chances more consistently, but Mr. Incredible was inevitable to strike again. Khaden Henry completed his Hat Trick at the 3:30 mark by pounding in a rebound, his first career professional Hat Trick and the first at home in franchise history. Once all the buckets were cleared away, it was time to return to action. The pushing and shoving began to reignite after whistles, and even a couple skirmishes after goals commenced. The next dose of offense came from a familiar face, as former Mississippi Sea Wolf Ross Bartlett finished a beautiful individual effort while being taken down to make it 3-2. The Zydeco led 19-17 in shots but trailed 3-2 with one final frame to go.

With a precious 3 Continental Division points on the line, both teams went to battle back and forth in period 3. 5 goals had been scored in the contest through 40 minutes, and another 5 were on tap in the closing 20. The first punch came from the Zydeco, with Scott Shorrock burying a shot moments after receiving a cross crease pass at 2:38 to tie it at 3. Biloxi kicked it into sport-mode around the midway point, with new addition Darius Davidson finishing a loose puck on the powerplay to put the Breakers ahead. Just over 3 minutes later, the Breakers were given another man advantage, and a vacant puck all alone off a deflection was hammered home by Cole Crowder to restore the lead to 2. However, the Zydeco wouldn’t go away. At 14:34 Bartlett and Larwood connected on a deflection goal just outside the blue paint to steal one back. Moments later, the Zydeco went shorthanded. However, while a man down, Narek Aleksanyan teed up Ross Bartlett for a highlight reel give and go shorthanded tally to tie the game at 5 and stun Breaker Bay. The rest of regulation time bled out, and this game would need extra. 

In overtime the Breakers had all 4 shots on goal. Yevdokimov had a breakaway opportunity that went off the post and out, and everybody in the building thought he had ended it. As the game went on, Lucas Piekarczyk walked down between the circles and fired a bullet to beat his former teammate Ed Coffey and earn the Breakers their first overtime win, home win, and sweep in franchise history. 

The Zydeco lose their 6th straight, and fall to 1-5-1. They will be off next weekend and looking to regroup. The Breakers improve to 3-4-0, and will host the Monroe Moccasins next Friday at 7:00 before heading to Columbus to square off with the River Dragons on Saturday at 7:05.