Orange Crushed

The tough and scrappy American Gladiators defeated top-seeded 21 Jump Street 7-1 in the CAHL B-League Semi-Finals on Saturday, April 14th at the MSA.  Gladiator goalie Joe Renfro had another outstanding night, making 26 saves and registering a .963 SV%.  Gladiator Tom Osinkosky led the offensive charge for Big Red with a hat-trick and an assist in the contest.

In under three minutes of the first period, Red got up on the board when D-man Dalton Ford banked a pass up the left-wing boards to Osinkosky, who then sliced-and-diced his way through the Orange defense and wristed a shot past Jump Street goalie Will Bryant.  At 4:16, Ford fed centerman Curtis Stepian who skated in and ripped a deceptive backhand shot that beat Bryant to end the period 2-0 in the Gladiator's favor.  SOGs after 1 were 6 to 5 in the Red's favor.

The second period was characterized with back-and-forth rushes and one-and-outs from both teams.  At 9:24, Gladiator winger Jeff Howe fought through a front-door scrum and punched a shot past Bryant.  Osinkosky assisted on the goal.  The second period ended 3-0, with Bryant facing 8 SOGs and Renfro facing 12 in the frame.

Jump Street got a jump on the AGs in the third when defenseman Steve McIninch ripped a shot that sailed through a screen and went 2-hole, at 13:54.  Big Red answered back less than two minutes later when a shot from behind Bryant's net hit his skate, and was punched in by Gladiator captain Rob Lovaglio.  At 4:44 in the third, Osinkosky would skate the puck 90 feet, jook a defenseman, and slide the puck under Bryant's pads for the 5th goal of the night for the AGs.  Less than a minute later, Lovaglio wristed a shot high past Bryant, unassisted.  Osinkosky capped off the scoring at 3:33 with an assist from Bryan Slaughter to net a hatty and finish off the Orange 7-1.  SOGs were 27-23 in Jump Street's favor.  The Gladiators were 0/2 on the PP and 3/3 on the PK.

The Gladiators take on White (TJ Hooker) in the CAHL B-League Finals at 6:30PM tonight at the MSA.