Sentinels Silenced by Scarecrows, Lose 2-0

Last season, the Indiana Sentinels and the Topeka Scarecrows met each other 14 times starting a heated rivalry between the two squads. This year, the Scarecrows were moved to the Frontier Division in the Western Conference, so there will only be 8 meetings this year.

The Sentinels certainly had an advantage coming into the hockey game having already gotten their season started last weekend with a sweep against the Minnesota Northern Lights. Topeka pulled out all the stops by bringing a raucous crowd to Landon Arena as well as a full opening night pre-game show.

Unfortunately for the Scarecrows, the pre-game show was the most exciting part of the first period for them as the Sentinels shut down Topeka every step of the way. Indiana hit Topeka with perfectly executed forechecks, creating confusion and turnovers from the Scarecrows.

Even with two power-play attempts, the Scarecrows were unable to get much of anything done and the period ended scoreless with shots tied at eight after the first.

The script flipped in the second period as the Scarecrows tossed the Sentinels game right back in their face. The Sentinels did not have any room to move, which resulted in creating botched passes and frustration.

Topeka would open the scoring with Tyler Inlow getting a breakaway as soon as his penalty was over. The first shot was stopped by Cooper Olson, but Inlow stuck with the rebound and poked it through the five hole to give the Scarecrows a 1-0 lead.

That lead would stand for the remaining fourteen minutes in the second period. After two periods, shots were 17-15 in favor of Indiana.

Jonas Leas was guilty of a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass at the end of the second period, putting the Sentinels down a man to begin the third. Jason Tynan would take a penalty 39 seconds into the period, giving the Scarecrows a five-on-three advantage.

It would not take long for the Scarecrows to come through on that powerplay as Trygve Many Guns swiped home a Gordon Whalen shot that slipped through Cooper Olson to give the Scarecrows a 2-0 lead.

The Sentinels pushed in the latter stages of the third but were unable to convert and the Scarecrows walked away with a 2-0 victory in game one of the weekend.

Indiana went 0-for-5 on the Powerade Powerplay, while the Scarecrows went 1-for-4 on their man advantage opportunities. Shots at the end of the game went in favor of Topeka 23 to 21.

These two teams wrap up the weekend tomorrow with puck drop at 8:05 pm ET. We will have the Body Armor Pre-Game Show with Andy Poetzinger starting at 7:50 pm ET. You can catch all the action on the Sentinels Hockey Network.