Melton nets hat trick, leads St. Louis to 11-0 win over Evansville

Jan 6, 2016

Frankie Melton netted a hat trick to lead St. Louis over Evansville, 11-0.

Melton\’s first goal came 4:01 into the first period. He then added goals at 8:10 into the first and at 10:51 into the first.

St. Louis gained an early advantage, leading 6-0 by the end of the first period.

St. Louis forced Evansville\’s goaltenders to work without much rest, totaling 59 shots and forcing 48 saves. Adam Conkling made 14 stops and Bryson Lindenburgh made 34. St. Louis stifled Evansville\’s power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. St. Louis was steadier on the defensive front than it has been for much of this season. St. Louis allows 2.6 goals per game. St. Louis outdid its season average for goals scored. This season, St. Louis averages 5.8 goals per contest. The defensemen of St. Louis were also effective in Evansville\’s zone, and came away with two goals.

St. Louis additionally got points from Teddy Cardinale, who also grabbed one goal and one assist, Joe Nolan, who also had one goal and one assist, and Ezekiel Estrada, who also registered one goal and one assist. St. Louis also had goals scored by Dominic Caito, Tomas Loeffelman, Sam Maddox, Alex Werdmuller, and Alex Klaesner, who scored one goal each. In addition, St. Louis received assists from Daniel Dunaway, Frankie Cardinale, Cameron McAtee, and Hayden Smer, who each chipped in one and Ryan Reader and CJ Nitchen, who contributed two each.

Evansville did not reach the goal total it has come to expect this season. Evansville puts an average of 2.3 pucks into the net per game.

Zach Young rejected 15 shots on goal for St. Louis. St. Louis incurred eight minutes in penalty time with four minors. Evansville incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors.