BLAST DEFEAT HEAT

The Baltimore Blast hosted the Harrisburg Heat on Saturday night in an Eastern Division matchup. In a high intensity game the Blast defeated the Heat 5-2.

In the first quarter both teams focused on controlling possession and strong defensive play. No goals were recorded in the quarter.

The Blast would record the first goal of the game on a power play opportunity. Vini Dantas recorded his 12th goal of the season off an assist from Pat Healey for an early lead. On another power play the Blast would extend the lead at the 8:01 mark with a goal from Lucas Roque. The goal was assisted by Tony Donatelli which was his team leading 12th assist. At the half the Blast led 2-0.

In the second half Harrisburg would get on the board with a goal at the 9:34 mark in the third quarter from Jose Birche but the Blast would answer right back with a goal from Jereme Raley. The goal was assisted by Sofianne Tergou and going into the final quarter the Blast led 3-1.

In the fourth quarter the Blast came out scoring back to back goals to extend the lead to four. Lucas Roque recorded his second goal of the game off an assist from Tony Donatelli at the 1:56 mark and seconds later Jonatas Melo recorded his 8th goal of the season off an assist from Nelson Santana. A late goal was scored by Dominic Francis of the Heat but it would not be enough to come back. At the final buzzer the Blast defeated the Heat 5-2.

The Blast were led by Lucas Roque and Tony Donatelli. Roque recorded 2 goals on the night and both were assisted by Donatelli. Entering tonight’s match, Donatelli ranked 9th in the MASL in assists. The Blast had 8 players record a point in the victory.

The Blast will hit the road next week for back to back away games. Friday, January 20th the Blast take on the Cedar Rapids Rampage and Saturday, January 21st the Blast will play the Milwaukee Wave.