Dayton Demonz vs. Danville Dashers
Federal Hockey League semifinals (best of five)
Today at Dayton 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, March 2 at Dayton 7:35 p.m.
Friday, March 8 at Danville 7:05 p.m.
*Saturday, March 9 at Danville 7:05 p.m.
*Wednesday, March 13 at Dayton 7:35 p.m.
* If necessary
Dayton has waited 36 seasons since its last minor-league championship. If the Dayton Demonz’ regular season is any indication, the wait could soon be over.
After terrorizing the Federal Hockey League with a winning percentage of .804, the Demonz open the best-of-five playoff semifinals as favorites to bring home Dayton’s first hockey title since the Gems won the International Hockey League in 1975-76.
“That’s what we play for, right? What we’ve done in the regular season is nothing unless we win a championship,” Demonz coach Marc LeFebvre said. “There’s no pressure on us. We have a veteran group of guys who are pretty loose and looking forward to playing Danville.”
Dayton hosts Danville, Ill., (both teams are owned by Barry Soskin) in the first two games Friday and Saturday at 7:35 p.m. at Hara Arena. Dayton finished 18-3 against Danville in the regular season but isn’t overconfident. Danville handed Dayton its only home loss in regulation, 7-5 on Feb. 17.
“Virtually every game we’ve played has been a dogfight,” LeFebvre said. “Even if you’re up three, four or five goals they keep playing. They’re one of those teams who are pesky little buggers that keep bothering you and keep bothering you. They keep playing and we have to be ready for that.”
Scoring goals — or stopping them — hasn’t been a problem for the Demonz. Trevor Karasiewicz (124), Ahmed Mahfouz (111) and Jason Hill (105) lead the FHL in points. Mahfouz (48), Hill (39) and Jesse Felten (35) rank 1-2-5 in goals and Karasiewicz (102), Hill (66) and Mahfouz (63) are 1-2-3 in assists. Jeff Rose is the FHL’s top goaltender with a 3.45 goals-against average.
“Jesse’s a workhorse for us. He’s the leader of this team. He’s got to be a go-to guy,” LeFebvre said. “Obviously Mahfouz, I think he’s the MVP of the league this year.”
Ryan Stern’s 69 points and Jonathan Juliano’s 26 goals lead the Dashers’ active players. Justin Sand allows 4.32 goals per game.
The winner faces Danbury, Conn., or 1000 Island, N.Y., for the FHL championship.
As with other minor-league sports, the FHL has seen its share of struggles. Last year’s defending champions, the New Jersey/Williamsport Outlaws, folded in January. LeFebvre doesn’t see that happening to the Demonz — win or lose.
“The Demonz will be back next year,” LeFebvre said. “We’d like to raise the championship banner in October in Hara Arena. That’s one thing to look forward to next year if we can pull this off.
“When I took this job back in June I said it was championship or bust for us. Just because we’re an expansion team means nothing. We still wanted to build a great team. Dayton is a blue-collar town. I think this will kind of help out the city a little bit to bring back a championship. I know hockey-wise it’s been awhile since they had any kind of championship.”
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