Reigning Southeast Asian Games champions Philippine Men’s National Ice Hockey Team had to dig deep, needing the heroics of Jan Regencia to put out the gritty Singapore side, 5-3, and bagged their second straight win in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, Tuesday at the SM Mall of Asia Skating Rink.
With the score tied at three, the forward netted a brace in the dying seconds to snag the victory against the Singaporeans
Regencia received a nifty pass from captain Steven Fuglister with ten seconds left to virtually complete the comeback. He then drilled another into an empty Singapore net for the dagger.
The visitors emerged with the lead after the first period when James Kodrowski stunned topnotch Filipino goalie Gianpettro Iseppi with the go-ahead a mere second before the intermission.
Fuglister then steered the Philippines to the equalizer on their own stint at the power play at the 26:26 mark of the following period.
A frenetic third period saw the Filipinos taking the lead with another Fuglister goal. The visitors then hit an equalizer of their own in the intense match via Kodrowski.
Samuel Bengzon reclaimed the lead for the hosts, 3-2 with six minutes still left, before Ethan Redden put the game back on level terms. The match seemed headed to overtime, if not for the late offensive brilliance from the final line on the floor.
Fuglister had three points in this match off a brace and an assist. He shared that they just kept the attack on in that last minute.
“We just kept on pushing and throwing everything at the net, and then Aro was able to put in a rebound and made the roof explode off the rink,” said the star forward.
After that lopsided win against Malaysia, the long-time skipper felt pleased with the character they showed against Singapore.
“That was a crazy game. Singapore played really well, and I have to give them respect for giving us a battle over sixty minutes,” Fuglister said.
“It was a physical fast-paced game, but we didn’t shy away from it. The crowd support was once again top notch. The rink was the loudest I’ve ever heard in Manila. I’m proud of the team, how we stuck to our game plan and got rewarded in the end with a win.”
Singapore absorbed its first loss to slide to 1-1.
In the first game, Thailand kept their clean slate as well for a 2-0 win-loss record as they trampled Malaysia (0-2), 16-0.
The Nationals will attempt to stay unbeaten when they face winless Indonesia (0-2) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the same venue.
