Dzieduszycki turns the trick

Ken Magowan said that when you get a hat trick in a hockey game, you feel like you can score at will.

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He should know, since before Sunday he was the only Augusta Lynx player to record three goals in a game this season.

Now Magowan shares that distinction with teammate Matt Dzieduszycki, who scored an empty netter with 17 seconds remaining to seal a 6-4 Lynx win Sunday against the Charlotte Checkers at Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center.

As time was running down in a one-goal contest, Lynx forward Jamie Johnson had control of the puck along the boards in Charlotte's end, while Dzieduszycki was crashing the empty net.

"I was yelling so loud, I was just hoping Johnny heard me," said Dzieduszycki, who thought his hat trick opportunity had passed when he missed a prime scoring chance at the beginning of the third. "I knew he was looking to get it for me. He made it easy for me tonight, he just gave me three perfect passes and I just put them on net and they went in."

Dzieduszycki's hat trick and Magowan's third-period goal gave them a share of the team lead with 15 goals apiece.

When Dzieduszycki scored the Lynx's first two goals and Eric Johansson added the third, a crucial empty-netter seemed like the last thing the Lynx (17-24-7) would need. But then second-place Charlotte (28-17-3) started chipping away at the Lynx's 3-0 lead.

Mike Wirll scored on a power play - the game's fourth man-advantage goal in a row - in the second period and Dusty Jamieson started the third with the game's first even-strength goal to cut the lead to one.

The Lynx responded with Johansson's second power-play goal and Magowan knocked his own rebound in with 7:05 left in the game and the Lynx had another three-goal lead. But roughing penalties on Charlotte's Steve MacIntyre and Augusta's Phil Cole put the teams in a four-on-four situation a minute later.

Charlotte capitalized by firing two shots past goaltender Jason Saal in a 26-second span to drain the lead back to one goal with 5:22 to go.

"It seems like we put ourselves in that situation a few too many times this year," Magowan said.

You don't have to go far for an example. Greenville forced overtime Saturday night by tying the score with 3.8 seconds left in the game. The Grrrowl won 3-2 in the extra period.

So Sunday, Lynx coach Stan Drulia didn't rest easy until the clock finally reached all zeroes.

"(It's) a little too interesting," Drulia said before pausing for a joke. "I'll have to die my hair again tomorrow."

GAME REPORT

STAR OF THE GAME: Forward Matt Dzieduszycki became the second Lynx player to record a hat trick when he scored on an empty net with 17 seconds left.

TURNING POINT: Ken Magowan's third-period goal gave the Lynx a 5-2 lead and proved to be the game-winner.

PLUS: The Lynx went 4-for-6 on the power play on nine shots.

MINUS: Lynx forward Jarrett Thompson, who already missed almost two months with a concussion, suffered an undisclosed injury and did not play the third period. He's listed as day-to-day.

NEXT GAME: 7:35 p.m. Friday, Greenville at Lynx.

Reach Kristy Shonka at (706) 823-3216 or kristy.shonka@augustachronicle.com.