Nov. 29-Dec 1, 2024 The Sabers Fall to the Fresno Monsters

The San Diego Sabers faced the Fresno Monsters on home ice at Carlsbad Icetown in a three game-series this past week. Game 1 resulted in a 5-3 loss for the Sabers and an 8-5 loss in Game 2 of the three-game series. The Fresno Monsters closed out the series with a 5-2 win and ultimately swept the Sabers this past week. Despite the tough loss this past week, this does not take away from Sabers’ Captain, Liam Krupcyznski’s, efforts to record his third hat-trick of the 2024-2025 regular season.

Friday, November 29, 2024

Game 1 | Fresno Monsters 5, San Diego Sabers 3

The Fresno Monsters completely dominated the first period with three unanswered goals, however, the Sabers made a comeback during the second period to make it a one-goal game (3-2). The two Sabers goals in the second period were scored by Sam Bailey and Caleb Murray. Sabers’ Captain, Liam Krupcyznski scored the game-tying goal in the first half of the third period, however, the Sabers struggled to overcome the Monsters after they scored two additional goals to make the final score 5-3 in their favor. Brooks Barofsky was able to secure the win for the Fresno Monsters after saving Sabers’ 23 out of 26 shots on goal. Parker Lewis was in net for the San Diego Sabers and saved a total of 36 out of 41 Monsters’ shots on goal. 

After a close battle in Game 1 of the three-game series, the Sabers fall short, however, their efforts to try to stay in this game are commendable.

Saturday, November 30, 2024

Game 2 | Fresno Monsters 8, San Diego Sabers 5

Sabers’s Captain, Liam Krupcyznski, opened up Game 2 of their three-game series with a goal late in the first period and momentarily made it a one-goal game. The Sabers and Monsters would then go back and forth in goal scoring (3-2 in Sabers’ favor) until six minutes into the second period when the Monsters scored four goals in a row (6-3 in Monsters’ favor). Sabers’ C. Krupcyznski scored a goal, however, the Monsters answered back and made the second period end with a score of 7-4 in their favor. The Monsters opened up the third period with a power play goal which was answered back by Sabers’ Sam Bailey. Despite the San Diego Sabers’ attempt to make a comeback, the game ended with a final score of 8-5 in the Fresno Monsters’ favor. Markus Wasastjerna was able to secure the win for the Fresno Monsters after saving 29 out of 34 Sabers’ shots on goal. Viktor Pasztor was initially in net for the San Diego Sabers and saved a total of 14 out of 20 shots on goal before Parker Lewis took over midway through the second period. Parker Lewis ended up saving 13 out of 15 shots on goal for the San Diego Sabers during the remainder of the game.

After a tough loss, the Sabers still held onto hope that they could regroup and attempt to secure one win during this three-game series. This loss does not take away from Sabers’ Liam Krupcyznski’s efforts and third hat-trick recorded during this game.

Sunday, December 1, 2024

Game 3 | Fresno Monsters 5, San Diego Sabers 2

The Fresno Monsters started Game 3 with a dominant performance as they recorded three goals during the first period (3-0). Sabers’ Sam Bailey was able to answer back on one of the three Fresno Monsters goals scored and made it a two-goal game going into the second period (3-1). The Sabers were able to momentarily make it a one-goal game after Kai Shepherd scored the first goal of the second period, however, the Monsters answered back with 40 seconds left in the period to make it a 4-2 game in their favor. With two power play opportunities, the Sabers were unable to capitalize on the man advantage and were also unable to answer back to the Monsters’ short handed goal early in the third period. The game ended with a final score of 5-2 in the Fresno Monsters’ favor. Brooks Barofsky was able to secure the win for the Fresno Monsters after saving 21 out of 23 Sabers’ shots on goal. Viktor Pasztor started off  in net for the San Diego Sabers and saved a total of 7 out of 10 Monsters’ shots on goal before Parker Lewis momentarily took over for roughly over five minutes of the second period. Parker Lewis saved all 6 shots on goal before Viktor Pasztor returned back in net and saved a total of 25 out of 27 shots on goal by the end of the game.

After another tough loss and being swept by the Fresno Monsters, the San Diego Sabers have dropped down to 5th place in the USPHL Pacific Division Standing with 26 points. The team is even more determined to make a comeback in next week’s matchup against the Long Beach Bombers.  

The scheduled game for the Sabers:

• The Long Beach Bombers will face the San Diego Sabers on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 8:00 PM PST. This game will be located at Carlsbad Icetown.

  • Watch on FloHockey

Come back for the next San Diego Sabers’ weekly recap of the 2024-2025 USPHL regular season!