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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 21, 2002
ST. PETERSBURG -- Getting to overtime has proved to be no problem for the Parrots. Making it worthwhile has.
Knoxville scored three goals in a shootout on Sunday, relegating the Parrots to consecutive overtimes losses with a 4-3 defeat.
Because the Atlantic Coast Hockey League does not have ties and awards points to winners only -- two in a three-minute, three-on-three overtime, one for a shootout -- a lot of effort can seem wasted.
"This is killing me," said coach Bruce Ramsay, whose team won its opener at Macon in overtime.
The Parrots (1-2) could have saved energy and frustration by holding on to a late lead, but the Ice Bears' Andrei Savchenko used his second goal of the night to tie it with less than two minutes left.
Cory Dzikowski capped a comeback from a 2-0 deficit at 8:01 of the third when he chased a pass along the boards for a breakaway. Dzikowski, a 22-year-old Canadian and first-time pro, has six goals in three games.
"I wouldn't say this is easy," he said. "I was lucky enough to get a bounce where I could use my speed wide, and I found the top corner."
Knoxville (2-1) took a 2-0 advantage on a short-handed goal by Savchenko at 12:47 of the first and on a power-play goal by Steve Zoryk at 4:16 of the second.
St. Pete, which erased a four-goal deficit before losing to Jacksonville in a shootout Saturday, tied on a backhand flip by Rob Schweyer at 10:02 of the second and a blast by Dzikowski at 13:21.
Parrots goaltender Dan McIntyre, who has played all but 5:23 this season, made 36 saves.
"We had an opportunity to hang on and win the game, but we need to get a killer instinct," Ramsay said.
The Parrots do not play again at the Times Arena at Bayfront Center until Nov. 7-8.