West Des Moines, IA – The Dubuque Fighting Saints (24-9-2-0, 50 pts) won their sixth-straight game in a 4-1 win over the Des Moines Buccaneers (11-17-3-4, 29 pts) on Saturday.
Late in the second period, Michael Barron intercepted a Des Moines pass, followed his shot to the net and swatted the rebound out of mid-air for his 11th goal of the season. The goal was Barron's 48th career goal and 122nd career point, tying him on the Dubuque all-time points list with Connor Kurth for fourth all-time.
Barron assisted on Teddy Merrill's power-play goal in the first period to open the scoring on Saturday, logging a two-point night. Barron extended a career-high point streak to 11 games with the assist as Merrill's 21st goal gave the Saints the opening goal for the 12th-straight game and a power-play goal for the 11th.
Dubuque extended its lead late in the first period as Gavin Lock scored his 14th on a rush up the left wing. After Kris Richards' second goal in as many games early in the second period, the Saints lead extended to 3-0.
Vojtech Hambálek made 28 saves on 29 shots in his 17th victory of the season and helped Dubuque to a perfect night on five penalty-kill chances. Dubuque's power play scored once on five chances in the victory.
The Saints move to a perfect 4-0 in the Cowbell Cup and remain in third place in the Eastern Conference ahead of a matchup in Cedar Rapids on Sunday afternoon against the RoughRiders.
