Feb 25, 2013 | Justin Pullen | 2168 views
A Rock’em, Sock’em, Heart-pounding Win!
February 24–Milverton
Drives at Goderich Sailors. The second playoffs match against the Milverton Drives
proved to be much more challenging than the first (largely due to their leading
scorer being back from a suspension).
The first period was an even battle between the Sailors and the Drives
as both teams fought for the first goal of the game, but ultimately the period
ended scoreless despite many chances on both sides. Five minutes into the second period, the Drives landed the
first goal of the game. The
Sailors answered back two minutes later with a nice backhand goal by Logan off
a rebound from a shot by Tyler. Justin then put Goderich out ahead 2-1 with a nicely placed shot off a nice pass from Nathan.
Nevertheless, Milverton was determined to win and fought back with 2 more goals to end the period 3-2 in their favour. The Sailors came back from the intermission with a renewed focus, having adjusted to the line changes as a result of Alex’s absence. David landed the first goal of the period on a sneaky ‘wraparound-deke’ goal to tie the game 3-3. However, once more Milverton answered back with another goal to go ahead again 4-3. Logan then got the crucial ‘TSN turning point’ goal with a beautiful puck steal and perfectly placed shot to tie the game 4-4 (off an assist from David). The next goal also belonged to Logan off a set-up from Justin to put the Sailors ahead 5-4 (and also happened to be Logan’s first career hat trick!) The next goal was by David as a result of a strong rush on the Milverton net - but it was waived off due to alleged goalie interference.
With the Drives continuing to play a very strong and rough game, the Sailors’ 5-4 lead was very fragile and their fans were stressed to the max! On the last minute of play Milverton made the classic calculated hockey gamble and pulled their goalie. With some great defensive work by Tyler and Nathan, they cleared the puck out of the Goderich end and got it to Justin who managed to land a well-aimed goal on the empty Milverton net for a 6-4 cushion. With nothing to lose, the Drives pulled their goalie again and their leading scorer landed his fourth goal of the game with just 11 seconds left on the clock. The last 11 seconds were tense to say the least, but David won the faceoff and he and the other boys worked hard to move the puck towards the Milverton end and secure the win with a very marrow 6-5 margin! All the boys came alive and rallied for the win in the third period with outstanding offensive, defense and goaltending by Mike.
The game was without a doubt the most exciting game of the season and had the Goderich fans checking for the location of the arena defibrillator machine due to their many heart palpitations! This game makes it 6 for 6 playoff wins in row for the Sailors! Once again, congratulations boys - and let’s keep it going! Go Sailors Go!