Mar 01, 2014 | Dave Duncan | 857 views
Sailing Forward
After a successful weekend in Lakefield last week, the Marcc Apparel Bantam AE Sailors played host to the Chiefs, in the continuation of their OMHA Semi-finals.
On Friday night, the Sailors came out strong, controlling the play for the first 10 minutes, pinning the Chiefs in their own end. Unfortunately, strong goaltending from the Chiefs goalie, kept the Sailors from scoring. With only 20 seconds left in the first, the Sailor defense was caught napping, and the Chiefs scored on a 2 man breakaway. Early in the second period, we got caught running around in our own end, and the Chiefs cashed in on a rebound. The remainder of the game was the Chiefs gaining the zone, dumping the puck in, and clogging the neutral zone. The Sailors never seemed to get their legs going, and dropped the game 2-0, to a much hungrier Lakefield team.
Saturday started similar, the Sailors fore-checked hard, and pressured the Chief defense. This time, five minutes in, Liam picked up a loose puck out front and fired a back-hander over the Chief goalie's glove, assisted by Daniel and Kody. Five minute later Liam picked up a rebound, off shots by Daniel and Noah, and stretched the Sailor lead to 2-0. The Chiefs wouldn't quit, scoring a goal late, and the first period ended with the Sailors up 2-1.
Five minutes into the second, the Sailors got caught scrambling in their own end, and the Chiefs tied the score at 2-2. The Sailors had to show that they had the same fight, and just 19 seconds after the Chiefs tied it up, Braeden gathered in Justin's rebound, and put the Sailors back in the lead. With both goalies showing their talents, the second period ended 3-2 for Goderich.
The third period was a see-saw battle, both teams charging each others net, but both goalies held the offense off. Tanner bailed out his teammates with a couple beautiful glove saves. Mid-way through the third the Chiefs took advantage of an odd man rush and tied the game at 3-3. For the second time in the series, the teams were heading to overtime. The Sailors started the extra frame shorthanded, and managed to kill off the penalty, but were hit with a too many men on the ice call as the initial penalty ended. The Penalty killers continued to show their abilities, and killed this one off as well. With just over 4 minutes remaining in overtime, Braeden scored assisted by Troy, and the Sifto Arena erupted. After the officials had a discussion at center ice, the referee signaled goal again, and the crowd erupted louder.
The Marcc Apparel Bantam AE Sailors now advance to the OMHA Finals, where they will face the winner of the Ilderton and South Bruce series. Games will be scheduled and announced once their opposition is determined. The Sailors would like to thank their sponsor, and the great support from the fans this weekend. We hope to see you out in the finals. We would also like to congratulate the Chiefs on a hard fought series. The Chiefs had a short bench, due to a suspension and a couple injuries, but they worked hard, and never quit, the entire series. They should be proud of their showing.