John Bear Bantam AE Huskies
vs Tillsonburg Tornadoes 11-Feb-2012
The John Bear Bantam AE Huskies were in Tillsonburg on February 9 to do battle with the Tornadoes in game 4 of their OMHA series. The Huskies had it all on the line as they needed a win to stave off elimination. They took to the ice with authority and had tallied their first goal at the one-minute mark. Brady Finn secured a turnover at the blue line and rushed in to beat the Tornado net-minder. The Husky pressure continued with Filip Telescu coming close followed by a two-man rush by Braden Ewing and Connor Ross. The excitement continued in the second frame with Danny Martin loosing off a shot but it would be the opposition that found the mark next. Their celebrating was short as they incurred a hooking call that the Huskies took full advantage of. Marcus Roth, not having a shooting lane, fed the puck back to Jakob Windl who rifled it from the blue line to defeat the screened goalie. The insurance point came from Taylor Von Hausen well positioned in the slot on a feed from Matt Schmidt with Nolan Forster helping. The game tempo, already hard and fast, went into overdrive in the third with both teams struggling for the win. The sea-saw battles saw both teams getting chances and delivering those big hits as exhibited by Connor Popham. The nail-biting began late in the frame as the Huskies were called for two back-to-back minors that saw them at a two-man disadvantage. The penalty killing was good but the goal tending was spectacular. Matt Santos came up with the big glove save in the dying seconds to secure the 3 – 1 win, and in the process, force a fifth game at home on Saturday. The Huskies had momentum and were determined to finish the series then and there. They came out flying, delivering that early pressure but the Tornadoes were equally desperate and were not going down without a fight. Ross, taking a big hit in his own end, managed to get the puck to Ewing who raced up ice to defeat the goalie on the backhand to open the scoring. Martin and Telescu made similar attempts but the Tornado net-minder was a tough customer. The opposition rallied and evened the contest on a turnover late in the frame. It would not get easier for the Dogs as they suffered another goal from a turnover early in the second but the Tornadoes were made to pay a physical price for their efforts. Alex Normandeau, Jayden Marion and Robbie Mason were demonstrating the correct methods of body checking but a questionable head-shot call against the Pack put them back on the defensive. The Tornadoes, who’s power-play had been very successful against the Huskies, proved to be so once again leaving the home town team with a two-goal deficit going into the third. Another heartbreaker for the Huskies was in store. A racing Tornado forward was checked by Mason and as he fell, took out goalie Tanner Green who was quite rattled. An unbelievable call of interference was leveled resulting in a penalty shot. The Tornadoes widened their lead on the call but the Huskies had time and were determined to put it all out there. A break came when the opposition was cited for roughing allowing the Dogs to turn the tables. Finn was the trigger-man in front, tallying on the power-play to pump new life into his team. Another penalty against the Pack was fought off but time was growing short. Roth put one off the post before the Huskies went on their own power-play once again. The Tornado defense proved formidable with their goalie working hard to keep the Huskies at bay. Coach Chris Lacroix pulled Green in a last ditch gambit but it was not to be their night. The Huskies had to accept the 4 – 2 loss and the elimination from further OMHA play-down action. The Huskies are to be commended for battling back from a 2-game deficit against this very tough opponent to force a 5th and deciding game. Well played Huskies.