Mar 06, 2015 | Albert Ross | 1003 views
Midget LL3s Keep Play-off Hopes Alive
The
Wilhelm Financial Midget Huskies LL3 kept their play-off hopes alive on March 3rd
when they hosted the Plattsville Rage for game 5 of their round-robin series.
The Dogs needed a win to stave off elimination from A-pool contention and they
came up big against this formidable opponent in what was a fast-paced and rough
game.
Both teams came out skating hard but the Husky defense proved daunting for Plattsville. Net-minder Liam Saunders saw only 2 shots come his way in the first frame due to aggressive protection of the defensive end. Scoreless after one, the Pack finally cracked the safe early in the second. Sean Boake executed a nice dump in that Mike Thrush secured along the boards. His centering pass was picked up by Andrew Just and drilled in to open the scoring. It was end-to-end action with hard body-checking after that. The visitors got the equalizer on a controversial goal that saw Saunders pushed into his net but their celebration was cut short on the next Husky shift. Connor Ross forced a turnover in the neutral zone and dangled in to beat the goalie over the blocker. Confidence returned to the Husky bench and chances followed with Nathan Gerber getting a decent shot before the buzzer ended the frame. The third period had hardly begun when a solid body check against Damian Naylor sent him to the dressing room with a season-ending injury. It was fuel to the fire for the Huskies who rallied and took the play into the offensive zone. Just was again on his game with a stretch pass to Canden Addley who was racing to the net. He waited out the goalie as he sped across the crease and backhanded it in to establish a 2-goal lead. The Rage struck back minutes later on a defensive end turnover sending the message that this game was still up for grabs. The tension ratcheted up at the 3-minute mark when the Huskies took a minor for slashing and Plattsville put everything on the line. With the clock winding down, they pulled their goalie but the Dogs put the nail in the coffin. Dylan Hempey, working hard along the boards, got the puck over the blue line where a Rage player misplayed it. Ross secured another turnover and buried the biscuit on a long shot to the empty net to take the 4 -2 win. The contest for a 2nd place round-robin finish is a 3-way foot race between the 3 New Hamburg teams and the LL3s are hoping to be the team that takes that slot. This win will go a long way to helping.