Friday, March 6, 2015 the
Scotiabank Bantam LL team played game 5 of their round robin playoff series on
their home ice against the Wingham Ironmen.
With just two games left and only one loss to date, they knew they still
needed to play hard and get this win tonight.
It was an evenly matched game all night. The puck put on many miles as it travelled from end to end stopping for a few face offs here and there, but didn`t manage to make it past either goalie during the entire first period. The buzzer sounded and the puck lay still on the ice with the scoreboard showing 0 to 0.
Period two was pretty much a carbon copy of period one. Until Wingham decided to take the puck for a ride and shot on our net with only a few minutes left on the clock and took the lead. They maintained that lead for the rest of the period and it ended 1 to 0 for Wingham.
The puck had a bit of a rest while the ice was being tidied up. It sat there quietly contemplating its next move when suddenly the ref snatched it up from its resting place and, ouch, he smacked that puck down on the ice hard for the start of the third period face off. Off it flew attached to Zeke KOERT`s stick. Like a whirlwind it danced around Wingham`s net and 33 seconds later Jake MONDEN shot the puck right past their goalie scoring their first goal and tying up the game. The assist went to KOERT. Moments later the puck was off again. It had no favourites, it was just out there to play hockey. It was willing to go wherever it was directed. A few minutes later, a Wingham player took control of the eager puck and scored on us, unassisted, taking back their earlier lead. Like a ping pong game, the teams took turns scoring on each other`s nets, so naturally the next goal should belong to Mitchell. And it did. With less than five minutes on the clock KOERT scored the equalizer assisted by Jackson MACARTHUR. The fans went wild, but they needed the win and there wasn`t much time left. Despite several efforts made by both teams, that puck refused to enter either net, and the period ended 2 to 2.
The puck sure was getting a workout tonight as it was now entering into overtime minutes. First team to score wins. As the clock counted backwards from 10:00 it was hard to know which net the puck would enter first. The game continued to be an even match, so when MACARTHUR sailed towards Wingham`s net and delivered that tired puck right between the pipes the Mitchell boys breathed a sigh of relief and celebrated this much needed win. Eric DEARING assisted with the winning goal. Both goalie`s played an awesome game tonight saving several shots on their respective nets. The puck packed up his things and called it a night adding another great game of hockey under his belt.
Game 6 is in Teeswater on Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 5pm. It will be a nail biter. The Mitchell boys would love to hear their fans in the stands cheering them on for the win. So if you`re not too busy, we`ll save a seat for you!