Firefighter Peewees grab early lead on Muskies
PORT PERRY – Owing to a municipal labor dispute, Lindsay Muskies were forced to offer Port Perry as their ‘home ice’ for the first two games of the best-of-five ‘BB’ championship series.
The Firefighter Peewees and family members travelled via coach bus for the weekend games, commuting to Port Perry from a Whitby hotel.
St. Marys 7 Lindsay 2
Muskies, having enjoyed a very successful season and playoffs—not unlike the strong Rock team—were sure to be worthy adversaries for this final.
Game 1 was held Saturday evening and started off well with a point shot off the stick of Brett Stacey that found the mesh through traffic in front of
the Lindsay goaltender. As both teams sized one another up, the coaches were
assessing their line match-ups.
The second period started off with a bang, a big, booming Braydon Blight
blast that deflected in off a Muskie defender for a 2-0 lead.
After Lindsay replied with a goal of their own a few minutes later, Tyson
Baker took a nice set-up from Jared Zufelt and restored the two-goal St.
Marys edge.
Midway through the period, Michael Siddall whipped in a quick wrister to
boost the tally to 4-1. Pressing hard when the second and third lines were
on the ice, Muskies managed another goal on netminder Hunter Bodenham less
than a minute later.
The Rock were noticeably out-shooting the Muskies, but their goalie was
holding up well so there was still a sense of tension in the air while the
Zamboni was resurfacing the ice.
Left winger Baker must have had some Red Bull in his water bottle as he came
out on fire for the third, scoring in the first minute and then again on his
second shift to complete his hat trick! The protective netting in arenas
today really takes away from fan exuberance over hat tricks!
Strong defence at the blue line and alert goaltending by Bodenham for the
remainder of the period kept the scoring unanswered. The final goal of the
third came off the stick of Gregory Swan, assisted by Derek Van De Walle,
closing the scoring at 7-2.
The parents of the Lindsay team hosted the Rock group to a very nice
reception in an arena room, much appreciated and enjoyed by the famished
crowd from St. Marys. The hockey moms immediately began to plot how the
SMMHA will reciprocate the courtesy.
St. Marys 1 Lindsay 1
(Overtime)
Following a curfew-imposed restful sleep, the Firefighter Peewees were
enjoying breakfast when a fellow guest suffered a heart attack. Parents Jim
Siddall and Jeff Stacey’s quick application of CPR helped the gentleman
until paramedics arrived.
As one could imagine, this activity cast a pall upon all those present and
made everyone reflect on this knowledge and training on how to assist in
these situations.
By mid-afternoon, the Rock were starting to think about hockey again and
arrived in Port Perry for Game 2 ready to ‘Rock’ and roll. With goaltender
Kent Taylor still in recovery mode from a recent illness, Bodenham was again
called on for another strong performance protecting the mesh.
He was tested early by a Muskie left winger who went east when our
defenceman’s hip went west, letting him right in on net. A quick right toe
save provided the fans with relief.
Next play, Baker criss-crossed with Siddall in the neutral zone and then
swept down the right wing, holding the defender off with his left arm a la
Gordie Howe, while passing out one-handed to Siddall in the slot. The puck
evaded ‘Sid the Kid’, but a trailing Zufelt drilled a beautie of a snap shot
that just missed. Van De Walle had a good shot and a better rebound, but
similarly was closed down by the Muskie puck-stopper.
The first period closed 0-0 despite many scoring opportunities for the Rock.
In the St. Marys net, Bodenham had to be sharp on the screen shots coming in
for him ‘special delivery’.
More shots by the Rock defence and forwards either found leather or were
directed toward the goalie’s spleen, making him look real good or real
lucky. Lady Luck shone on Lindsay with two minutes to go in the second
period when a shot wide of the net was inadvertently deflected into the St.
Marys net.
This ‘unearned run’ seemed to motivate the Rock to push even harder in the
third stanza. On one play, Siddall poked the puck to Baker at centre. Baker
strode in at full speed and must have appeared very imposing to the
diminutive Muskie goalie as he drove straight in like a runaway truck.
Baker tucked the puck up at the netminder at the last minute and the fellow
juggled it as he fell back into the net, giving Firefighters the tying goal.
Next shift, Blight tried the same sort of approach and narrowly missed. At
the other end, with two players in the hoosegow, Bodenham had to make a
couple of big saves.
When back at even strength again, Zufelt pulled an Amazing Kreskin pass off
to Mike Siddall, correctly predicting where he would be speeding through an
empty area of ice.
The St. Marys captain let go a dramatic slap shot from the ringette line. A
flash of glove in front of the open corner and the Lindsay fans had another
chance to cheer.
The third period closed with the score tied 1-1, but with shots in favour of
St. Marys, 32-12.
In the 10-minute overtime, Muskies were like their namesakes: hard to reel
in. Both teams were working hard and it was exciting hockey, but it ended in
a rather unsatisfying 1-1 tie.
In OMHA playdowns, both teams are awarded a point for a tie, leaving
Firefighters with a 3-1 lead in the six-point final.
Upcoming: Games 3 and 4 are scheduled for the Pyramid Recreation Centre this
Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m.