It was a hotly contested affair Sunday afternoon in Paisley between the Saugeen Shores Novices Tm#1 and the Ice-Dogs. A ten minute overtime left the teams tied at 2 but the point was enough to advance each team into the finals.
Saugeen Shores opened up the scoring when Spencer Sutter-Lammie put it past the Ice-Dog goalie at 4:42 of the first period assisted by Kaya Hall and Ray Hou. With both goaltenders making tough saves on the small ice surface, the Ice-Dogs finally tied it up at 8:08 of the second period. Saugeen Shores were given ample chances to go back into the lead. Kaya, Ray and Spencer both missed glorious opportunities throughout the period but it was Arran-Elderslie who took advantage of a loose puck in the crease to bang in their second with under a minute left in the period.
The third period was exciting. The Saugeen Shores defence and forwards kept the Ice-Dogs at bay while at the other end good goaltending and strong backchecking kept Saugeen Shores off the scoresheet. At the 4:25 mark an Ice-Dog was called for tripping but off the faceoff the referee evened up the numbers by immediately calling a roughing penalty to Kaya Hall. Playing four aside opened up the ice and at 3:09 Braydyn Root fed Spencer who broke in alone and lifted one over the sprawling goalie to tie the game at two. Kaya Hall came out of the penalty box at 2:19 and outskated the defencemen to the puck. He deked the goalie but the puck slid off his stick as he was about to deposit it into the open corner for the possible win. There was no let up on either side but with only 47 seconds left in regulation time the referee called a double penalty on Saugeen Shores. Kaya Hall for body checking and Blake Shields for roughing. These three penalties against Saugeen Shores were the first penalties by the team in league and playoff games this year! Time out was called by Saugeen Shores. A few words of wisdom and two minutes later Saugeen Shores had weathered the 5 on 3 powerplay and for the remainder of regulation and overtime the puck travelled up and down the ice. Both teams had great chances. Keyanna Kimewon and Mercedes Roote both shot wide from point blank and in their own zone the defence of Hunter Barnard, Amber Gallie, Blake Shields and Ray Hou were unwavering and Jolina McLean bore down, positioning her body in front of every shot. At the buzzer there was no loser. Although both teams each have a game left in their round robin, with the tie each team advances to the championship final best 2 out of 3 series. Dates TBA. For her staunch defensive play, Amber Gallie was presented the team Digger Award. Final round robin game Wednesday 9th March at 7pm in Southampton vs Saugeen Shores Team #2.