After a cancellation of
game three in Erin-Hillsburgh last weekend due to the weather, the two teams
got together Friday, January 31st at the Plex. With all the
weather cancellations of ice time, or half-practices” when they could get on
the ice with some of the team players, the BDO Dunwoody midgets came out flat. Thirteen seconds into the game the visitors were up
1-0 on a break-away goal, which was not a good sign. Three minutes later
Erin-Hillsburgh was up 2-0, and before the end of the first period the Devils
had a commanding 4-0 lead, the third goal a power play goal.
The second period went better for the home team, if holding the Devils to only two goals was considered an improvement. One of the goals came on a power play for the visiting team. The start of the third period saw Saugeen Shores get their first full man-advantage without an overlapping home team penalty and fifteen seconds into the power play they broke the two period shutout the Devil’s goalie had going when Taylor Schihl fired the puck into the net on a pass-out from Troy Contois at the side of the net. The home team play was better for the period but too late to really get back into the game. The visitors were also sitting on their lead so there was not as much pressure in the BDO end of the ice. Nearing the end of the game Erin-Hillsburgh had about six minutes of man-advantage time – the first four minutes Saugeen Shores killed off - but the next two minutes to kill was too much for the home team as the Devils scored to make it 7-1. Before the end of the game a big melee broke out on the ice that ended up with a couple of players from both teams being kicked out for the next two to five games.
Game four was scheduled the next day down in Erin at the Centre 2000 complex and the BDO Dunwoody midgets were playing for their OMHA play-down hopes to continue on to a game five. After the big loss the evening before I think the players had decided that they had nothing to lose and Erin-Hillsburgh had everything to lose as long as Saugeen Shores came out and played to win the game. The team came down on a bus and the players had some time to spend together and loosen up on the way down while Joan the bus driver safely got us to the arena. In the game at Centre 2000 before the midget’s game-time start, Saugeen Shores Atoms had just won their second game of a double header to take a 2-0 lead in their play-down series. This could only have given the midgets a further positive feeling towards the upcoming game.
The first period ended in a 0-0 draw with both teams having their chances to score. Ten seconds into the second period the BDO Dunwoody midgets opened the scoring with Stephen Pilar sliding the puck through the Devil’s goalie five-hole, assisted by Jordan Vanhaelemeesch. A minute and a half later, Harrison Alvarez threw the puck behind the home team’s net to Vanhaelemeesch, where he came out the other side with the puck and passed it to Jake Dawson who fired it quickly into the Devils goal to give Saugeen Shores a 2-0 lead. At the midway point of the middle frame, Erin-Hillsburgh scored to halve the BDO Dunwoody lead. Play got tenser after that and another melee occurred before a minute had gone by. This time after things were sorted out, Saugeen Shores ended up with one player kicked out and down a skater for two minutes. But the Saugeen Shores player’s spirits were still up, maybe even lifted higher and they were able to keep the Devils off their game for the remainder of the second period and go into the third period with a 2-1 lead. The break between the second and third period must have given the Devils some time to regroup and focus themselves as they came out strong in the final frame and Saugeen played a little flatter. BDO’s goalie Bryce Ribey kept up his steady play in this game, having already made some key stops throughout the match along with the support and advice from co-goaltender Joey Doyle to bolster his resolve. With about a minute and a half to go in the game, the Devils pulled their goalie for the extra skater and got some shot and chances but with 39 seconds left Josh Caley gathered up a loose puck and fired it off the glass and out of the BDO end. It landed and rolled on it’s edge all the way down into the empty Devil’s goal to give Saugeen Shores an insurance goal and eventually a 3-1 win to even the series at 2-2. The two teams will go head to head again on Thursday night, February 6th down in Erin at 7:15 pm for what could be the deciding game as to who goes on to the next round of the OMHA play-downs. Let’s hope our boys can keep the momentum going our way...