HURRICANES EVEN SERIES AT 2-2
Elliott Burlon’s (photo credit - Michael DiCarlo/OJHL Images) two goals paced the Newmarket Hurricanes to a 3-2 win over the Kingston Voyageurs in game four of their OJHL North-East Conference Championship at the Ray Twinney Complex in Newmarket on Tuesday night. The series has now become a “Best-of-Three” affair, tied at two games apiece.
A very similar game to Sunday’s game three in Kingston, but with the roles reversed; the Vees started strong, taking an early lead, but saw the home side come back strong to take the victory.
While the ‘Canes weren’t as dominant as Kingston was on Sunday, they were the better team on this night.
Kingston came out flying, carrying over their strong play from Sunday and took an early 1-0 lead at the 4:16 mark on Michael Shug’s third of the post-season. Momentum changed just past the halfway point of the period when Burlon notched his first goal at 10:08. Shots in the opening stanza were even at 11-11.
The Hurricanes held a big edge in play in the second period, outshooting Kingston 14-8 and taking a 3-1 lead into the dressing room. Burlon netted his second of the night, fifth of the playoffs, at 9:35 and then the eventual game winner came shorthanded at 19:42 via the stick of Daniel Leavens with his team-leading ninth of the post season.
Period three was a busy one for the officials as tempers flared and play deteriorated into a series of penalties and after-the-whistle scrums. The Vees narrowed the gap to one in the final minute with a power play marker courtesy of defenceman Brett Du Puy at the 19:12 mark with netminder Charlie Finn pulled, but they were not able to produce anything else offensively in the final minute. Shots in the third were 14-6 in favour of Newmarket and 39-25 overall for the Hurricanes on the night.
Brandon Francisco and Kyler Nixon joined Burlon as multi-point getters for the Canes, each recording a pair of assists.
Matt Wintjes made 23 saves to record the win for Newmarket, while Finn was superb, stopping 36 shots in a losing effort.
Game five is in Kingston at the Invista Centre on Thursday, April 4 at 7pm and game six is back in Newmarket at the Ray Twinney Complex on Saturday, April 6 with a 7:30pm puck drop.
For a full game summary, please CLICK HERE.
North-East Conference Championship
Game One Newmarket 2 @ Kingston 3 (OT) (KIN leads series 1-0)
Game Two Kingston 0 @ Newmarket 1 (Series tied 1-1)
Game Three Newmarket 1 @ Kingston 3 (Kingston leads series 2-1)
Game Four Kingston 2 @ Newmarket 3 (Series tied 2-2)
Game Five Newmarket @ Kingston Apr. 4, 7:00pm
Game Six Kingston @ Newmarket Apr. 6, 7:30pm
Game Seven Newmarket @ Kingston Apr. 8, 7:00pm (if necessary)
