Ford Caribous Wins OT Thriller
Photo by: Paul Wright
The final game of the round robin had all eyes on it as the outcome would not only decide where Dundas and Clarenville finished in the standings, but also where Hamilton and Innisfail would place.
Clarenville struck first in the opening minute of the game when Brandon Bussey tipped in Liam Leonard’s shot past McCoys’ goalie Mike Mole. The Ford Caribous extended their lead almost ix minutes later when Leonard found the back of the net with a shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Dundas had multiple chances to get on the board but in one instance the net was dislodged and then with 30 seconds left in the frame they put one off the post.
The McCoys came out flying and needed just 11 seconds to get within a goal of Clarenville thanks to a shot from Mackenzie Wood from just below the far faceoff dot. Not long after, Wood could have evened the score but this tip when through the crease.
Nearing the midway point of the period, the Caribous regained their two-goal lead when Danny Wicks’ shot went off a Dundas skate and trickled past Mole who was sliding the other way. However, Wood scored his second of the night at 16:44 of the middle stanza when he grabbed a rebound and tucked it behind Clarenville’s AJ Whiffen.
You could feel a buzz in the Grightmire Arena as the teams came onto the ice for the third period, and the McCoys and Caribous didn’t disappoint with back-and-forth action. It wasn’t until the 6:04 mark of the period that Dundas’ Jake Goldberg found the top corner of the Caribous’ net to even the score at three. Clarenville would respond just over a minute later when Ryan Dawson gave his team the lead once again.
Dundas didn’t give up though and with 3:32 to go in regulation, Chris Campoli knocked down a high shot from the point and put it in evening the game once again and eventually forcing the first overtime period of the tournament.
There were few chances early on by either team to end the game in the extra period, until Kyle Tibbo collected a pass up the ice, broke away from the McCoys defense and scored the OT winner with 34.9 seconds remaining.
Boxscore: http://stats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?gameid=3624659
Friday night will see the Hamilton Steelers and the Dundas Real McCoys battle in the semi-final game at the J. L. Grightmire Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30pm. Saturday’s championship game will be played at 3:30pm and will be broadcast live locally by Cable 14 Hamilton and online at Cable14Now.com. The Championship game will feature the Clarenville Ford Caribous who received the bye to the final and will face the winner of the Friday’s game.
Upcoming Games
Friday, April 21
Semi-final – Hamilton Steeler vs Dundas Real McCoys at 7:30pm
Saturday, April 22
Championship – TBD vs Clarenville Ford Caribous at 3:30pm
