I-Heads Knock Off Bulldogs in OT Thriller
By Drew McMillin
It took an extra ten minutes of play, but the Ironheads finally exorcised some long-festering demons. For the first time since 2006, they topped the Halton Hills Bulldogs with an 11-9 overtime win at the Ajax Community Centre Wednesday night.
The I-Heads attack was led by Mike Berger’s six-goal effort, including two in overtime, which ties a club record for tallies in a single game, and brings his team-leading total to nine on the season.
“The shots were just dropping tonight,” Berger said about his historic night. “I was feeling hot, picked out the goalie’s weaknesses and just went from there.”
Berger has wasted no time developing chemistry with the likes of Cyle Ropson and Declan Conlon, each of whom picked up five points of their own in the contest.
West Durham benefited from the returns of Ryan Morrison and Branden Hunt, each making his first 2017 start with the club since returning from successful college campaigns at UMass Lowell and Alderson Broadus University, respectively. The leadership of both veterans was evident throughout the night.
Morrison contributed early with two goals in the first and a fight in the second that seemed to inject some energy into his team after a three-goal lead was erased by the Bulldogs on three-straight powerplay goals. Hunt was a vocal leader on the bench all evening, working to keep the I-Heads focused after giving up multi-goal leads on three different occasions throughout the game.
That veteran leadership will be key for West Durham as they continue a stretch of four games in eight days. With a three-game win streak in the works, Berger stressed the importance of not letting the momentum go to their heads.
“If we can just keep positive like this instead of getting cocky,” Berger said, “just stay confident and keep playing like we are, I think we’re looking food for the season.”
That season continues Friday night, as the I-Heads take their 3-1 record into Oakville, looking for their best five game start to a season since going 5-0 to kick off the 2015 campaign.
