NEWS

Toronto, ONT. - So, it is another Game 7.

This Southwest Conference Final series between the Toronto Patriots and Georgetown Raiders has had enough twists and turns to make one dizzy, so perhaps the fact that it is going the distance is fitting.

Facing elimination last night in Georgetown, the Pats won 6-4 in a game that served as microcosm of the whole series so far.

Toronto scored four times in under 10 minutes in the first period, with league playoff scoring leader Dante Spagnuolo scoring once and assisting twice over that span.

“We’re definitely an up-tempo team that is used to getting on the scoresheet early and often,” said Toronto assistant captain Graeme MacLean post-game.

“I think especially in our series against Oakville, we grew as a team and learned how to play a lot better defensively. I think we’re pretty comfortable in all sorts of games, whether it’s a big run-and-gun game, or not, we have gotten better at different types of games.”

But the Raiders have been known as a never-say-die type of team for years, and three goals in a dominating middle frame brought the home squad back on terms at four by the 13:21-mark.

Just as it was scripted, though, it was the former Raider Michael Boushy who burned his old team, poking the puck off a Georgetown defender on a penalty kill, and slipping his breakaway finish five-hole on Raider net minder Troy Timpano.

“Yeah it was a great feeling,” MacLean said.

“From where we were on the bench, it was really tough to tell if it was in or not. But seeing the ref point out that it was a goal was awesome. A really clutch moment.”

Spagnuolo got his second goal and fourth point of the night into the empty net, after Tyler Fassl had made a bevy of game-saving stops late in the third period.

So, it is Game 7.

Both clubs face the do-or-die situation for the second straight series.

Toronto needed seven to beat the No. 4 seeded Oakville Blades in Round 2, while Georgetown came back from down 3-1 in games, and 3-0 on the scoreboard in Game 7 itself, to take down the No. 3 North York Rangers.

As a result of finishing first overall in the Ontario Junior Hockey League this year, the Pats will get home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs, which significantly means that all Game 7s will be played at Westwood Arena.

Toronto has never been eliminated from a playoff series at home since the move to Westwood Arena for the Buckland Cup championship winning 2013-14 campaign.

Tuesday night’s contest will be the club’s third Game 7 over that span, with the 2014-15 Buckland Cup Final being won 6-1 over the Kingston Voyageurs on Apr. 22, 2015, and that last series 8-3 victory vs. the Oakville Blades on March 25, 2018. All three of those games were played at Westwood.

“(Facing Oakville in Game 7 last round) really was a hugely important experience for us to have,” said MacLean.

“(It was good for all of us to feel) the whole day before the game, and the day of the game, to have our stomachs turning, thinking about how big of a moment it was. I think we all had that same feeling, and everybody was so ready, so prepared. It was the closest we had to a full 60 minutes in the playoffs, and I feel like we’re all on the same page for this one too.”

The Raiders won all three Game 7s that it played in over that same time period, beating Buffalo in Round 1 in 2015, the Trenton Golden Hawks in the final last year, and North York in Round 2 of this season; but all three of those games were played in Georgetown. The last four Game 7s the Raiders have played have been in Georgetown, in fact, with the conference final being lost on home ice to the eventual Buckland Cup runners up Stouffville Spirit on March 31, 2012.

“We’re a back against the wall type of team, we never seem to do things the easy way,” added MacLean.

“So Tuesday is the perfect moment for us to step up and play our game.”

Game 7 is set for Tuesday, April 10 at 7:30 PM at Westwood Arena in Etobicoke, Ont. - Jamie Neugebauer

Photo courtesy OJHL Images