Mar 05, 2014 | SCorrigan | 600 views
Playoffs Rounds 1 & 2
This past weekend our division witnessed the first and second round games of the playoff round robin. There were some surprises, plenty of drama and intensity, and a host of close, hard fought games.
The playoffs formally got under way with a game between the Senators and Hurricanes on Saturday morning. The Hurricanes jumped out to an early 2-0 in the first lead thanks to a pair of defensive miscues, but were basically under siege for most of the period and they relied heavily on their goalie Aidan Fuller. The Senators pressure paid dividends in the second and the closed the gap thanks to a nice passing play form Cam Bonneville to Logan Kennedy. Still the Hurricanes' Tyrus Morissette stole the show with a hat trick. After a season of close losses or collapses in the third the Hurricanes won (4-2) and won when the games count for something.
The next game on the dock pitted the high scoring Blackhawks against the hard checking Penguins. A spate of injuries did not help the Penguins cause as they were forced to play without 3 regulars. To their credit they held their own thanks to solid defensive back checking by the Laking brothers and Eithan Da Costa. But the Blackhawks proved too strong. The team posted its second shutout of the season thanks to the combined efforts of its goalies, Sean Kennedy and Jackson Soucie, and they received enough offense from a familiar figure, Dylan Corrigan (1g, 3a). The final score, in a fairly even match, was 4-0.
The final game of the day on Saturday had the Devils face off against the Sharks. This was a well played, even match, right from the start. A scoreless first was broken open in the second when the Sharks received a pair of goals on nice shots from Matt Corriveau and Alex McAllister. With a 2-0 lead half way through the game the Sharks looked to be on their way to a win. But the Devils, as has so often been the case this year, proved resilient. A goal by Mitchell Fowlie just one minute after the Sharks took their 2-0 lead narrowed the gap. The Devils continued to press in the third and were rewarded with the tieing goal by Conor Jones with less than 3 minutes to play.
All teams were right back at it on Sunday and the first match was between the Sharks and Blackhawks. This was truly a see-saw affair. The Sharks led 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-3 and 5-4 at various stages. They were powered by a pair of goals from speedster Matt Corriveau and a beautiful end to end rush by defender Keiffer Wegener. Still the Blackhawks proved resilient and their offence relentless. Dylan Corrigan fought off some close checking to notch a pair but the biggest catalyst was Devon Taylor (2g, 2a). By the final buzzer the Blackhawks eked out a 6-5 come from behind win.
The second game between the Senators and the Devils had a pair of teams looking to get in the win column. This was a very close, tight checking game - in short, what you would expect in a playoff game. Early pressure by the Devils was brushed aside by the Senators goalie Jack Murphy, who was stellar all game. The Devils tandem of Dakota Bacchus and Reid Ortwein also faced their share of chances with plenty of traffic in front of the net. Half way through the third the scoreless tie was broken on a wicked shot by the Devil's Justin Willsie. With time ticking away it took a great individual effort from the Senators Cam Bonneville to slip around the Devil defenders and rifle the shot in to the net.
The final match saw the Penguins take on the Hurricanes. The Penguins, with a full roster this day, had a good deal more offensive bite as they were buzzing around the Hurricanes zone for a majority of the game. An early goal by Kaden Moco got them going in the right direction. A hatrick by Tyson Barnhardt saw the Penguins take a 2-0 and 4-2 lead at various stages of the game. Still, this is the playoffs and that means drama. The Hurricanes would not go quietly on this night. A hat trick once again by Tyrus Morissette brought them within striking distance. That is when Ethan Soares stepped up, scoring the tieing and winning goals late in the third for the Hurricanes.
It will be interesting to see this coming weekend if the kids can top the drama of this past weekend.