Mar 06, 2017 | pdavis | 669 views
Round Robin Playoffs 2016/17
PLAYOFFS 2016/17
The Lindsay Muskies Teal team had a fantastic regular season..finishing with a record of 19-7-3; for a total of 41 points.
It was determined that the top 3 teams in the 2nd half of the season for Atom Tier 1 would play a home/home Round Robin playoff format.
The top two teams from the Round Robin would then move on to play a best of 3 series for the A Championship.
The Mariposa Lightning Blue, Brock Township Red and our Lindsay Muskies Teal finished in the top 3 for the 2nd half of the season and would play the Round Robin to see who would move on to the A Championship series.
Game 1 vs Brock (Feb 16, 2017)
It was another snowy drive to downtown Cannington for the 1st game of our Muskies Round Robin.
The Brock team would prove to be the most improved team year over year and was coming into the playoffs very strong and confident.
The 1st half of the season Brock was 2-12-2 and the 2nd half saw their record improve to 6-6-2....of that they were 3-1-1 in their last five which would take them into the playoffs with confidence.
The puck dropped just after 7pm and the teams appeared to be evenly matched in the first few minutes of play.
The Wild would strike first with 2:23 played in the 1st period with a melee in front of our net and a squeaker past our goalie. 1-0 Brock
With 3:18 played in the 1st period our Muskies worked their way into the Wild end and started to put on a little pressure. The Brock defence tried to clear the zone by firing the puck up the left boards...Jack E. stopped the clearing attempt and fired the puck on net.
The Wild goalie managed to make a stop but the rebound came right onto the stick of Josh G. who buried the puck into the empty side of the net. 1-1
With 6.2 seconds left in the game...Jack E. fired the puck up the right boards in our end and Ian K. took the puck and managed to deke past the defence and moved in on the Wild goalie before sniping it just under his glove hand. 2-1 Muskies !!!
The 2nd period was again a back and forth affair with both teams getting their opportunities but only one team would capitalize.
With 1:35 played in the 2nd, the Wild moved down the ice and managed to slide one past our goalie to tie the game up at 2-2
With only 2:12 to play in the 2nd period, the Wild fired a puck on the net and were able to bury the rebound just over the blocker side of our goaltender. 3-2 Brock.
The 3rd period was one of frustration as the Brock netminder made stop after stop and our Muskies seemed to be getting frustrated and the passing was decreasing and thus, the scoring opportunities were limited.
With 6:57 left to play in the 3rd...Jackson Q. took the puck in the neutral zone and moved it into the Brock zone before wiring a puck at the net. The Wild goalie made the first save and Tyler P. hustled to the rebound and fired it over the blocker hand and into the twine. 3-3!!!!!!!!
Both teams would have their chances to win the game but both goalies made stellar saves and the 1st game of the Round Robin for our Muskies ended in a tie 3-3
Game 2 vs Mariposa (Feb 18, 2017)
The first game against Mariposa would take place on Pad 2 of the Lindsay Rec Centre. Our Muskies had a record this season of 6-1-0 on Pad 2 and most parents cringed at having to play on that ice...it witnessed some games that we would like to have forgot this season.
Although the parents did not like the idea of playing on Pad 2...our Muskies were ready to play and were pumped the second their blades hit the ice.
Both teams came out on fire and the play went back and forth and end to end with the goalies for both teams making big stops.
With 3:24 left to play in the 1st period...the Lightning managed to get on the board first with a buried rebound on the right side of the net. 1-0 Mariposa
Our Muskies were not going to let Pad 2 get them down on this day!
21 seconds after the Lightning took the lead...Jackson Q. fired the puck up the boards to Josh G. who moved down the ice and into the Mariposa zone. He fired the puck on net and the rebound came right out to Owen D. who fired the puck bar down and tied the game at 1-1!!!!
Our Muskies were fired up and the defence of Jackson Q, Jack E., Tyson N., and Steven T. were unflappable and managed to keep the shots at a minimum and dealt with any and all rebounds that came their way.
Our Muskie goaltenders made save after save and stood on their heads and kept the puck out of the net with clock running out.
There was no scoring in the 2nd and the clock was ticking as the 3rd period was winding down as well.
What I will say next is a true story!!!!!!!
I turned to Todd O. and said that Owen V. was on fire this game and he was going to score the winning goal.
With just 1:55 left in the game; Owen V. raced down the left wing and into the Lightning zone. He moved in on the net and fired a perfect shot just under the glove hand of the Mariposa goalie....2-1 Lindsay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was a perfect shot!!!! The arena and the Muskie bench erupted in cheers!!!!!!
Josh O. had to finish the last 1:55 between the pipes...he made a couple of huge stops and gobbled up the puck to prevent any rebounds. Nothing was getting past our goalie at this juncture and as the buzzer went our players jumped onto the ice and celebrated a huge win....on Pad 2
Game 3 vs Mariposa (Feb 21, 2017)
Monday night in downtown Oakwood would be the site of the back end of the Home/Home with the Mariposa Lightning.
Our Muskies were coming off a huge win against the Lightning and were hoping to carry this forward to take a commanding lead in the Round Robin standings.
The puck dropped just after 7pm and the game would prove to be a back and forth affair with some interesting calls that resulted in 9 penalties being called.
Despite 7 penalties being called against the Lightning...our Muskies could not seem to get the puck past the Mariposa netminder.
Mariposa would manage to net 2 goals in the 2nd; that would prove to be the only scoring in the game.
Mariposa 2 Lindsay 0
Game 4 vs Brock (March 6, 2017)
Prior to the drop of the puck the points for the Round Robin were as follows:
Mariposa: 2-1-1=Opts
Lindsay: 1-1-1=3Pts
Brock: 0-1-2=2 Pts
Lindsay would need a Win or a Tie in order to move on to the finals with the Mariposa Lightning.
The arena was full as hockey fans from other Lindsay teams and other hockey centres arrived to watch this final showdown to see who would be moving on.
Many of the Mariposa parents showed up to see who they would be playing and for the most part they were cheering our Muskies on as they realized it would be a great final series.
The puck dropped at just after 6pm and the mood was tense with everyone realizing that this was a do or die game and losing was not an option.
The first period went back and forth with both teams having great opportunities to take a lead but the goalies on both ends managed to steer the rubber away from the net or swallow up any rebounds.
With just 2:01 left to play in the 1st period; Sammy T. ended up with the puck down the right side and wired it over the blocker and into the net..with helpers going to Kiera W. and Steven T. 1-0 Muskies!!!!!!!!
The Wild did not give up and they began to put some pressure on our Muskies as they sensed they needed a win to take our team out and advance to the finals.
With 1:58 played in the 2nd..Brock managed to tie the game with their best player getting in alone and firing it past our goalie. 1-1
The Wild continued to control the puck as the 2nd frame ticked down and with 1:35 left to play...they struck again and took the lead. 2-1 Brock.
The buzzer to end the 2nd sounded and Coach Jon and the staff called the kids over to the bench for a talk before the last period began.
Our Muskies were down to 10 minutes to tie or win the game for the privilege to move on to the finals against the Mariposa Lightning.
The parents were tense and nervous and I watched as many paced around the arena and some were restless in their seats.
With only 1:48 played in the 3rd period...Owen D. grabbed the puck in the left corner and passed the puck over to Connor S. in the slot. Connor fired a wrist shot over the net minders glove hand to notch the game at 2's! 2-2!!!!
The goal breathed life into our Muskies as their play improved with every shift.
The defence stood tall and kept the Wild players away from our net by controlling the puck in our end and getting it up the boards to our wingers.
With 2:10 left in the game...Tyson N. took the puck from behind our net and passed the puck to Sammy T. Sammy crossed our blueline and saw Owen V. busting up the left side and hit him with a perfect pass.
Owen V. went wide on the left side and then cut in and fired the puck on the net and wired it over the Wild goalies blocker. For a split second the arena went dead quite as if it took everyone that extra second to realize what had just happened.
Watching the twine bend from the puck hitting the back of it was almost surreal.....Owen V. had done it again. Two crucial game winning goals in the Round Robin that would propel our Muskies forward.
The 2:10 ticked down quickly and seemed like a complete blur; we needed a tie to move to the finals but a win was so much sweeter.
Mariposa and Lindsay tied for top spot with 5 Pts but the Lightning would take the top spot due to the tiebreaker of goal differential.
The best of 3 series would begin March 19 on Pad 1 of the Lindsay Rec Centre!!!!!
GO MUSKIES