Another Battle Between the Osprey and Aurora in Game 2

After the first 1 goal game of the entire season, the Aurora and Osprey were prepping for another tight checking game on Thursday night, and another tight game they got.

Both teams came out with some jump in their step but the defending was strong.  It was the Osprey with what the initial scoring chance of the game after Matt Gendron blocked a clearing attempt and followed the puck to the corner, you know the corner, the one with the wonky door that kicks pucks out into the slot. Ya, that corner.  When he got there, he grabbed the puck and turned and fired a pass to Keaton Hicks in front.  If the puck had gotten through, it would have been a goal, but Jonny Prall made the smart play by getting his stick on the puck and deflecting it over the blade of Hicks.  The first chance for the Aurora went to Shane Whitman as he came in to the left of the net and fired a shot that was gloved down by Dan Theuerkauf.

Jamie Richard would take the puck off the wall in the Aurora end and find Garrett Murray speeding through the centre towards the slot.  The pass was a good one and Garrett was instantaneously alone with only Prall in front of him.   A little leg kick and a shot from Murray, the puck going under the right arm and off the inside of Prall's blocker and into the back of the net to give the Osprey an early 1-0 lead, just 4 and a half minutes in.

There was no letting up from the Osprey, and their edge in play was starting to look like the difference maker, but without any more conversions, Leighton Yeo picked his spot to make a move, and then he would pick his spot with the puck, beating the Osprey netminder on the blocker side to level the score just 9 seconds after an Aurora power play had ended, their first of two in the period.

In front of the Osprey net in the middle of a battle, Dave Matthews took a bad high stick to the face and was leaking enough to warrant a trip for stitches at the end of the night, but he stayed in the game.  There was no call on the play and the Osprey were getting worked up.  The score was tied but they were leading in penalty minutes 4-0 after 1.

An Osprey injury to Jamie Richard on the same play as he took a puck to the helmet (not the injury), put the Osprey down a man for the second and their chemistry was impacted a bit.  They also continued their PIM lead when Joey Richard took a holding call 90 seconds into the period, then Keaton Hicks took a head contact penalty as the Aurora saw back to back power plays.  Despite some good puck possession and shots that turned into difficult saves, it remained a tie game.  

Leighton Yeo was sprung for a breakaway and looked to beat Theueurkauf with a deke, but Dan stretched out the leg to deny him, and we played on tied a little longer.

The Osprey used their goaltender's solid play as fuel as they continued to hold the bulk of the play 5 on 5.  After a nice defensive play to thwart a Shane Whitman chance. Joey Richard took the puck from his own end and rushed up the right side towards the Aurora zone.  He spotted Garrett Murray trailing the play and dropped the puck to him as he crossed the blue line.  Murray spotted Matt Gendron at the right side of the goal and fed a pass to him.  Prall was sliding from his right to his left and went for the poke check, but Gendron slid the puck under Prall's stick as he went across the crease, and tucked the puck home around the goalie's legs to give the Osprey the 2-1 lead with 8:25 left to play.

The Aurora weren't panicking, but they were getting nervous.  Goals had been hard to come by.  The very next shift, Matt Gendron took the puck up ice with George Murray chasing him down.  Gendron knew he would have a hard time beating George and dropped the puck to Keaton Hicks.  Hicks had 2 Aurora draped all over him and then George Murray came into the mix.  Between the three of them, they took Hicks down hard and he crashed into the boards, hurting his shoulder.  Mike Bourgeois ended up being the man picked to be called for a penalty on the play, though it could have been him, Webb p, or Murray, and the Aurora found themselves down a man for the first time in the game.  The Osprey could have added some insurance, but that wasn't meant to be.

Mat McLeod took a high sticking call, the 5th Osprey penalty of the game, and the Aurora went back to the power play.  This time, they found the magic, as Brandon Crowell stepped off the half boards as his checker turned the wrong direction.  Crowell made no mistake as he rifled a wrister above the stick and through the pads of the goalie to tie it up with just 3:24 to go.

Then, just because the Aurora love late drama, Andrew Salah took a seat in the sin bin to give the Osprey a power play with 1:33 left.  They couldn't generate much but as the final seconds ticked off the clock, Nathan Bessey fired a shot that Prall saved, but it went up and over him.  From the bench it was hard to tell where the puck would land and as it dropped down behind Prall, the rink held its collective breath as we waited to hear the buzzer and see the landing place of the puck.  Relief for the Aurora as the whole bench sighed when the puck went over the crossbar and behind the net as it would have been in just before the buzzer.  Instead, this game was heading to a shootout.

The Osprey, having finished higher in the standings, chose to shoot first.  Joey Richard was tapped to shoot and he came from the left side and Prall tracked him as he waited for a hole to open.  Aiming high he missed the net. No goal 0-0

Leighton Yeo for the Aurora came in on their first shot and faked a cut across the net and as Theueurkauf bit on the move, he came back to the right and slid it in. Goal. 0-1

Garrett Murray was next and as he skated in, Prall crouched expecting to have to follow a deke, but seeing a lot of open net, snapped a shot to the open glove side. Goal. 1-1

Tyler Selvet came in and seeing some space, went 5-hole, but it was closed up quickly. No goal. 1-1

Matt Gendron went in and faked a backhand and went back to the forehand but there was no space as Prall got the pad down. No goal. 1-1

Shooter 6 with the game in his hands, was Brandon Crowell of the Aurora.  Crowell came in slowly, arcing out wide to the left then drifting into the centre.  He decided to shoot and Theueurkauf kicked out his left pad as the shot came in.  His foot elevated about 6" off the ice and the puck went right underneath his heel and into the back of the net as Crowell sheathed his sword and celebrated with his teammates.

This most epic of Nomad Hockey League battles, will continue on Tuesday at 9:30 at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth.  Tickets are $5 in advance or $10 at the door...or it's free, but it would be worth the price if you had to pay, because it's all on the line.