Wolverines look to take the High Land

Without Greg Delano, the Highlanders were short a great scorer, but their team was never just a single player, and they were looking to prove that as their 2nd place team was taking on a Wolverines team that finished 7th but had been trending in the right direction.  

 

Surprisingly, the Wolverines didn’t just get the opening goal, they did it 29 seconds in as Jeff Snow took a cross crease pass from Rohan Dempsey.  The upset talk was starting immediately, and the Highlanders looked unfazed by it.  They just kept going at the Wolverines in waves, spurred on by an early power-play.  The wall they were running into was Playoff Speight, looking to take the name from last year’s “playoff Pate”.  Speight was being forced into making a lot of good saves, and he was up to the task.  We had another exciting game on our hands as the pressure was being in out the best in people.  Every puck was being fought for tooth and nail.  

 

Mya Ferguson wanted to clear the puck in her own end and she fanned on the pass with Ryan Clarke pressuring,  he stole the puck and took a shot.  Logan made the save but the second rebound went back to Clarke to the left of Logan and Clarke just missed the gaping net.  Mya had a sigh of relief.

 

Only one penalty box was going to open in the first and Josh Stevens was next to go sit down.  David Lacey dropped to the point on the power-play, hoping his shot would be less likely to miss high and wide from that distance,  he was right.  He took a number of shots which generated chances in front, but no-one could beat Ashton who had dialled himself in, and the Wolverines killed their second penalty of the period.

 

Josh Stevens entered the Wolverines zone, then he cut across just inside the blue line and ripped a wrister.  It beat Logan MacLean under the glove to make it 2-0 with 6:19 to go.  That made up for his penalty.

 

Dorian Brooks had a good scoring chance with time to the left of Speight but Speight denied two shots in a row to keep a clean sheet.

 

With 3:45 to go, Tyler Wotton and Jeff Snow battled for a puck to the left of Logan MacLean.  Both players went to the ice with Snow’s knee bending in an unnatural way and he lay on the ice for a minute before heading to the bench and taking his helmet off to deal with the pain.

 

Brock Bethune came up the right wing for the Highlanders and as he skated, Derek Hale swung and missed on a check and he put his head right into the elbow of Brock, who hadn’t adjusted course.  Hale did a 360 spin as Brock then took a shot that just missed the top corner.  It was Carter Nickerson with the next head shot, taking down Chris Ryder while fighting for a puck.  The collision got Carter into the box for a double minor, and Ryder was off to the dressing room to fix a broken helmet.

 

No goals for the Highlanders to finish the period on the PP, but they would still have the man advantage going into the second.  It wouldn’t matter, they couldn’t score on that half of the power-play either.

 

The Wolverines were leading and not sitting back.  Andrew MacDonald won a puck battle on the left wing boards by the has marks, and Jamie Richard called for the pass.  Thinking Andrew would look him off from the opposite boards, everyone was wrong.  Andrew threw a backhand pass across the width of the zone.  Jamie went to a knee to make sure he got the pass on the right wing boards, and then settled the puck, winding up a slapshot with Carter Nickerson in front.  MacLean made the save and Carter batted the rebound out of the air and in.  It was 3-0 for the Wolverines with 14:38 to play.

 

Would the Highlanders get upset AND fail to even score?  No. They wouldn’t go down without a fight.  Carter Nickerson had a breakaway and Logan wasn’t quitting, he made a big blocker save.  Then just moments later, Brock Bethune would get the puck in the Highlanders zone and he fired a wrist shot that beat the glove of Speight.  3-1 with 13:15 left.  Plenty of time for a comeback.

 

With all that time, the teams just went all in.  There were no great chances, until one that looked like a dead play.  Keith Webb through the puck towards the net and somehow it got to Chris Ryder who’s backhander seemed to go around Speight on the ice and in.  3-2 with 5:36 left, an unlikely shorthanded goal.  The intensity ratcheted up.

 

After a first period with only Wolverines penalties, the Highlanders were spending more time in the box in the second, until Jamie Richard went to the box with 4:25 to go.  Bryce Hirtle took a clapper on the PP which was stopped, but Brock Bethune had a good rebound chance and nearly scored, but hit the wrong netting, the stuff over the glass.  Rohan Dempsey had a chance shorthanded, but he was closed in on and didn’t get a great shot.

 

There were only 3 seconds left on the penalty kill when there was a bad giveaway right to Keith Webb.  Webb didn’t squander the chance and he beat Speight five-hole to tie the game with just 2:25 to go.  After leading for nearly the entire game, the Wolverines had fucked it up and were tied.

 

David Lacey had a good chance with 1:50 to go, but Speight denied him the series winner, and we were going to the shootout, the Highlanders electing to go second.

 

Rohan Dempsey went first, and as he got in close, he lost control, forcing a spinning backhander which Logan stopped easily.

 

Keith Webb was first for the Highlanders and he tried shooting to the left as he cut tight, but Ashton got his blocker on the shot.  The puck went up into the air and nearly dropped into the net, but went just wide.

 

Scott Stewart came in and deked to the left but MacLean follow him and made the save as Stewart tried five hole.

 

Brock Bethune came in and deked to the backhand.  He looked to have Speight beaten, but his shot missed wide of the net.  Still no goals after 2 shooters each.

 

Josh Stevens was up third for the Wolverines.  He came in and shot over the glove of Logan, popping the water bottle and putting the pressure on the Highlanders to score.

 

Connor LeBlanc got the tap on the shoulder and he came in with speed, forcing Ashton to back up as the deke to the backhand came, but it didn’t get elevated enough and Speight made the save to secure the big upset win for the Wolverines.

 

The Wolverines will face the Falcons at 9:00 on Wednesday night in round 2 of the playoffs.