The Battle of the Mids

The big cats finished the season as the middle teams, the Lions in 4th, the Tigers in 5th, so statistically, this should be the tightest series of the bunch.  This is also the matchup with the oldest, some might even say ‘wisest’ captains.  Ok, maybe that would apply only for the way they drafted their room.

 

The first chance went to the Lions.  Dustin Hall backhanded a pass in front to Keith Webb who got a piece of the pass and redirected it just wide of the open cage.  The Tigers moved the play to the Lions end and Kurt Thibault backhanded a shot that Trevor Pate got a blocker on.  Dan Keays then made an end to end rush for the Tigers, eventually throwing a puck out front which ended up back at the point and on the stick of Corey Crewe.  Crewe wound up and his slapshot was stopped by the right pad of Pate as the game was starting to warm up a bit.

 

Connor Tousignant got a backhand off from a bad angle on a Lions 3 on 2, but Josh McCarther handled it easily.  Shane Whitman picked up the rebound and send the puck to Brandon Crowell. Crowell got into the lions zone and cut through the middle, releasing a shot as he hit the middle of the ice.  His shot went through the legs of Pate to give the Tigers the lead at 11:20 of the first.

 

There was a response from the Lions as they rushed into the Tigers zone.  Keith Webb made a move in tight and the shot was stopped, but Iain Duncan was there for the rebound and his backhand went off the bottom of the skate blade of Josh McCarther as he kicked out his foot and made just enough contact with the puck to send it wide of the net.

 

Andrew MacDonald took a shot from the high slot which Eric Blanchard got a piece of to deflect it over the net, but the puck dropped to Matt Gendron with an open net.  As Gendron swiped at the puck, it bounced and went right over his blade.  Matt would get another shot seconds later when the puck came back to him, but this time Mike McIsaac got his stick on the shot to deflect it wide, and then Gendron again with a one timer attempt but he fanned on it.  Then, after a foiled Eric Blanchard rush, Gendron led the Lions out on a 3 on 1.  He handed the puck off to Kyle Weatherbee on the left wing.  Kyle saw Andrew MacDonald skating to the back post and hit him with a pass, but it was on Andrew’s Backhand and he couldn’t manage to get the shot off as the Tigers dodged another bullet on this shift.

 

Mike McIsaac then got the puck and went up ice, breaking just a little free of his check, he took one of his heavy shots.  Trevor Pate made the save in his midsection but started sliding back to the goal line like the Hawks goalie in the Mighty Ducks when Fulton Reed’s shot put him through the net, but Pate reached out and grabbed the post so as not to keep going back, and the game stayed 1-0 Tigers.

 

Brandon Crowell had another good chance on goal as he picked up an errant pass in the Lions zone a turned up ice.  His wrister from the wing was caught by Pate as the low corner was picked.  Then Kurt Thibault was denied on a shot that looked like it would go in top blocker side.

 

The Lions shut down a Shane Whitman chance Taylor McKay knocked the puck away but it went off Kyle Weatherbee and back towards the net.  Pate was just putting his glove on it when Brandon Crowell stepped out from beside the net and poked it away, then swung the puck in around the netminder to give the Tigers a 2 goal cushion with 4:30 remaining in the opening frame.

 

Connor Tousignant took a spinning sliding shot that McCarther got with his pad, and then he swallowed up Stephen Warwick’s rebound chance too as the Lions struggled to find a way past the Tigers first round selection.

 

Kurt Thibault made a pass to Allan Beaton on a 2 on 1, and Allan got the shot off with Weatherbee slashing his stick.  The puck was going low corner but Pate got his toe on the shot to keep it out.  The Tigers kept control and got the puck to Norm Gallant at the point.  He went for the ‘no-move’ on Tousignant, but it failed, and Connor was on a 2 on 1 with Jarrett Carter.  The pass went across to Carter who threw the puck along the ice and through the five-hole of McCarther as the big save at one end, turned into a goal at the other.  Classic NHL.

 

The Lions went back at the Tigers again with Keith Webb and Dustin Hall on the 2 on 1.  Hall went to Webb and then Webb returned it to Hall.  McCarther slid to cover the post and Hall went back to Webb.  With the open net Corey Crewe tied up Webb’s stick and he couldn’t get the shot off.

 

With 30 seconds left in the period, Crowell got the puck at the bottom of the circle and quickly shot, just missing the net as the teams ended the period with the Tigers up but a goal.

 

Early in the second it was all Tigers, but then the Lions showed up.  Warwick made a pass to Jarrett Carter over a Tiger and Carter hit the skate of McCarther then the post with his one-timer.  The net was knocked off on the play before the Lions could go for the rebound.  Then off the draw Warwick put a shot an inch over the crossbar.  Then Warwick with another chance as he got the puck in front and went to the backhand.  For the third time in the game, McCarther made the stop with the bottom of his skate blade.

 

Brandon  Crowell went into the Lions zone and made a scoring chance out of nothing, but Pate covered it up before he could get to the rebound at the side of the net.  Ron Beaton had a good tip of a Norm shot from the point but Trevor Pate held that one too.

 

Off the next draw, the Lions went to clear the puck.  Normy went for the big jump to pull to down.  His 2” very wasn’t enough to pull the biscuit down though, but in the plus side, he grabbed the boards to avoid eating shit.

 

Keegan Lewis took a pass in the slot for a good scoring chance for the Lions, but McCarther got his pad on it.  The chances were coming for yellow, but the pucks weren’t going in.  Then the Tigers got a chance.  Kurt Thibault to Allan Beaton who got his stick free at the right moment and got the puck redirected to the net.  Pate made the save and the puck then went off the post, and Pate reached back with his blocker and stopped it from going over the line.  The Tigers remained up by just 1 goal, with 8:21 left in the game.

 

The play went to the Tigers zone and Dusty picked off an Corey Crewe breakout pass and walked in to muffin a clapper, but to everyone’s surprise, he actually got ahold of it, and beat McCarther glove side to tie the game at 7:58.  Then Matt Gendron walked out of the corner and fired from a bad angle and caught McCarther short side before he got set to put the Lions ahead with 7:36 remaining.

 

The seas parted for Dan Keays 10 seconds later, but Pate with the quick blocker turned him away.  The Lions went back to pressing but couldn’t find the right shot to give them insurance, and then a bouncing puck sent Greg Renouf away with Mike McIsaac.  The give and go was on Renouf’s stick and his shot hit the outside of the post as the Tigers nearly tied it up.  Then the Tigers found themselves on a late power play.  A good kill for the first minute by the Lions, then a failed clearance and the stingers had a shot on goal.  Kurt Thibault went for the rebound beside the goal and mishandled the puck, but then he just threw it out in front from the boards and it caught the inside of Pate’s right leg and went in to tie the game.

 

The Lions ended up outshooting the Tigers 35-25, but this game was heading to the shootout.  Brandon Crowell was up first for the Tigers.  He came in, made a nice and tripped over Pate’s leg.  Iain Duncan started it off for the Lions.  He deked and McCarther ended up on his stomach with his leg to the post as he made the save.

 

Kurt Thibault - denied

Connor Tousignant - stopped

Dan Keays - post

Keith Webb - stopped

Allan Beaton - goal

Stephen Warwick - goal

Ron Beaton - stopped

Jarrett Carter - missed wide

Chris Stickings - shut down

Joey Richard - denied

Glenn Boyce - pops the bottle, goal

Taylor McKay - missed wide

 

Another 7 round shootout in the playoffs.  These teams will meet in game 2 on Tuesday night as the Tigers seek a berth in the second round, while the Lions just look to survive another day.