Aurora Light Up Norsemen

Another elimination game this week as the Norsemen were down 1-0 to the Aurora.  The latter team was short bodies and were putting their top scorer on defense, a bold move considering the offensive threats in the Norsemen arsenal.  

 

On the first shift of the game, Ryder was out of position leading to Landon Miron having lots of time going down the left wing.  He made a good pass to Nick Marshall in the slot and he shot hard and low across the grain.  Nick Stryniak slid to his left and kicked to his right, getting a pad on the shot to make the save.  Ryder got the puck in the corner and went all the way to the Norsemen end.  His shot went just wide.

 

Rob Manteuffel got the puck behind the net and Stryniak looked to his left to spot where the puck had gone.  Rob passed out to his right where James Harrison was waiting and ready.  His quickly released shot went off the post and then the blocker of Stryniak, then  David Lacey and James McCarron both reached for the puck and knocked it back toward the net where it hit the post.

 

There were a couple of traded chances, Brandon Marsh at one end, Dylan Kugler at the other, but we weren’t yet seeing any signs that one team was going to take control of the game.  Steve Power had a little bobble at the side of his goal, and then with a little nervous energy, he gave the puck away to Landon, and the Norsemen had control in the Aurora zone.  Lacey’s team was playing like the Tigers the night before, keeping action to the outside, and eventually a point shot from Jeff Miles came in.  It was deflected by Bobby Sacre and on goal, but Stryniak stopped it.  Bobby might not have lived that down if he got an own goal on the play, but there was still lots of time left for pizza deliveries.

 

For the Aurora, Tyler Selvet was the man starting to push the play forward.  He was rushing solo every chance he got.  With 9 minutes left in the first, he fired a low shot from the hash marks and it went under the pad of Sprague, but not quite through, the puck visible to everyone as Brendan Hawboldt got there and ensured a whistle.

 

A bit of a defensive breakdown for the Aurora as Bobby Sacre went out to the point at Darren Ells, and Ells dished to Zack ‘Fireball’ Harrison in the slot.  Matt Ryder was defending 2 other Norsemen in front and Harrison had plenty of time to size up his opportunity.  He saw his target and bam nailed it, right in the chest of Stryniak.

 

Tyler Selvet out skated Pete Swistun to a puck that was dumped down the ice, catching up near the bottom of the circle to the left of Phil Sprague.  He cut to the net as Sprague poke checked.  The check missed the puck but got stick and Selvet went around Phil but couldn’t find the handle as the puck slid harmlessly to the corner.

 

Selvet was feeling it, so he tried rushing again.  Landon said no, poking the puck away and then seeing room to skate, he split McCarron and Mike Gilmore.  Mike dove and was just centimetres short of connecting with the puck as Landon had his legs wide to protect the puck.  He got to Stryniak alone, deked to the backhand and put the puck wide of the goal.

 

This was the point where the Aurora began to find their game.  At least it’s when they started getting zone time.  They were struggling to get their shots to hit the net a bit as the Norsemen blocked what wasn’t well wide of the goal.  Slowly, they started hitting the net, though mostly from poor angles.  Steve Power went to feed Ryder at the point but fanned in the puck, so instead he went to Bobby, a perennial second choice.  Bobby shot from the line and Brandon Marsh made a sweet between the legs deflection as the puck beat Sprague on the glove side.  With just over a minute to play in the first period, the Aurora took the first lead of the game.

 

One period left for the Norsemen to extend their season, but the Aurora were buckling down, a berth in the finals in their hands.  Selvet forced Sprague to make a good blocker save early in the second.  Then 30 seconds later, Matt Ryder got the puck in the slot and hit the corner crossbar with his shot.  A minute later Lacey shot from the neutral zone as he went for a change and the Sprague looked uneasy handling it.

 

The Norsemen didn’t get a shot for the first 4 minutes of the second period, but when they did, it was a 2 on 1, James and Landon.  James held and Stryniak had to play the shot as he got closer to his left post.  Then the pass was made to Miron at the opposite side.  Nick pushed off as Landon got the puck and fired.  Stryniak made it all the way but the puck was aimed back in the direction he was coming from.  No problem for Nick as he got his glove on it to keep it out.  Landon couldn’t believe it, the Aurora bench couldn’t believe it.

 

Lacey took the puck up ice and he walked Saunders and was in, he deked to his backhand but shot too early, hitting the right toe of Sprague.  After missing his chance to make it 2-0, Lacey got absolutely danced by Blake Isenor with the huge toe drag, and then Blake took a backhander that was deflected well over the net as he cut through the slot.  Then he high sticked McCarron but avoided a penalty call.

 

Last man back Matt Ryder got lost the puck with Ray Carrigan pressuring, and Rob Manteuffel swooped in.  He was alone on Stryniak and he made a move to his backhand but couldn’t get the puck up over the pad of the Aurora netminder who made another important save.  The Norsemen had life as they were looking to equalize.  James Harrison had a nice move to toe drag McCarron, then he deked Stryniak but couldn’t get the puck to go through as the puck hit Nick and then just went wide of the post.

 

David Lacey got the puck behind the Norsemen goal and taking his time, he caught Sprague napping and snuck out with the backhand wraparound to make it 2-0 Aurora with 7:38 on the clock in the final frame, a big insurance goal.

 

The Norsemen had a strong response shift, but Stryniak made 5 saves as he was dialed in.  David Lacey was having a strong game at both ends of the ice, and he won a draw in the neutral zone back to Matt Ryder who fired the puck down ice, or he would have, were it not for the puck connecting with Lacey’s ass.  He picked it up and with the puck rolling he took a clapper.  It was the Mighty Ducks all over again, a knuckle puck that seemed to curve as Sprague tried to catch it.  3-0 Aurora.

 

15 seconds later, Brandon Marsh wins a draw in the Norsemen zone, Matt Ryder comes in to take the shot, loses his footing and Sacre grabs the loose puck and fires it under the blocker to make it 4-0 with just 4:07 left.  This was looking completely over.

 

1:40 left and James McCarron winds up a clapper in the Norsemen zone.  Landon reaches out to get a stick on it and the puck rides up his stick and hits him right in the ribs.  McCarron stops to make sure Landon is alright and James Harrison says “fuck Landon, I want to score”, so he takes the luck and heads to the Aurora zone.  He get the puck to Nick Marshall waiting just behind the left pad of Stryniak and roofs the puck to ruin the shutout, but nothing could ruin the night for the Aurora as they have booked their return to the finals.

 

David Lacey will be looking to play a full series, including the final 17 seconds as his team will face the Tigers, who last made the finals in the inaugural season, though captain Norm Gallant is coming off a big summer championship and is looking for the double.

Game 1 of the finals goes Tuesday at 9:45 and game 2 will be Wednesday at 9:15 at the RBC Centre.  We could be less than a week away from crowning a new Nomad Cup Champion.