Championship Summary
The Hockey Team defeated Mother Puckers 5-3, 6-4
The hockey season closed with a flurry during the first week of April
after a grueling 9 week schedule. At the.end of the regular season four
teams advanced to the playoffs to compete for the championship: The Balls,
The Hockey Team, The Motherpuckers and The Wolverines.
In the first semi—final the Patrick Division champion Motherpuckers
faced off against the Smythe Division runner—up Wolverines. A close checking
game was tight until the end, the score tied at 1 goal apiece entering
the third period. With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, the
long season and physical play of the Puckers began to show in the play
of the Wolverines. They surrendered two goals before the final buzzer,
sending the Puckers to the best of three game championship with a 3-1 victory.
The other semi—final was forfeited by The Balls to The Hockey Team.
Four nights later the finals began. Both teams had used the four
day layoff to rest up, and it showed in the play. A free skating game
was kept close into the closing minutes by the spectacular play of both
goalies. A minor penalty on the Motherpuckers midway through the third
period broke the back of the Motherpuckers as Ben Nassar of The Hockey
Team scored a power play goal to give them a 5—2 lead with only a couple
of minutes remaining. The game was iced with a late score as the Puckers
pressed to get back into the contest.
In Game Two both teams reverted to a more physical style of play resulting
in many power play opportunities for both sides. The Puckers used their
2 to 1 advantage in power plays to keep the game close in spite of the
suspension of one of their best players. The game was tied at three into
the final period. The Puckers were frustrated by the outstanding goaltending
of Tony Farrell who stymied them on several great scoring chances. The
Hockey Team took the lead 4—3 early in the final frame but the Puckers
clawed back to tie. With under 5 minutes remaining, Keith Manting scored
his third of four goals in the game. The Hockey Team again took advantage of the forechecking of the Puckers to ice the game at 6—4 and claim the
championship for the second semester in a row.
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