Mar 21, 2015 | PaulF | 1235 views
ETA Playoffs (FINALS) Game#1 vs. Central Ontario Wolves
The Minor Bantam Preds kicked off their best of three ETA final series on Saturday, March 21 in Lindsay against the Central Ontario Wolves.
The Preds entered the game playing their best hockey of the year and were hoping that Central Ontario might be a little rusty after receiving a bye in the last round and going a couple of weeks without playing. That proved not to be the case as the Wolves came out of the gates flying and took the game hard to the Preds for the first ten minutes of the game. Their pressure paid off when a Preds clearing pass bounced off an official and onto a Wolves forward's stick in the slot. Preds goalie Brandon Small got most of the puck but it managed to sneak over the line to give the Wolves an early 1-0 lead. The Wolves continued their assault on the Preds goal but Brandon was spectacular and turned away everything they could throw at him, keeping the game at 1-0 at the end of the first.
Right from the beginning of the second period, the momentum seemed to change as the Preds became the aggressor and began taking the game to the Wolves. This continued pressure forced the Wolves into taking some penalties and giving the Preds several great chances to tie the game. The Preds sent a barrage of shots at the Wolves net but despite a couple of posts and crossbars, could find the equalizer.
The third period saw momentum switch back and forth as both teams took some unnecessary penalties. The goalies were the stars of a wide open third period. Several times in the period, a Preds player found themselves all alone with just the goalie to beat but time and time again they couldn't find the mark. With a minute to go, the Preds pulled their goalie but weren't able to sustain any pressure in the Wolves end. In the games waning seconds, a Wolves forward picked up a loose puck at the Preds blue line and fired it into the empty cage secure a 2-0 victory.
Game two goes March 22 in Rama.