Six unanswered goals turned Thursday's Brampton/St.Catharines tilt on
its head as the A's came from behind for a 13-12 overtime victory. The
Mann Cup holders looked like champions for more than half of this one.
They controlled the opening period and methodically built up a 5-1
advantage. The Double Blues did show life later in the period after
they hit the scoresheet. They followed that goal with three goal
posts, two hit by Mark Steenhuis. In the second St.Catharines was more
into the game but still no match for the champions. The Excelsiors ran
brilliantly and used their bench to fast break effeciently. They won
the period to extend their lead to 10-4. The advantage could have been
greater but Anthony Cosmos kept the game respectible. Then Brampton
fell asleep.
All looked well for them in the third as they scored on their first two
shots and were comfortably in front 12-7 six minutes into the period.
Then Wayne Burke made it 12-8 on the power play. Mike Hominuck
followed during a 4 on 4 situation. At 12-9 the Excelsiors answered
with five shots in just over a minute of play. Cosmos, however, turned
each away. Marc Landriault scored on another power play - thanks to a
Tim O'Brien roughing penalty. 20 seconds later Bill Taylor made it
12-11. There was still half a period to play but Brampton regained
defensive concentration and protected their lead expertly. For the
most part, the Athletics couldn't even get a shot on goal. Then, out
of the blue, Steenhuis scored with 29 seconds left to tie it. The
Excelsiors won possession off the next draw - three men on the ball
against one A, with Brian Beisel collecting it. That led to a point
blank setup for Jon Harasym, with 2 seconds left, but Cosmos robbed
him.
In overtime, it took the visitors 5 minutes to register their first
shot on goal. A short time later Steenhuis went end to end to score
the winner. Brampton's best chance came to Colin Doyle but Cosmos
stoned him. Steenhuis wrapped the game up by drawing a penalty while
ragging the ball.
Shots on goal:
St.Catharines: 15(1st) 17(2nd) 18(3rd) 5(OT) 55(total)
Brampton: 18(1st) 16(2nd) 15(3rd) 8(OT) 57(total)
Fast breaks:
St.Catharines: 8 attempted, 7 shots, 1 goal, 1 turnover
Brampton: 17 attempted, 9 shots, 2 goals, 2 wide shots, 6 turnovers
Power Play Goals:
St.Catharines: 4 - Wayne Burke(2) Mike Longboat, Marc Landriault
Brampton: 2 - Josh Sanderson, Chris Driscoll
Shorthanded Goals:
St.Catharines: none
Brampton 1 - Rusty Kruger
Back Door Too Many Men:
St.Catharines: 15 times(most just one or two steps from door)
Brampton: 31 times(the majority at least a yard from door)
no penalties called on either team.
Draws:
Phillip Sanderson: 15 won 10 lost
Bill Lefeuvre: 10 won 17 lost
Sandy Chapman: 2 won 0 lost
Greg Floris: 1 won 0 lost
Shaydon Santos: 1 won 1 lost
Mark Steenhuis: 0 won 1 lost
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