TWO DOWN AND THREE TO GO
MAPLE GROVE- Long gone are the mid-sixties OLA Jr.A Finals when the Gaels swept the Mounties twice. It's a new century now and when these lakeshore rivals meet you can count on the series going the distance. Monday night Clarington evened the best of five at one game apiece with a 10-8 win, setting the stage for a dramatic weekend finale.
The Green Gaels started young Curtis Doherty between the pipes and he had a short baptism of fire. After three shots and two goals #1 netminder John Chesebrough replaced him. That was all the Mimico offence for the first period. The home side got its act together when Marc Jackson set up Frank MacNeal for a shorthanded marker. Towards the end of the period Eric Howe surprised Mountie goalie Kevin Olmstead scoring off a rebound. 3-2 Green Gaels.
The second frame had a much more frantic tempo to it. Players were running all over the place, the ball was going in every direction, end to end action with little semblance of order. It was great fun to watch. The predictablility of Jr.A had never appeared more obvious then watching this 20 minutes of Jr.B chaos.
The pace best suited Mimico as the visitors took the play to Clarington. Down 4-2 they shifted momentum as Evan Bolotta and Mike Nicholson teamed up. Bolotta set up Nicholson on a breakaway but Chesebrough denied him. The pair got another chance on the same possession and Nicholson hit net.
If anything cost Mimico this game it was their power play. So good in Game One, it was a poor second Monday. That was most evident with the contest tied 5-5 and Mountaineers on a four minute advantage. They failed to make it count. Mimico did grab their last lead a short time later. They managed a three on one break shorthanded, as the Gaels once again failed to get back on defence. Chesebrough was there yet again to keep his team in the game. Still the Mountaineers did score as David Bolland bulged the twine just as the shot clock expired. The Gaels came right back on the same power play as Jeff Tsuji scored. Clarington's last five goals would all be with the man advantage. As the period wound down Olmstead kept the score knotted 6-6 with a nice stick save on Shane Sargent.
Two features highlighted the final 20 minutes. One was the Green Gaels getting their defensive act together. Their goaltender really bailed them out the previous period but in the third tough defence would secure the win. The other feature was the Gaels power play which went 4 for 4 and buried Mimico.
Two power play goals in 71 seconds gave Clarington the lead for good. Sargent and Jimmy Mumford put them ahead. The Mounties never recovered as it was over 4 minutes before they even managed a shot on goal. Later another power play deuce made it 10-6. Andrew Furlong gave the visitors some hope when he scored at the midway point. That was Mimico's fourth shot compared to the Green Gaels thirteen. However the home team would go the next 8 minutes without a shot on goal. The Mounties got a bit closer when Chris Willerton scored with a man advantage. They still had time to catch up but squandered a couple of power play opportunities badly and never really created enough decent scoring chances to make a charge. 10-8 Gaels final.
STATISTICS
Shots on goal
Mountaineers: 14(1st) 18(2nd) 9(3rd) 41(total)
Green Gaels: 16(1st) 12(2nd) 15(3rd) 43(total)
Power Play goals
Mountaineers: 3 - Varone(2) Willerton
Green Gaels: 6 - Tsuji(2) Mumford(2) Laforme, Sargent
Shorthanded goals
Mountaineers: 1 - Bolland
Green Gaels: 1 - MacNeal
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