The Road Warriors are back! Toronto may have had a perfect home record in the playoffs, however their final game at Ted Reeve ended in defeat Monday. Whitby won its fourth straight away game by edging the Beaches 9-8. A fantastic battle which evened the best of seven Semi Final at 1-1.
It did not begin well for the Road Warriors. The opening period Toronto was all over them. The home side played aggressively on defence by challenging every shot and giving Whitby little. Their offence was very impressive as netminder Rick Passfield was under siege much of the period. The contest was scoreless for the longest time as Beach Boys shots were continually turned aside by Passfield - except for one Matt Holman effort which dinged the post. Marc Burton eventually scored, must have dazzled Passfield with his multi-coloured socks! Tyler Perry tied it with an outside shot Ricky McCullough fumbled. Yet Toronto won the period with two late goals. They were full value for the 3-1 advantage.
Second period was a complete reversal - all Whitby. Matt Taylor and Zac Greer stepped up their games to bring the Warriors back. Taylor started the rally, then Greer took control of the contest with two quick markers. The only offence mustered the entire period came from Tim Chisholm. Taking advantage of a bad bounce off the boards Chisholm broke away and scored his first goal of the playoffs by burying a shot in the top right corner. Taylor put Whitby in front 5-4. That was followed by a 4 minute power play for the visitors. They squandered that chance by creating little offensively. Shorthanded Holman made two homeric rushes but was twice beaten away by Passfield. One goal edge for Warriors after two.
Both teams showed for the final 20 minutes and the decision hung in the balance right to the final buzzer. Taylor teamed up with Justin Burton and Burton extended the lead to 6-4. Toronto came back with the next three tallies. Scoring champ Kyle Wailes was held in check all second period, however he broke free to score twice as the Beach Boys leapt ahead 7-6. A power play followed and it looked like Toronto had the game by the throat. The play of the night which saved Whitby was a Matt Savoie rush and shorthanded goal. After that the Warriors again took the initiative. Ryan Sharp scored with 4 minutes remaining for an 8-7 lead. Toronto replied a minute later as Holman finally bulged the twine. 8-8 with less then 2 minutes in regulation time when a silly blunder gave the game away. David Brown had just gained possession in one corner. Goaltender McCullough moved to the other corner to provide an outlet pass for Brown. Alas Brown's pass up floor was picked off by Greer and he fired the ball into the empty net.
For Whitby it was a well earned victory - their first Semi Final win in three years. Passfield kept them in the game early then his teammates rallied. McCullough was also very good for Beaches. Goaltending is suppose to be Toronto's weakness, however McCullough was nearly unbeatable while facing Warrior shooters in close.
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