After the Siskins opened the scoring halfway through the first period, the 311 hockey fans who made it out to the Rama MASK likely had flashblacks to the Terriers' first-round series in which they lost the opening two games to Schomberg.
Not this time!
The Terriers were able to turn the momentum in their favour four minutes into the second period when Zane Morris found Mason Beck with a pass that he blasted by Siskins goalie Brendan Macham. Later in the period, Mason's brother, Jack Beck, gave the Terriers the lead with a powerplay marker.
Late in the second period, the Siskins had their chance to tie the game after Terriers defenceman Cole Quevillon was caught hooking Ty Kulba on a breakaway. The officials awarded Kulba a penalty shot.
Spinola whose last start came 22 days ago and had to step in for Zach Levac who had a school-related commitment, showed no signs of rust, giving Kulba nothing to shoot at and shutting the door.
"Once he came in, I just tried to stay out and stay big," Spinola explained after the tense contest. "I let him make the first move and was able to read it perfectly."
In the third period, the Terriers stopped the Siskins from gaining any momentum as Bracebridge native Everette Nudd buried his fourth of the playoffs just over three minutes in.
Late in the period, after losing his footing and stumbling to the ice, Nudd was able to regroup in time to add his fifth and game-clinching goal into the empty net.
"I've needed my skates sharpened for about two weeks now," Nudd chuckled.
"I just keep forgetting, and I was planning on getting them done before this game. I lost an edge, but luckily I was able to get back up and put it in the back of the net," Nudd said.
The Terriers, who come into the series as the third-seeded underdog, know the significance of taking the early lead on the second-seeded Siskins.
"It feels great to get this first win, they're a strong team and we knew they were going to give us a good go," Nudd said.
"We played our game, and at home we are a tough team to stop," said Nudd. "If we can win these next couple of games, we're going to be golden."
The series now shifts to Stayner for a pair of contests. Game 2 goes Thursday night at the Stayner Memorial Arena, which will also be the site for Game 3 Sunday afternoon.
The Terriers will return to their usual home, Orillia Rotary Place, to host Game 4 on Tuesday night at 8 p.m.
