The McLean & Dickey Orillia Terriers struck first with a dramatic victory in the first game of their Provincial Junior Hockey League second-round payoff match-up against the Schomberg Cougars.
The Terriers skated their way to a 2-1 overtime victory in front of 267 local hockey fans at Rotary Place on Tuesday night.
The Terriers started strong in the series opener, leading the shot count 14-6 after the first period.
Devon Edmonds opened the game's scoring in the first minute of the second period by burying a loose puck from the slot for his third of the playoffs.
The Terriers spent most of the rest of the period on the penalty kill as they took four minors in the frame, but goaltender Wade Monague held the Cougars at bay. He stopped 49 of 50 shots on the night.
“Our defence made my life easier tonight,” Monague said. “They played good.”
Monague says the team's forwards and defencemen were on the same page, which, he explains, lifts the load off the goaltender. The Terriers' shot-blocking efforts allowed him to stay focused in high-pressure situations such as the penalty kill, he added.
The intensity dialed up to a whole different level in the third period, but neither Monague nor Cougars goaltender Matteo Tarantin would budge.
However, with just over four minutes left in the period, Terriers defenceman Caleb Sands took a cross-checking penalty during a mad scramble in front of the home net. Just moments later, Cougars forward Cameron Kokelj ripped one past Monague from the right face-off dot.
“I was cheating to the guy in the middle,” Monague admits. “They capitalized on it.”
With the game tied and less than two minutes to go, the Terriers found themselves in more penalty trouble when defenceman Taylor Rehling took a two-minute head contact penalty. The Terriers killed off the penalty and then also killed off a slashing penalty to Broderick Black in the opening minutes of overtime.
To the delight of the hometown fans, the Terriers got a power play of their own when Cougars forward Anthony Nasciment took a tripping penalty. Despite relentless pressure, the Terriers failed to cash in.
However, the power play gave the Terriers enough juice to withstand the first half of the overtime period, providing Terriers' regular-season goal-scoring leader Josh Brown his opportunity from the top of the right face-off circle where he ripped a shot past Tarantin for the game-winner.
“I just saw an opportunity off the rush,” Brown said. “I think they were changing, and I got my feet moving and found a gap and a way to bury it.”
Brown says he didn’t even know the puck had gone in until teammate Sam Pink started celebrating.
“I just turned around and started celebrating,” Brown chuckled. “It felt good.”
Brown says scoring an overtime goal in a playoff game is something he will remember for years to come.
“It felt good to get the boys going,” he said. “I just got so fired up. It was a good team win.”
Terriers captain Broderick Black says winning game one is huge for momentum going forward in the series.
“It feels great,” he said. “We want to take this momentum into game two and keep building off of it.”
Black says the Terriers will need to stay out of the penalty box in game two after giving the Cougars eight power-play opportunities Tuesday night.
“Our penalty killers did really good, and they kept us in this game,” he said. “We played good defensively and limited their chances.”
Black says the flurry of monster hits in game one speaks to the intensity of the game ratcheting up as the Terriers go deeper into the playoffs.
“There are way more hits,” he said. “They are going to keep going up.”
While goaltender Reed Spinola finished serving his three-game suspension on Tuesday night, Terriers head coach Dalyn Telford says a starting goalie has not been named for game two in Schomberg on Thursday.
However, Telford admitted that it would be tough to move off of Monague who remains undefeated during the postseason.
“I want to play every game,” Monague said. “I love playing in the playoffs, it’s why I play hockey.”
Game 3 will be played at Rotary Place in west Orillia on Saturday night. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
