A few days ago, the McLean and Dickey Orillia Terriers were in the driver’s seat.
This morning, they might be a bit concerned about crashing and burning.
After jumping out to a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven second-round series against Schomberg, the Cougars have clawed their way back into the series, earning a pair of consecutive triumphs against their northern rivals.
Last night’s game was a heartbreaker for Orillia as the Cougars won a 6-5 double-overtime thriller to force a seventh and deciding game in Orillia on Saturday night.
After an early goal from Terriers sniper Josh Brown, Schomberg scored three straight as they built a 3-1 advantage before the four-minute mark of the second period.
But the Terriers rallied - with goals from Sam Pink and Jayden Murison - to knot the score after two.
After the Cougars broke out on top 4-3, Mason Beck tied the score, before Devon Edwards found the back of the net to give Orillia its only lead of the night.
However, Schomberg, which pounded Orillia goalie Reed Spinola with 18 shots in the third, finally beat the netminder to tie the game and send it to overtime.
The two teams went back-and-forth in the first extra frame, but Spinola and Cougars netminder Tristan Szymanowski could not be beat.
In the second overtime, almost eight minutes into the fifth period, Luke Miehm scored his sixth marker of the post-season to keep the Cougars’ season alive.
The host team had a decided edge in play in Game 6, out-shooting Orillia 65-42 in front of 215 fans at the Trisan Centre.
The dramatic Schomberg victory sets up a do-or-die Game 7 Saturday night. Perhaps that should not be a surprise as these two teams had identical regular-season records. The series, to date, has featured three overtime contests - two went into a second extra frame.
Game time Saturday night at Rotary Place in west Orillia is 7:30 p.m. The winner moves on to play the winner of the Alliston Hornets-Stayner Siskins series in the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s North Carruthers Division championship. The loser’s season is over.
