By: Daniel Vazzoler
It took overtime to decide who was going to win Game Two of the CCHL quarter-final series between the Carleton Place Canadians and Rockland Nationals on Sunday, and it was Rockland who defended home ice and won 3-2 in the extra period.
Connor Beatty tallied the game-winning goal 6:09 into overtime, tying the series at 1-1 with both home teams winning the first two games to start the series. The Canadians established themselves in the Rockland zone, but a blocked shot by Beatty sprung him on the breakaway. He got the puck on the right-wing side and his wrist shot beat Michael Leach on the far side.
Despite outshooting the Nationals 41-19, Carleton Place never held the lead on Sunday and fell behind early in the game.
Just 3:34 into the first period, Cole Lavoie opened the scoring and put Rockland ahead for the first time. Raphael Gosselin stole the puck at the Nationals blue-line and went on a 2-on-1 rush with Lavoie. Leach stopped Gosselin’s shot, but Lavoie was right there to get the rebound and a 1-0 lead.
Geoff Kitt tied the game near the middle of the second period, jamming the loose puck past Sean Storr following Travis Broughman’s wrap-around try.
The tie lasted 5:30 before Benjamin Pruneau restored the Rockland advantage. Pruneau tracked the bouncing puck off a defender’s skate and split the Canadians defence to create the scoring chance. He whacked at the rolling puck and beat Leach through his five-hole.
Zach Tupker leveled the score very early in the third period – 0:21 into the period, to be exact – finishing the Sam Knoblauch pass with a one-timer that beat Storr on the glove-side.
The comeback effort could not be made complete with Beatty scoring the winning goal in overtime.
The series will have a couple of days off before playing Games Three and Four on back-to-back nights, starting with Game Three on Wednesday at the Carleton Place Arena (8:15 p.m.) and Game Four on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) back at the CIH Arena.
Playoff Matchups Around the League
* = if necessary
BOLD = higher seed home game
(1) CPC vs (8) ROC – Series tied 1-1
GAME 1: CPC vs ROC – CPC 6-2
GAME 2: ROC vs CPC – ROC 3-2 (OT)
GAME 3: CPC vs ROC – Wed., Mar 21 – 8:15 p.m.
GAME 4: ROC vs CPC – Thurs., Mar. 22 – 7:30 p.m.
GAME 5: CPC vs ROC – Sat., Mar. 24 – 7:15 p.m. *
GAME 6: ROC vs CPC – Sun., Mar. 25 – 2:30 p.m. *
GAME 7: CPC vs ROC – Tues., Mar. 27 – 7:15 p.m. *
(2) OJS vs (7) PLK – OJS leads 2-1
GAME 1: OJS vs PLK – OJS 5-0
GAME 2: PLK vs OJS – OJS 6-2
GAME 3: OJS vs PLK – PLK 4-2
GAME 4: PLK vs OJS – Tues., Mar. 20 – 7:30 p.m.
GAME 5: OJS vs PLK – Thurs., Mar. 22 – 7:30 p.m. *
GAME 6: PLK vs OJS – Sun., Mar. 25 – 7:00 p.m. *
GAME 7: OJS vs PLK – Tues., Mar. 27 – 7:30 p.m. *
(3) BRO vs (6) KAN – BRO leads 2-0
GAME 1: BRO vs KAN – BRO 5-3
GAME 2: KAN vs BRO – BRO 5-4 (OT)
GAME 3: BRO vs KAN – Tues., Mar 20 – 7:30 p.m.
GAME 4: KAN vs BRO – Thurs., Mar. 22 – 7:30 p.m.
GAME 5: BRO vs KAN – Fri., Mar. 23 – 7:30 p.m. *
GAME 6: KAN vs BRO – Sun., Mar. 25 – 6:30 p.m. *
GAME 7: BRO vs KAN – Tues., Mar. 27 – 7:30 p.m. *
(4) HAW vs (5) CRW – Series tied 1-1
GAME 1: HAW vs CRW – HAW 4-3
GAME 2: CRW vs HAW – CRW 4-2
GAME 3: HAW vs CRW – Mon., Mar 19 – 7:30 p.m.
GAME 4: CRW vs HAW – Thurs., Mar. 22 – 7:30 p.m.
GAME 5: HAW vs CRW – Fri., Mar. 23 – 7:30 p.m. *
GAME 6: CRW vs HAW – Sun., Mar. 25 – 7:00 p.m. *
GAME 7: HAW vs CRW – Tues., Mar. 27 – 7:30 p.m. *
