By: Daniel Vazzoler
The Carleton Place Canadians and Navan Grads had to play some extra hockey to find a winner in Game Two of their CCHL quarter-final series on Monday, and it was Carleton Place who picked up the 4-3 win to extend its series lead.
It was a bit of a struggle for the Canadians early in the game, but Hromic’s second goal in as many games tied the game midway through the third period. Then, 0:26 into the second over-time period, Reece Bolton finished the game with a power-play goal.
“It felt really good,” Bolton said about getting the goal. “I had a couple of tough moments in the game but we battled through adversity. All the boys did well and it was nice to win.”
Carleton Place received a rare over-time power play late in the first over-time when Peyton Francis had his stick slashed out of his hands. The penalty carried over to the second over-time and the Canadians quickly got set up in the Navan zone. Ben and Zach Tupker worked the puck along the boards before Ben moved the puck to the slot for Bolton to one-time past Alex Wisco.
“I thought we played well in the over-times,” Canadians coach Jason Clarke said. “We didn’t really give up anything, we created some scoring chances and we just couldn’t bury them (early). That power play goal was a very, very good goal. It was a well-deserved goal, we deserved to have a few more power plays we didn’t get.”
The Grads had a strong opening period, ending the first period with a 2-1 lead. Seva Losev opened the scoring 4:11 into the game with a power play goal. Elliott McDermott responded, taking advantage of a turnover and a poor Grads line change to tie the game three minutes later. Just 0:10 later, though, Alex Robert got himself open in the slot and finished off the passing play between he, Wil Murray and Ben Badalamenti, leaving Connor Murphy with little to no chance to make the save.
Not only did the Grads end the period with an advantage on the scoreboard, but perhaps also an advantage on the bench.
In the latter half of the first period, Murray and Ayo Adeniye had a heated exchange that left Adeniye with a desire to fight. A late change after a whistle presented the opportunity for Ryan King to come on the ice and he obliged Adeniye’s want to fight.
“Murray did want anything to do with Ayo,” Clarke said of the situation leading to the fight. “King was a player who played four shifts the night before, it’s the old bait-and-switch and Ayo took the bait. Very disappointed our player would fight a guy who has zero impact on the game.
“It just goes to show how much respect Navan has for Ayo,” he continued. “He is very good and they wanted him out of the game. Ayo has to be smarter than that.”
The tempers and intensity have flared up quickly in the first two games, with scrums after many of the whistles and hard hits in every game. With that comes the possibility of a lot of penalties and power plays – as evidenced by Monday’s combined 17 power plays.
“You can’t let your highs get too high, your lows get too low,” Zach Tupker said. “You’ve got to keep a steady stand point and just focus on the end goal.”
With its Game Two win on the road, Carleton Place now has a chance to get a strong grasp on claiming the series on Wednesday if the team can win again on home ice.
“Any time you pick up a win on the road in their home arena, it’s always nice, especially to make the series 2-0,” Zach said. “We’re still focused on one game at a time so we’re looking forward to the game on Wednesday now.”
Playoff Results
(1) CPC vs (8) NAV – CPC leads 2-0
Game 1 – Mar. 17 — CPC 4 – NAV 1
Game 2 – Mar. 18 — CPC 4 NAV 3 (2OT)
Game 3 – Mar 20 — NAV @ CPC – 8:15 p.m.
Game 4 – Mar. 22 – CPC @ NAV – 7:30 p.m.
*Game 5 – Mar. 23 – NAV @ CPC – 7:15 p.m.
*Game 6 – Mar. 25 – CPC @ NAV – 6:00 p.m.
*Game 7 – Mar 27 – NAV @ CPC – 8:15 p.m.
(2) OJS vs (7) KAN – OJS leads 1-0
Game 1 – Mar. 17 – OJS 3 KAN 0
Game 2 – Mar. 20 – OJS @ KAN – 7:20 p.m.
Game 3 – Mar. 21 – KAN @ OJS – 7:30 p.m.
Game 4 – Mar. 24 – OJS @ KAN – 6:30 p.m.
*Game 5 – Mar. 25 – KAN @ OJS – 7:30 p.m.
*Game 6 – Mar. 27 – OJS @ KAN – 7:30 p.m.
*Game 7 – Mar. 28 – KAN @ OJS – 7:30 p.m.
(3) BRO vs (6) SFB
Game 1 – Mar. 19 – SFB @ BRO – 7:30 p.m.
Game 2 – Mar. 20 – BRO @ SFB – 7:30 p.m.
Game 3 – Mar. 22 – SFB @ BRO – 7:30 p.m.
Game 4 – Mar. 24 – BRO @ SFB – 8:00 p.m.
*Game 5 – Mar. 26 – SFB @ BRO – 7:30 p.m.
*Game 6 – Mar. 27 – BRO @ SFB – 7:30 p.m.
*Game 7 – Mar. 29 – SFB @ BRO – 7:30 p.m.
(4) ROC vs (5) HAW – ROC leads 1-0
Game 1 – Mar. 17 – ROC 3 HAW 2
Game 2 – Mar. 19 – ROC @ HAW – 7:30 p.m.
Game 3 – Mar. 22 – HAW @ ROC – 7:30 p.m.
Game 4 – Mar. 23 – ROC @ HAW – 7:30 p.m.
*Game 5 – Mar. 25 – HAW @ ROC – 7:30 p.m.
*Game 6 – Mar. 26 – ROC @ HAW – 7:30 p.m.
*Game 7 – Mar. 29 – HAW @ ROC – 7:30 p.m.
