Slammers narrowly edge Mariners in game one, doubled in game two of MHL final

Woodstock native and former Slammer Matt Tomah made an impression in his first return to his hometown since January 27th. He is seen here working out his problems with Ryan Purvis.

To describe game one of the 2012 MHL Kent Cup Final between the Woodstock Slammers and the Yarmouth Mariners as a nail-biter would be a classic understatement.

In a narrow 2-1 victory, the Slammers edged the Mariners on Wednesday, April 4th on home ice.

Game one certainly kept the crowd of 900-strong on the edge of their seats. Both sides fought hard to keep the other off the board, which showed in the goaltending. Matt Murphy stopped 25 of 26 shots for the Slammers in the winning effort, while Charles Grant refused 40 of 42 shots faced.

Zack Henry aided Colin Campbell in beating Murphy only fifty seconds into the contest, giving the visiting Yarmouth squad an early 1-0 lead.

In period one, the Slammers were able to manage twelve shots on goal, while the Mariners only managed eight. However, neither team was able to achieve any results for the remainder of the first period.

During the first period, former Slammer and Woodstock native Matt Tomah ran into Philip Fife. Fife went down hard, and Ryan Purvis and Tomah dropped the gloves following the hit.

Tomah received the blunt of the punishment as a result of the incident, being issued a five-minute penalty for boarding, major for fighting, and game misconduct. It was his 10th game misconduct of the year, resulting in a suspension. The boarding major could mean Tomah is suspended for the remainder of the series. Purvis received a two-minute minor for instigating, five-minute major for fighting and a ten-minute misconduct.

Fife had to be assisted off the ice. He was taken to the dressing room and returned to the game for period two, but it was evident that the hit had taken a toll on Fife's play.

Philip Fife being removed from the ice surface by trainers Bryan Hamilton, left, and Mike Burrell.

Zach Shannon got the Slammers on the board just over two and a half minutes into period two, tying the game at one with a power play goal with a few seconds remaining of Tomah's major penalty.

With regards to shots on goal, Woodstock managed to take over twice the amount of shots taken by Yarmouth, with the Slammers taking 15 shots and the Mariners only managing seven. Both sides had a significant amount of scoring opportunities, but failed to break the deadlock throughout the middle frame.

Only one power play opportunity was even utilized for the Slammers, with the Shiretown side going 1 for 3 on the power play, while the visiting rivals had five power plays but didn't score on any of them.

Video of Nick Huard taking a penalty shot during the third period (April 4, 2012)

Bradley Greene, the Slammers' points leader throughout the regular season, broke the tie with 23.2 seconds remaining in the contest, winning the game for the Slammers.

Bradley Greene (#14)

Slammers head coach Jason Tatarnic says the squad's performance got better with time in game one, and was overall satisfied with the victory.

"I thought our performance improved as the game went on," Tatarnic stated in a press release on the Slammers' website. "It was a great game for the fans. [It] had its share of scoring opportunities and big hits."

"We're happy with the win, but now our focus is on game two."

Slammers doubled in game two

Back-to-back game nights may have taken a toll on the Woodstock Slammers in game two. 

The Slammers were doubled by the Yarmouth Mariners by a score of 4-2 on Thursday, April 5th. As a result, the series currently stands at a 1-1 tie. 

Woodstock played well for the first two periods, but the Slammers were no match for the Mariners, who were likely out for revenge from the previous night. 

Jared Hicks opened the scoring at 6:10, leaving the score at 1-0 at the end of period one. Zack Henry utilized a Mariners' power play, beating Matt Murphy on the man-advantage just over nine and a half minutes into period two and increasing the score to 2-0 for Yarmouth. 

Philip Fife got the Slammers on the board at 13:10, reducing the deficit to one goal. Mathieu Pompei wasted no time restoring the Mariners' two-point lead, scoring nearly a minute and a half later and increasing the score to 3-1 in Yarmouth's favour. 

Colin Campbell scored the first goal of the third period on a power play at 2:13, increasing the Mariners' lead to three points and bringing the score to 4-1. 

Bradley Greene scored the game-winner for the Slammers in game one. Greene scored a power play goal at 8:25, but his efforts were too little too late in game two. 

Yarmouth went 2 for 9 on the power play, while Woodstock scored only once despite six power play opportunities. 

Of 42 shots faced, Charles Grant refused 40 of them for Yarmouth's win, while Matt Murphy blocked only 22 of 26 shots. 

The total attendance count of the crowd was 1,209, but unfortunately, the crowd's size had no impact on the Slammers' performance. 

Game number three of the Kent Cup Final is scheduled for Monday, April 9th at 7:30 pm. The Slammers are not expected to play at home until next Friday night in game five.