Slammers claim first RBC victory

The Woodstock Slammers were victorious for the first time ever in RBC Cup play on Monday, May 7th.

The Slammers posted their first RBC victory against the Portage Terriers, defeating the Terriers 4-1.

Robert Visca wasted no time getting things started, opening the scoring only fifty five seconds into the match.

Sam Caldwell was sent to the penalty box at 8:55, being assessed a two-minute minor penalty for boarding and giving the Terriers their first power play of the contest. However, Portage failed to utilize on the man advantage.

Andrew Langan increased Woodstock's lead to 2-0 at 14:47. Ben MacSwain added another goal to the Slammers' tally at 16:06, giving the Slammers a 3-0 lead after the first period.

The middle frame remained scoreless, but the Slammers were assessed a total of six penalty minutes. Zach Shannon was called for tripping nearly three minutes into period two, and Evan Carmody was sent to the box for goaltender interference at 10:12. Carmody received another minor infraction for roughing after the whistle at 18:09. The Terriers did not manage to beat Matt Murphy on any of the three man advantages. Portage only received four minutes in penalties in the middle frame.

Ryan Purvis intercepted a pass from Tim Campbell and beat Terriers netminder Adam Iwan only forty three seconds into the third period, bringing the score to 4-0 in the Slammers' favour.

Just over two and a half minutes into the period, Andrew Wiebe got the Terriers on the scoreboard. Brendan Harms and Cody Kostecki assisted Wiebe in beating Matt Murphy.

Wiebe's goal rained on Murphy's parade in terms of his hopes for a shutout. It is interesting to note that Wiebe scored the game winner in double overtime in a game nearly 24 hours prior to the Terriers-Slammers meeting. Wiebe's game winner ended one of the longest-spanning games in RBC tournament history against the Soo Thunderbirds. The Terriers edged the Thunderbirds 4-3 on Sunday, May 6th.

Murphy stopped 34 of 35 shots faced for the victory, while Iwan refused 25 of 29 shots in the loss. Neither side managed to utilize on the power play.

Slammers captain Andrew Langan was named Player of the Game for the Slammers, while Brendan Harms, who picked up one assist for Portage, was named Player of the Game for his respective squad.

The Slammers faced off against the Penticton Vees on Tuesday, May 8th. A game recap will be posted in an upcoming post on The Shiretown Blogger.

With files from www.slammershockey.ca and  http://www.hockeycanada.ca/index.php/ci_id/75138/la_id/1/game_id/187436/season_id/187417/ss_id/170666/