The Shiretown Blogger: Slammers edged in overtime loss

Linesman Robert Rogers grabs onto the sweaters of Connor Tresham (left) and Ryan Nickerson in attempt to end a scrum after a whistle. Tresham was assessed a double minor for roughing and roughing after the whistle.

Friday, April 13th must have proved to be an unlucky day for the Woodstock Slammers, a theory that many superstitious people (and athletes) would certainly support.

Friday the 13th could be a possible excuse for the Slammers' narrow 4-3 edging in overtime last night. The Yarmouth' Mariners victory over the Slammers puts the Woodstock squad another game (or two) away from claiming the 2012 Kent Cup.

The Slammers welcomed Tim Rose, Colton Stairs and Robert Visca back to the lineup in game three of the series, where Woodstock slid to a 2-1 road victory over Yarmouth. Visca was scratched from the Slammers' roster for all four games of the Meek Division Final series against the Summerside Western Capitals, and for the first two games of the Kent Cup Final round against Yarmouth. Stairs had been suspended during the series against Summerside, and was scratched for an additional couple of games in the Yarmouth-Woodstock series. Rose was also scratched for the first two games of the final round.

Ben Miller watched games four and five from the stands as well, while Mackenzie Brown and Noah Zilbert joined him in the stands on Friday night.

Yarmouth defenseman and team captain Andrew Walker took a crosschecking penalty at 4:47 in the first period, the first penalty of Friday's contest and the Slammers' first power play. Nick Huard didn't let the power play opportunity pass, scoring nearly a minute after Walker was sent to the box. Huard's power play goal gave the Slammers a 1-0 lead.

A sold-out crowd of over 1,300 people added to the atmosphere in the Carleton Civic Centre, cheering loudly when the Slammers would put the rubber between the posts.

Ryan Purvis was sent to the penalty box for interference at 8:17, giving the Mariners a power play opportunity. The man-advantage worked in Yarmouth's favour, with Andrew Walker scoring a power play goal at 10:05.

Five two-minute minor penalties were assessed by referee James Trenholm at 9:30 in period one as a result of a scrum after a whistle. Connor Tresham received the blunt of the penalty minutes, being assessed a double minor for roughing and roughing after the whistle. Tim Campbell of the Slammers was also sent to the box for roughing after the whistle. On the Yarmouth side, Ryan Nickerson and Andrew Wigg both received two-minute minor penalties for roughing after the whistle. The scrum amounted to little more than some pushing, shoving, face-washing and a power play for the Mariners.

Matt Murphy had a front row seat of the beginning of this scrum

The scrum begins as Jake Logan stands by

Linesman Robert Rogers attempts to separate Connor Tresham and Ryan Nickerson

Words continued to be exchanged back and forth between Tresham and Nickerson while Rogers was in the middle on the corner of the ice surface opposite the one where the scrum began

Robert Rogers retains his grasp on Tresham's sweater

Jake Logan chatting it up with Robert Rogers following the incident

Yarmouth players celebrate after Andrew Walker's power play goal got them on the board

Bradley Greene broke the deadlock at 12:13, over two minutes after Walker got the Mariners on the board. Robert Visca increased the score to 3-1 in favour of the Slammers seven minutes later, with 47 seconds remaining of period one.

Mathieu Pompei reduced the deficit to one goal nearly 12 and a half minutes into the middle frame, bringing the score to 3-2.

Over two minutes later, Nick Huard paid a visit to the sin bin for hooking, allowing a power play for the Mariners. However, Yarmouth failed to get anything past Matt Murphy on the man-advantage and in the remainder of the second period.

The Slammers managed one goal in two power play opportunities, while the Mariners went one for three on the power play.

Colin Campbell tied the contest at three with 9:23 remaining on the clock. Despite many attempts and even a time-out called later in the period by Slammers head coach Jason Tatarnic, the Slammers failed to break the deadlock. The Yarmouth Mariners had forced sudden death overtime.

Connor Tresham was checked from behind by Rodney Mahoney at 13:49. Tresham hit the boards hard and fell, causing trainers Bryan Hamilton and Mike Burrell to come to his aid. Mahoney was given a two-minute minor and a game misconduct for the hit.

At the end of regulation, ten minutes was placed on the clock, with the idea that the tiebreaker would consist of ten minutes of overtime, followed by a resurfacing of the ice surface and twenty minutes of extra time afterwards.

The OT consisted of four-on-four hockey until the first whistle, when it returned to five-on-five. Though it looked troublesome, both sides managed well playing four-on-four.

The Slammers' fate was sealed when Zack Henry slipped a shot past Matt Murphy with 3:47 remaining in the first OT allotment. Despite hopes that the Slammers would bring home the Kent Cup on home ice in game five, defense struggles put the silver out of reach (at least for another game).

Going into game five, the Slammers had outscored the Mariners by a combined score of 7-6. In MHL regular season play, the Slammers were averaging six goals per game, while the Mariners were averaging four and a half, meaning that the two squads were among the top-scoring teams in the league. Seeing that Woodstock and Yarmouth are quite evenly matched, some anticipated the Slammers to choke.

Both netminders have held it together amazingly well throughout the series. In game five, Charles Grant refused 43 of 46 shots faced for the win, while Matt Murphy said no to 36 of 40 shots seen.

Grant has played a key role in providing the Slammers with a challenge. His presence guarding the posts for the Yarmouth Mariners has prevented his team from being defeated too severely by the Slammers. Every game in the series has concluded with a one-goal difference, with the exception of game two when the Slammers were doubled 4-2 by the Mariners.

The series currently sits at 3-2 in Woodstock's favour, but they now have to make the unwanted trip to Yarmouth for game six, which could result in the Slammers welcoming the Kent Cup into their possession or a return trip to Woodstock for game seven. Game six is scheduled for Monday, April 16th at 7:30 pm at the Mariners Centre in Yarmouth.

Matt Murphy made many key saves during Friday night's contest. Murphy has played a key role in the Slammers' survival in the series against Yarmouth.

Chris Rygus

Tim Campbell

Ben MacSwain

Ryan Purvis

Brett MacLean

Ryan Purvis makes a face at The Shiretown Blogger

Colton Stairs

Ben MacSwain

Colton Stairs

Phillip Fife

Ben MacSwain

Zach Shannon

Tim Campbell

Why didn't I feature this guy (Derek Larade) in my series on playoff beards?

On-ice officials have a larger responsibility than just calling penalties, offsides, and icing. Here, linesmen Robert Rogers and Ryan Springer use a water bottle, a puck and snow to fix a crack in the ice.