Jan 30, 2015 | maiken | 380 views
Game Three: WHHHHHAAAAAA??!?!!!!
Words fail when describing this game in Tara between the TCDMHA Rebels and AEMHA IceDogs in a tied series. Dogs come back in the 3rd from a two goal deficit to force OT and then win! It was AMAZING! Final 4 to 3.
The Rebels came to Tara, intent to move ahead in the series. The IceDogs would be without the strong defensive presence of Corson, who was off with a concussion from the last game. However, Corson might have proved to be the Dogs' secret weapon(....more on that later). Chase stepped into the role and did a great job with Clayton from their very first shift. And defence felt a lot of unwanted Rebel attention in the first period. The Dogs could not get their heads in the game. And the Rebels like THAT quite a lot. First penalty of the game was to us, for too many blades on the ice. Tyson made a great stop and no change in the score. Braydon got first good shot on the Rebel goalie at 6:05 but it would be the Soup with first goal at 4:05. The Doggies had some great moments in this period: Mitch's speed to beat an iceing call, Brad's run, Brett's hustle, and Dan's puck theft, but the Dogs were still without their first goal.
The Rebels start the second with a full squish on the board with Brad, which looked a lot like a check but was ruled to be interference. But the Dogs couldn't capitalize on the resulting powerplay. Tyson made a some fantastic saves this period, but a puck knocked from his glove saw the scoreboard read: 0 to 2, when we were shorthanded. It would be the next powerplay opportunity for us that a wild scramble with 46.7 on the clock found that the Dogs are FINALLY not at zero goals! It was a wild whacking of the sticks, but scoresheet records the final whack to Will (and my notes to Braydon) but there is no doubt that this was the goal that the Rebels will be writing about. The one ref didn't see it, but I did, (but I DO wear glasses!) 1 to 2.
At this point, both teams left the ice surface. Remember about Corson perhaps being our secret weapon? The Dogs that went into that dressing room were not the IceDogs that came out! A totally different IceDog team that looked just like our IceDogs but were totally focused and driven, took over the ice. An unfortunate penalty early game was an opportunity that the Rebels cashed in. 1 to 3. But they didn't know that the bank was now closed. Chase started off with a good run. Clayton brought out his hard shot. The wingers got their rhythm going. Conor used his great reach to break up rushes. Braydon was causing a lot of trouble for the Rebels. Spencer kept the Soup tied up tight. Centers, Mitch and Brett were sharp. Time was running out and then Coach Richard did something daring. Tyson flew to the bench and there were six attacking skaters! Will put his stick to the ice and fired in the second goal at 2:17! Tyson was pulled again and the Rebel goalie was besieged! The fans were going crazy! And then, from a pass from Chase, Mitch tied up the game with 51.7 seconds left!! In the scramble, the Soup pick up a penalty with 29 seconds left for squishing or bodychecking. Rebel held on until the buzzer signalled the end of the period.
Again...an overtime. The Rebels didn't stand a chance against this fired up team! At 9:02, Mitch made it official and it was all over!! It was a wild ride of a game. The first period it looked like that the IceDogs might be in trouble and all the team could do was to hold on. Then, in final three minutes of the third period, the Dogs brought everything to their game, which led to overtime and now, have the lead in the series! WHAT A GAME!