Halifax Floor Hockey League
Monday’s game was close from the get-go. And in fact it was the underdog Fire who tallied the first two goals of the games, courtesy of Mark Thompson and Jeff Shute. By the end of the first period, the Lynx could only cut the lead to 4-3, led by two Roger Keating goals.
The second period belonged to the Lynx, who were playing without leading goal-scorer Tony Warnell, who broke his foot in their previous game against the Lite-Sabres. Keating, hard-shooting defenseman David Blandford, and sophomore Alan Green each notched two goals apiece in the period, as the Lynx turned a one-goal deficit into a four-goal second intermission lead.
The Lynx were not the only team jockeying for playoff position, as the Fire needed at least a tie to have a realistic hope of finishing fifth overall in the final standings. And it was that inspiration that jumpstarted their third period play. First it was Shawn Currie who beat Lynx goaltender Martin Kane to close the gap to 11-8. And after Pierre Martin restored the Lynx’ four goal lead, it was defenseman-turned-forward Sean Babineau who once again reduced the margin to three. And when the Fire’s leading scorer Jeff Shute tallied his fourth goal of the game, the lead was only 12-10 with mere minutes to play.
But after a bizarre series of slap-shot infractions, Roger Keating put the game on ice with his fifth goal of the game, making the final score 13-10. Keating led all goal scorers with five goals, while teammate Pierre Martin matched Keating’s point total with six points. Jeff Shute led all Fire players with four goals, while Currie and Babineau each contributed a pair of markers in a losing cause.
Lynx goaltender Martin Kane finished an extraordinary season, eclipsing two long-standing records. Most notably, Kane smashed the regular season saves record, finishing with 521 – 70 more than Paul Chui’s previous record, set way back in 2002A. Kane also faced a whopping 617 shots during the regular season, 53 more than Chui’s previous record, also set back in 2002A. Kane’s .844 save percentage was the fifth-best mark in league history, only shy of the fourth place position by a miniscule 0.0003.
Notes: The Lynx second-place finish ensures that this will be the first season that neither the Hackers nor the Sabres will finish in the first two positions in the standings...defensive Lynx captain Richard Wanamaker finishes the regular season without a goal for the first time in his career…Lynx non-rookie players Jeff Hatt, Tim Long, Roger Keating, and Tony Warnell all finish the season with career highs in goal scoring.