Halifax Floor Hockey LeagueChill vs Hackers
The first game saw the Chill facing off against the Hackers. The Chill FINALLY had more than half their squad and welcomed the addition of Adam Mackenzie who was replacing an injured Wes Cook. The Hackers? Not looking so good. Their captain, Joe Murphy, was stranded in an airport in Houston and their big gun D Man Dan Carver was a no show due to an untimely event.
The ball drops to start the game and power forward/D man Geoff Briggs gets the Hackers on the board scoring on a solo effort and we are off to the races! Adam Mackenzie made an immediate contribution when he fed a pass to Cam Power to even it at one. Shortly after that Alex DeSousa notched the second goal for the Chill on a pass from Power. Then Power scored his second again from Mackenzie and it was 3-1 for the Chill after the 1st.
The second saw the Chill add two more to the scoreboard when Rylan Smith scored on a pass from Shannon Thoms. This was followed by a third goal from Cam Power to complete his hat trick off a pass from none other then Adam Mackenzie. 5-1 Chill after the second.
The third saw the Chill keep things rolling when Alex DeSousa notched his second of the night on a pass from Cam Power. Then Aaron Brown scored on a pass from Shannon Thoms. Geoff Briggs scored his second of the night and that was all she wrote. The Hackers just could not keep up with the new life that the Chill showed in this game. Chill forward Cam Power had an awesome game 3 goals and 2 helpers to power his team into the next round. Chill take this 7-2
Sabres vs Lynx
The second game saw the Lynx taking on the Sabres. Although the Sabres had a rather dismal regular season, a full roster and the addition of Greg Wheaton breathed new life into this squad and they were not going to be a walk over by any stretch. The Sabres finally had their full roster and wanted to prove they were the real deal with everyone out.
The first period saw the Sabres goalie Craig Burgoyne face a barrage of plastic as he faced 18 shots. The Lynx only managed to get two. The first was Mike Collier from Matt Grove, followed by Shane Erb from Grove. This gave the Lynx a 2-0 lead headed into the second.
The Sabres opened the scoring in the second when Liam Macleod scored on a pass from Aaron Brown, but the Lynx answered back with a goal from Stu Whidden off a feed from Shane Erb. 3-1 Lynx headed into the final frame.
The third saw the Lynx add to their lead when Stu scored his second of the night from Matt Grove on a power play. The Sabres didn’t quit though as Alex Yeadon beat Kane on a pass from Myle Raymond, but it would not be enough and when the horn sounded, the Lynx were moving on with a 4-2 win. The Sabres still had a chance to advance due to the goaltending of Burgoyne and with a plus minus of -2 they ensured the Hackers were down for the year and still had a chance.
Last game of the night saw the severely under manned Slayers facing off against the Fire, who despite finishing fourth during the regular season were a force to be reckoned with.
Spoiler alert…this one was a doozy…and there were too many goals to recall them all, so sorry folks…getting the condensed version for the most part…
The first period saw the Fire completely dominate. They scored 5 goals to the Slayers 1 and this was looking like a blow out. Slayers could not get anything going.
The second saw the slayers turn things up offensively and they grabbed 7 goals led by none other than Matt Strum…who I think played the entire game. The Fire recorded 5 of their own and it was now 10-8 after the second.
The third…well this is where it gets interesting! The Slayers quickly came within one as Jeff Withers sniped a top shelfy off a pass fromMatt Strum. But Anil Snook got the two goal lead back when Mike Giles sent a pass his was and he beat Boudreau. Jordan Castilloux brought the Slayers within one once again when he ripped a slap shot past Kevin Kennedy to keep it within in one goal. Fire mocker extraordinaire Liam Oxner was rewarded for a great effort scoring a solo to get the two goal lead back with under 3 minutes to go. This one had to be over now right? Not! Matt Strum, as he has so often down in his young but illustrious career, found another gear and put the pedal to the floor. Jeff Withers sent Strum in for his 5th of the night and with less than a minute left it was 12-11 Fire. Strum then battled hard and was rewarded off a pass from Jordan Castilloux and it was all tied up. Both of these teams were going on to the next round but we still had to settle things. This wa s headed to overtime.
In overtime the Fire came down the floor and threw a shot at Boudreau that was turned aside. The Slayers rookie phenom Jeff Withers brought the ball up and took a big slapper from the point, somehow Matt Strum got his stick on it and deflected it in for the win. Slayers fought back from that early first period deficit and get the win.
Matt Strum gets this weeks player of the game with a 7goal 3 assist performance.
So after the dust settled, the stage is set for round two.
The Chill will be facing the Slayers and the Fire are visitors to the Lynx. Neither of these games will be easy and we will see what happens next Monday.
7:00PM
Chill vs Slayers
8:00PM
Fire vs Lynx
Well this is Billy Concarney saying that’s a wrap and so long for now.
Be well people!