The first round series between LaSalle and Chatham got a mention on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday night and kept fans on the edge of their seats Sunday night. LaSalle led 2-1 before David Brown struck twice in 4:20 to give the hometown Maroons a 3-2 advantage.
That lead held until late in the third. With goalie Tre Altiman on the bench for the extra attacker Owen Findlay notched his second of the game with 32 seconds left to send the game to overtime for a 4th time in the series. Jaksen Ward was hauled down at 2:37 of the extra session leading to a penalty shot. The Vipers went with Patrick McManus who was stopped by Tommy O'Donnell. Ward was back on the ice for the ensuing shift and scored at 3:15 with first of the playoffs to give LaSalle a 4-3 win.
"I'm so proud of the way we handled the adverstiy we faced in this series," said head coach Chad Shepley. "Our leaders paved the way and our group followed. It was a back and forth series that tested us on both ends of the ice. We're a better team for having gone through it and we're going to be ready for the next round." They'll now face the London Nationals in the next round.
The Essex 73's closed out their Stobbs Division semi-finals with a 4-1 win over Blenheim Sunday night. Adrian McBride got his first start of the series and turned aside 16 shots. Jayden Seguin, Nate Dowling, Liam Hall and Seth Martineau scored for Essex while Landon Hoskins scored the lone goal for the Blades.
Essex will meet Lakeshore in the final after the Canadiens swept aside Wheatley in a tougher than it looked series. "I thought the series was a good one for us," said Lakeshore head coach Anthony Iaquinta. "We needed to play with more desperation and over the course of this round we saw that and responded. Wheatley works so hard and are a tough team. I think this round made us better."
In Leamington, the Flyers swept their first round opponents from Georgetown with a 6-5 OT win Saturday night. Cayden Faust scored the game winner and also had two assists on the night. Cameron Arquette had two goals and an assist while Alex Cunningham pitched in three assists. "It was a great series for our group, especially considering how we ended the season, "said Flyers head coach Dale Mitchell whose team went winless in their final five games of the regular season. "It’s great for our club to still be playing after all the hard work they put behind the seasons to get to the OJHL. We have got awesome support from our fan base as well."
The Windsor Spitfires dropped a 7-4 decision to the London Knights Sunday afternoon. Joey Costanzo made 37 saves and was named 2nd star. The Spits host their final home game of the season Thusday against Erie. Click the highlighted link to enter for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the game. Leave us a message and we'll enter you in the draw.
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