No Little feat

highlights and photos
by Kyle MacKinnon

It was a roller coaster of emotion as the Mooretown Flags and Wallaceburg Lakers met up in the first game of the Jr. C playoffs. Mooretown was down 4-3 with under a minute to go but managed to tie with the extra attacker to force the game to overtime. Just past the nine minute mark of the extra frame the five Flags players on the ice raised there arms celebrating the potential game winning goal. The Flags jumped from the bench in jubilation as they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Or did they?   Both Mooretown and Wallaceburg players, coaches and fans sat on pins and needles as the officials talked about the apparent goal. But it never crossed the line.

Luckily for the Flags fans, minutes later Adam Little let go a slap shot from the point beating Wallaceburg goalie Ryan George for the game one victory.   "As the coach of the team who "scored" a goal like that in overtime I think it was in," Flags head coach Bruce Aberhart joked about the phantom goal. "But we managed to get the win."
 

From the opening face off, it was apparent that that this opening round playoff series is going to be a battle to the end.
The two teams split the season series three-games a piece. And it was even more obvious by the opening goal that the team that got the last good bounce was going to win.
 
The first goal of the game could have finished the series before it began for Wallaceburg's George.
On a "harmless" dump in from the blueline by Flags forward Aaron Schieman, the puck bounced off the back boards.
put his paddle down to stop it for his defenseman. The puck carimed off the tenders stick, went between his legs and into the back of the net.
 

But the Wallaceburg goalie rebounded making 48 stops on 53 shots; but it wasn't enough.   "I thought it hit his blocker," Little said after his sealing goal. "I was just trying to get it on net."   He said than a flood of Flags jerseys jumped him at centre ice.
"Adam's been very versatile for us," Aberhart said of Little. "He has played both forward and defence for us throughout the season. He is just a good kid."
 

With less than a minute left in the game it was Little's point shot that found the back of the net to tie the game. Clark MacPherson, Mike Burns and Schieman rounded out the Flags scoring. 

Kyle Washer was steady in net stopping 45 of the 49 shots he faced. 

It was a chippy affair.  There were 58 minutes in penalties divided between the two teams.   "It has been our achilles heel all season," Aberhart said of the penalties.  "But we were second in the league on the penalty kill this year. But you couldn't tell this game." 

Wallaceburg went 2-for-10 on the power play while Mooretown went 2-for-8.
"A team might win by one or two goals in one game but this is going to be a tight series," the coach said.  "I expect it to go the full seven games. We are both very evenly matched."  Game two goes Saturday in Mooretown at 7:30 p.m.