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Sarnia, ON -
The last time the Northern Vikings and St.
Christopher Cyclones met in boys hockey, Northern
eliminated the Cyclones from the playoffs 26 seconds
into overtime. And with a 5-2 victory on Wednesday
afternoon, the Cyclones coaching staff are not going
to let the team forget it.
"I have
that goal that was scored against us on video," said
Cyclones Head Coach Blake Morrison. "These players
will be seeing that several times over the course of
the season."
Northern
held the Cyclones to zero goals in the first four
minutes despite a large amount of shots turned aside
by Vikings goalie Brandon Johnson. But the heavy
fire power of the Cyclones offence would finally get
through, as Clay Walker would kick off the scoring,
looking to pass the puck across crease but instead
banking it off a sliding Viking defender and into
his own net.
Soon
after, Chris Pamenter would walk in and let a blast
go from the faceoff dot and beat Johnson glove side
for the 2-0 St. Chris lead. Keegan Brandon would
round out the scoring in the first period, picking
up the rebound as the third man on a 3 on 1 player.
In the
second period, Brandon would puck up his second goal
of the game, knocking in a loose puck from a
scramble in front of the net, as St. Chris took a
4-0 lead into the third period.
In the
third, Joe DeSena would make it a five goal game
after scoring on the breakaway.
With five
minutes remaining in the game, Northern would
finally break Pat Brennan's shutout, as Mitch Bigras
would puck up two goals, first picking up a round
off a drive by Justin Moore to the net, and then
being found in the slot for a wrist shit to make it
5-2.
"We got
off to a really good start. The game plan was to
fire pucks at the net and get some quick goals,"
said Morrison. "That helped our confidence a lot
because Northern has a strong hockey club."
But
Morrison knows that anything can change in a
heartbeat, or in his case 26 seconds. But it is
something he enjoys about the LSSAA boys hockey
league, in that anything can happen quickly and
anyone can win on any given day.
"It was
kind of fun last year watching St. Clair rise and
win the city title. For a long time it has been
Northern and Petrolia (LCCVI) being the dominate
clubs. Anything can happen in playoffs. I realized
and recognized that last year. You let up for just
one moment and the momentum of the game can turn
around. "
St. Chris
will play LCCVI on Wednesday, and Northern will take
on St. Clair on Thursday. Both games are at
Clearwater Arena.
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