Defence wins championships — and scores game-winners, as the Gees use overtime to beat the Ridgebacks
The playoffs are here, and the Gees men’s hockey team is starting the OUA East round one against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks. In this best-of-three-games series, the Gees would start it off on the road. Although lacking the home-ice advantage on Wednesday, the team performed well on the road in the regular season.
This first game was packed with action, including a high-scoring first period, and a second period filled with penalties. The Gees would be taken into overtime after a clutch Ridgebacks goal in the third period, and after a lengthy overtime, Ottawa native second-year defenceman Vincent Maisonneuve would end the game abruptly with a powerful slapshot, giving the Gees the first game of the series.
The Gees second star in the making Zach Dietz would be the starting goalie in the first game of three in the series. Fourth-year forward Charles-Antione Roy would have the first shot on goal for the Gees, breaking away from the heard, one-on-one with the last Ridgeback defender, cutting in towards the goalie and shooting backhand past Beckett Langkow for the game’s first goal. The Ridgebacks would respond in due time with a rebound from the rookie forward Matt Wisener as they tied the game 1-1. However, less than a minute later the Gees would find themselves on a three-on-one opportunity, where Bradley Chenier would play it over to Mitch Martin for the quick goal past Langkow.
As the second period was underway the Gees were looking to stay on top, with two early penalties on both sides they would start out playing four-on-four. The Ridgeback’s Gabriel Bernier would be open with a powerful shot in the high slot on Dietz, but Dietz would make the quick stop keeping the lead intact.
Things were getting rowdy in the second period following the Ridgebacks player headed off the ice for an injury, the teams would get in a scuffle, and after 10 minutes of the refs discussing the play both penalty boxes were filled with players. The Gees would get a penalty for too many men late in the second period, and the Ridgebacks would have their second powerplay of the game. During the power play, Dietz was on fire saving every type of shot the Ridgebacks had. The Gees could not stay out of the box tonight as the captain Anthony Poulin would head to the box again, and they would be on another penalty kill. To not much of a surprise they would kill off their penalty and maintain their 2-1 lead going into the final period.
As the trend continued in the third period, Mitch Martin would earn himself a double minor and the Gees would be on a long four-minute penalty kill. Right as the penalty kill came to an end, the Ridgebacks Bernier would pick up a loose rebound and the game would be tied 2-2. Martin would head to the box once again for the Gees, with only seven minutes remaining in regular time.
Unfortunately, Cam Gauvreau would earn a penalty nearing the end of Martin’s, spending the majority of the final period down a player, their hopes for a game-winning goal were low. They would kill off their seventh penalty of the game, and with five minutes remaining the Gees looked to ice the game. Their golden opportunity finally came as they would not find themselves on a powerplay after a Ridgebacks penalty on Antione Desrochers. However, the period would come to an end with things all tied up, and the first game in the playoff series would be settled in overtime.
In overtime, the Gees were putting immense offensive pressure on the Ridgebacks, but many great shots were all to be stopped by Langkow. Bradley Chenier for the Gees would be on a breakaway, but it wouldn’t be enough to beat Langkow as the overtime continued. After a hard-fought overtime, the final play would come from a pass from Seguin across the Ridgebacks’ zone with Vincent Maisonneuve lining up for a slapshot, shooting the puck fast past Langkow for a stunning game-winning goal.
Chenier who picked up two assists played a key role in the team’s victory, backed up in net by the brick wall Dietz who made 38 saves on 40 shots, with Martin spending the equivalent of an entire period of hockey in the box while still picking up a goal. Even after a total of 48 penalty minutes, not one powerplay goal was scored, something the Ridgebacks might look for in the next game of the series.
The team will return home to play the next, and potentially last game of the series on Feb. 21 at 7 pm in the Minto Sports Complex. Come out to support the Gees and catch action-packed playoff hockey, with tickets here.
