Perth up 2-0 in EOJHL Valley final series with Renfrew
Posted Mar 12, 2010 By Jeff Maguire
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Tweet ThisEMC Sports - First place Perth Blue Wings have taken the early initiative in their Valley Division final series with Renfrew Timberwolves in the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League (EOJHL).
After winning the opener in easy fashion on home ice Friday night, Blue Wings improved their post season record to a perfect 6-0 with a 5-1 decision at Renfrew Arena on Sunday night.
The score sheet from Game 2 had not been posted prior to the EMC deadline for this week meaning details of the contest were unavailable to us. The third game was scheduled for Perth and District Community Centre Wednesday night with Game 4 in Renfrew tonight (Friday) at 8 o'clock.
Perth finished atop the six-team division and they had no trouble with fourth place Almonte Thunder in their Valley semi final set, sweeping the best-of-seven four straight.
Renfrew finished third, behind county rival Arnprior Packers, during the regular season. But in the semi final series between the two it was Timberwolves who triumphed, winning the series in six games over an injury-hit Arnprior club.
Perth opened the final series with a 9-4 home ice decision over Wolves Friday. The game featured a wild third period in which Wings scored five straight goals in a span of under four minutes early in the stanza. Renfrew then came up with three of the next four markers as the teams combined for nine goals in a span of nine minutes and 40 seconds.
The home team was three for seven on the powerplay and they held period leads of 2-0 and 3-1.
Rookie right winger Blair Barr continues to be the story of the playoffs for Perth. He connected for a hat trick to raise his post season total to nine in five games.
Following Friday's action the 16-year-old had the highest playoff goal total in the entire four-division league. Barr finished eighth in scoring among Valley-Metro rookies with 21 goals and 14 assists in 42 regular season games.
Riley Kane and Zach MacMillan each fired their third of the post season for the winners with MacMillan adding one helper. Four Perth players Shawn McGillivray, Gio Falsetti, Josh MacMillan and Jason Burchill notched their first playoff goals. Peter McGahey helped the cause with four assists while Anthony McVeigh helped set up three markers.
Renfrew scoring leader Ethan Allard netted his seventh and eighth post season goals with Eric Logan and Kirk Skebo scoring 19 seconds apart past the 12 minute mark of period three to round out scoring in the contest. Skebo also assisted once with Matt Johnston helping out on a pair.
Perth outshot Renfrew 46-36 with Jeremy Wright the winning net minder.
Rosebrook started in goal for Wolves but failed to survive the third period Wings' onslaught, exiting after the fourth Perth goal of the period at the 6:21 mark. Richard Barr finished up, yielding two goals on 11 shots.
Referee Jeff Pashak called 15 minor penalties, eight of which went to the visitors.
Game 3 of the Perth-Renfrew series was played Wednesday in Perth with the fourth game set for Renfrew Friday at 8 p.m.
Classic series
Metro Division pennant winners and defending league champion Ottawa West Golden Knights had a major scare in their opening round series with fourth place Clarence Creek Beavers.
After taking a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Knights appeared to be cruising toward a final showdown with cross-town rival Ottawa Junior Canadians in the division final.
Beavers, however, weren't prepared to go into hibernation. They nearly pulled the upset of the season, roaring back with three straight victories, including a 5-4 overtime victory last Wednesday night in Clarence Creek which forced the series to the maximum seven games. Jamie Begin scored the winner just 24 seconds into the extra session.
The deciding contest, played last Thursday at Barbara Ann Scott Arena in Ottawa, turned out to be a barn burner!
The teams played through a scoreless first period in the game which was televised on Rogers Cable 22. In the middle stanza the host Knights scored twice with veteran Brandon Durant and Taylor Alexander, with a powerplay goal, making it 2-0 after 40 minutes of play.
It stayed that way until the late stages of the final regulation stanza. Beavers then tied it on goals one minute, 46 seconds apart by Begin (a powerplay effort) and Pascal Brisson, on a set-up from Begin. The pair finished second and third respectively in the regular season scoring derby. Brisson's tally forced overtime for a second straight night!
The rivals skated through a scoreless 20 minute added period with Ottawa out shooting Clarence 5-2. But at the 2:51 mark of the second overtime it was Matthew MacDonald scoring his second goal of the series to give Golden Knights a thrilling 3-2 triumph.
It was a classic seventh game with each team firing 26 shots. Former Perth Blue Wing Adam Morden was the winning goalie while Patrick Martin was the hard luck loser.
Three of the seven contests were decided in OT with Knights winning two of them.
Ottawa West, who has won six of the past 10 overall championships in the EOJHL, advanced to yet another division final against Canadians who disposed of Gatineau Mustangs in five games in the other semi final. Those clubs had finished second and third respectively during the regular season.
The final set opened Monday night at Barbara Ann Scott Arena with Game 2 at Brian Kilrea Arena (Canadians' home) Tuesday and Ottawa West hosting the third game Thursday night. Game 4 goes Saturday night at 7:20 at Brian Kilrea Arena in southeast Ottawa.
Meanwhile, in the Rideau Division, near neighbours Westport Rideaus and Athens Aeros are playing for the title. The first place Rideaus skated past fourth place Gananoque Islanders in five games in one semi final while Aeros bested third place Brockville Tikis, also in five games.
The final opened on the weekend with Westport scoring back-to-back 5-4 victories Friday and Sunday. Game 2 in Athens was decided in overtime.
Casselman Vikings, who won the regular season pennant in the St. Lawrence Division, are now battling perennial champion Alexandria Glens in the remaining final series in the four-division league.
Casselman opened the set with an easy 7-1 win on home ice last Thursday. However Alexandria rebounded with two weekend wins, edging Vikings 5-4 in overtime Friday and then cruising to a 5-1 win in Casselman Sunday evening to take a 2-1 lead in that best-of-seven.
Casselman reached the final by easily sweeping past fourth place Winchester Hawks in the semi finals. The second place Glens needed five games to overcome third place Char-Lan Rebels from Williamstown in the other opening round series in the St. Lawrence Division.
As mentioned Game 3 of the Valley Division final was played Wednesday in Perth with the fourth game scheduled Friday night at Renfrew Arena starting at 8 o'clock.
If necessary Game 5 will be in Perth Saturday at 7:30 p.m. A sixth game would go Tuesday (March 16) in Renfrew at 8 p.m. If a seventh and deciding contest is needed it would be played in Perth on St. Patrick's Day night at 7:45.
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