Back to the Game Plan

Article by I. Schoonderbeek/Media by C. Archer

A good old fashioned playoff hockey game. That’s what the 1,366 in attendance at the Georgina Ice Palace were treated to Friday evening in game two of the Orr Division final series between the Clarington Eagles and the Georgina Ice. Tight-checking, hard-hitting playoff hockey.

The game was a far cry from the 6-5 game one shootout that took place in Bowmanville 24 hours earlier. The defense in both ends of the rink was tightened up, leaving scoring chances few and far between. After 60 minutes, the Eagles boarded the team bus home having executed a near perfect 3-0 road win to take a 2-0 series lead.

A common sentiment one hears in rinks across the country after many games centres around how the officiating somehow impacted the outcome. The crew assigned to Friday’s contest did an excellent job managing the play, largely leaving their whistles in their pockets, and allowing the teams to fight it out on the ice. As a result, the defensive battle had a good flow, very few after the whistle scrums and only four minor penalties assessed.

It took one of those minor penalties to break the game open. After a scoreless first period, the Eagles got their one and only powerplay opportunity of the game two minutes into the second with a Georgina skater in the box for boarding. They didn’t need much time. Just seven seconds into the man advantage after winning the draw cleanly, the puck was delivered to defenseman Ryan Hall on the point. Hall ripped a wrist shot through a screen in front of the net from Mitch Davies and Kolby Poulin for his first goal of the playoffs.

Late in the second, Hayes Bell added an insurance marker, his first of the post-season, when he jammed his own rebound over the goal line from the side of the crease. The referee behind the net did not immediately signal a goal on the play. But after conferring with other members of the officiating crew, he turned and pointed to centre ice signalling a good goal. Adam Klaas and Leyton Aitken drew assists on the play.

Anyone reviewing the game summary might conclude that Georgina dominated the third period based on their 13-6 shots on goal advantage in the frame. But sometimes numbers can be deceiving.

The Eagles executed a nearperfect game plan in the third. They kept pucks deep in the Georgina end, content to cycle the puck rather than risk costly turnovers on low quality offensive chances. They efficiently cleared the defensive zone. As a result, Georgina’s 13 shot total only really amounted to a few legitimate scoring chances which Clarington starter Oliver Webster calmly gobbled up. The normally loud boisterous crowd in Georgina was effectively neutralized as Clarington’s defensive posture lulled them to sleep.

Mitch Davies put the game on ice with under two minutes to play. With the Georgina goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Davies blocked a point shot, then outraced the Ice blueliners for the rebound off his shinpad before gaining centre ice and firing the puck into the yawning cage. The unassisted goal was the captain’s seventh of the playoffs.

Webster made 29 saves between the pipes to pick up his PJHL leading fourth shutout of the playoffs. He has now recorded 11 combined regular season and playoff shutouts this season, matching the totals put up by Eagles’ fan favourite Alex Lepizzera during the 2021-22 season.

The coaching staff was obviously thrilled with the team effort. “We wanted to start better. Our starts recently haven’t been good,” said head coach Dean Baumhauer. “I liked our first period. We outshot them 10-4 and had two good looks that we didn’t score on. Georgina took some of the momentum in the second period, but good teams are going to get some momentum against us. We did a good job containing them and keeping them to the outside. The third period was pretty much a perfect hockey period for us.”

It was a notable bounceback performance from the Eagles defense. “I challenged our back end before the game,” said Dean “They’ve been really good all year. It’s a strength of our team. But they were a little off in game one as a group. Tonight, they were all outstanding, one through six.

“We did shorten the bench up a little late in the game,” Dean continued. “We’ve given Scoobs (Schoonderbeek) and Nolan (Matheson) a really tough assignment. McCullough and Cutler are two outstanding forwards who are as good as any player you’re ever going to see in this league. They did an outstanding job tonight.” While Schoonderbeek is accustomed to this kind of assignment from his previous run with the team two seasons ago, Matheson is adjusting to the accompanying increased minutes the role entails. The Georgina snipers play a lot, and Baumhauer had his shutdown pair clocked in at over 30 minutes Friday night. We requested a quote from Matheson after the game, but he was busy throwing up in the dressing room.

Assistant captain Cole Williamson was ready and willing to speak for his younger teammate. “Those guys (McCullough & Cutler) are shooters, and Nolan likes taking pucks to the body. It’s a perfect matchup!” said Cole with a chuckle. “Seriously though, he’s handling the matchup well. We’re making it uncomfortable for those guys to play. Deano was on us a bit as a defense core after last game, probably rightfully so. We knew we had to be better today.”

If the Eagles win this series, they will likely be able to point to the versatility of the club as a key factor. They’ve jumped out to a 2-0 series lead winning two completely different types of games. “Guys are stepping up,” said Baumhauer. “It was Urquhart, Smith and Shaw last night. And they still played good today. But then tonight we get a performance like we did from Hayes Bell. Hayes was getting double shifted in the third, playing wing and centre, and scores the big goal to put us up 2-0. Our captain gets a huge shot block, then fights through the check to get the empty netter. And Joe Boice, again does all the little things that you’re not going to see in a boxscore. That’s what you go out and get him for. He’s heavy on pucks, mean, and a stud in the faceoff circle.”

The team now focuses their attention to game three Sunday night at Rickard arena. “We have to learn from our game three loss against Lakefield,” said Baumhauer. “We’re not going to get too high or ahead of ourselves and be ready to go Sunday night. We’re the better team.”

Puck drop Sunday night is 7:25 pm.