Eagles Bounce Back in Lakefield

Article by I. Schoonderbeek/Media by C. Archer

You can’t win them all. That’s what the Clarington Eagles had to tell themselves after Monday night’s lackluster performance in game three of their best of seven series against the Lakefield Chiefs.

Just about everybody in the Eagles lineup had something to atone for, less than 24 hours later when they hit the road to battle the Chiefs in Lakefield Tuesday night. They looked like an entirely different team, displaying the effort and game execution that earned them the top playoff seed in the Orr division. It paid off in a 3-0 Clarington win, pushing Lakefield to the brink of elimination. The Eagles are now up three games to one in the series.

Both clubs displayed more discipline than 24 hours earlier. Only five minor penalties were called in the entire contest. But that doesn’t mean things didn’t get physical. It was a fast, hard-checking affair from the opening drop of the puck. Neither team was willing to give an inch of uncontested ice.

After a scoreless first period, Clarington opened the scoring six minutes into the second. Kyle Shepherd took a pass from Trent Gaylor at the point before walking in to the top of the faceoff circle and releasing a low shot along the ice. The puck somehow went straight in under Lakefield starter Easton Rye’s pads for Shepherd’s second goal of the post-season.

The teams continued to battle as the period wore on. Just before the 15-minute mark, Eagles defenseman Ryan Hall skated the puck the length of the ice deep into the Lakefield zone. As the smooth-skating blueliner was about to circle behind the Chiefs’ net, he pulled the puck back and slipped a short-side pass to Brayden Hicks who was trailing the play. Hicks was left with an easy tap-in for his second of the playoffs as Rye had moved off his post, not anticipating the last second pass by Hall.

The Eagles carried their 2-0 lead into the third period.

Anyone who has been following the Lakefield team recently knows they were not going to go down easily. The Chiefs amped up the pressure in the third period, generating several good scoring opportunities. But Eagles starter Jude Rondina was dialed in. Rondina made numerous outstanding saves to preserve the win and earned his third shutout of the playoffs.

Jordan Shaw would add an empty net goal in the final minute of play.

Coach Dean Baumhauer was pleased with his club’s bounce back performance. “We had one loss in our last 18 games. They’re going to happen,” said Dean. “We were f#@king terrible Monday. It looked like our guys went out and had a good time for St. Paddy’s Day the night before, and Lakefield didn’t!”

“Tonight, was a good test for us. We were missing a couple big pieces of our lineup. But we responded well. It was a grind again. There’s not a lot of ice. But everybody committed to playing heavy hockey and Jude was great in net. It was a team effort. Shepherd was great on the back end and Joe Boice is doing so many of the little things you need to do to win…winning draws, playing heavy. Everybody bought in tonight. They know that’s how we have to play to win.”

Assistant captain Hall stressed the importance of coming out of Lakefield with the 3-1 series lead. “It was a tough loss on Monday,” said Hall. “The guys needed this one. Playing in their barn is difficult. If we lose it’s a whole new series. Now we get to go back to our rink Thursday and hopefully close it out.”

The Eagles will be looking to do just that Thursday night at Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex. Game time is 7:25 pm. Based on games 1-4, fans should expect to see another highly competitive contest.