Eagles Up 2-0 in Second Round Against Lakefield

Article by I. Schoonderbeek/Media by C. Archer

The Clarington Eagles shut out the Lakefield Chiefs for the second time in game two of their second-round series Saturday night. A healthy number of Eagles fans made the trek to Lakefield to watch their boys skate to a 4-0 victory in the physical contest.

Clarington expected the game to be a grind given the small confines of the Lakefield-Smith Community Centre and the Chiefs’ strategy to employ a trap system. But the Eagles caught a break early.

With Clarington on a first-period penalty kill, Lakefield was whistled for an offensive zone boarding call. The Eagles took advantage of the extra space on the ice during the four-on-four play. They got on the scoreboard six minutes into the game when Trevor Urquhart knocked in a rebound from a Kyle Shepherd point shot.

Clarington would strike again with less than five minutes to play in the first. A rebound from an Eagles shoot-in directed at the Lakefield net was kicked back out front toward the faceoff dot. Mitch Davies beat the Chiefs’ back checkers to the puck and made no mistake snapping a top-shelf goal to put Clarington up 2-0 after one.

Leyton Aitken made it 3-0 with his fourth of the playoffs in the second period.

Cole Williamson converted a one-timer from the point on the powerplay from Trent Gaylor in the third period to complete the scoring.

Despite the relatively low shot totals (Clarington outshot Lakefield 25-20 overall), the fans in attendance were treated to some good physical playoff hockey. One Eagle who didn’t mind the tight quarters on the ice was Joe Boice. “I love the smaller barns,” said Joe. “There’s a lot more hitting, and they tend to be rougher games…it’s right up my alley!”

While pleased with his club’s effort, head coach Dean Baumhauer continues to stress the importance of the players being more disciplined on the ice. “We’re not giving up much,” said Dean. ”We’re only giving them a chance with our penalties. Five-on-five, they’re not even putting a dent in our ice. Both our goalies are playing well. Our back end looked good again tonight. We’re recognizing when they’re not forechecking as hard and trapping us, and we’re taking the ice.”

Jude Rondina picked up his second shutout of the playoffs in net for Clarington. The Eagles now have five shutouts in their first six post-season games, surrendering only 79 shots on goal.

“The defense has really been helping us out, blocking shots and taking away passing lanes,” said Jude. “We’re playing with confidence as a team up and down the lineup.”

The two clubs have a day off before battling it out again Monday evening at Garnet B Rickard Recreation Complex. Puck drop is 7:55 pm.

Waiting in the wings for the winner of the series are the Georgina Ice, who punched their ticket to the Orr Division Championship series by sweeping the Uxbridge Bruins on Saturday.