Kincardine Tim-BR Mart Bantam Reps vs. Listowel Cyclones in the WOAA Playoffs
Article Submitted by Karen Vollmer
It was Thursday, February the 10th when the Listowel Cyclones came to town to meet our Kincardine Tim Br Mart Bantam Reps.
The puck dropped at 7:45 pm and our starting goaltender was Kevin Chau. There were lots of chances in the first for Listowel but Kevin kept us in the game. Listowel pressured near the end of the first then finally at 2:56 they scored. Minutes later with 47 seconds left in the period, sight of the puck was lost and it ended up in Kincardine’s net making it 2-0. In the second, though the Kinucks seemed to be on the defensive for the first half of the period, we almost netted a shorthanded goal by Jordan Bell but the Listowel goalie robbed us. Kincardine started to hit their stride midway through the period and at 2:56 Derrick Bernath moved the puck in from the neutral zone and scored with a quick, hard shot to the top of the net. Listowel answered this goal quickly when they scored with only 3.8 seconds left in the period. In the third, Austin Rees delivered a goal off a rebound of an Evan Brown shot on net, making it Listowel 3, Kincardine 2. At 13:15 a bad bounce put Listowel up by two and they followed that up with a shorthanded goal making it 5-2. Kincardine answered back when Logan Shewfelt
fed Rees the puck who promptly popped it in. A few penalties followed and the Cyclones got the empty net goal at 47.4. Final score Listowel 6, Kincardine 3.
The Kinucks attended at Listowel Arena at 7:00 pm on Sunday the 13th with Seamus Small minding the net for Kincardine. Again, the Cyclones opened up the scoring near the end of the first. In the second with the Kinucks on the PK, Small made a great glove save. Kincardine was on the offensive, however Listowel scored again at 8:44. Though the Kinucks had chances near the end of the second, the Listowel netminder managed to fend off all of our shots. In the third a Listowel blueliner scored at 14:05 but that was quickly answered at 13:41 by Jordan Bell (assisted by Brody Hayes and Chase Ambeau) making it 3-1 for Listowel. The Cyclones scored again at 7:35 for a final score of Listowel 4, Kincardine 1.
It was Full Moon Fever for the Bantams on Wednesday, February 16th for game three of the series. Down by two, the Kinucks were desperate for a win and they came through with flying colours. After a rigorous warm-up, the Kinucks came out strong right off the first drop of the puck at 8:30 pm. A rash of penalties early in the game had Listowel with a two man advantage but the energetic, more physical Kinucks kept the score at nil. There was pressure from Listowel near the end of the first but Scott McFarlan made the ultimate sacrifice and blocked the shot. A late period penalty for Listowel had Kincardine on the power play but the Cyclones managed to score short-handed with 5 seconds left. Listowel got another penalty right off the draw at the start of the second, giving Kincardine a two man advantage which Marshall Smith took full advantage of with an unassisted goal tying the score at one each. Listowel snagged another short-handed goal at 11:38 with their effective PK. More penalties for Kincardine in the second but the score remained the same. In the third, Chase Ambeau buried one at 8:05 with a nice slapper from the point making it 2-2 and for the win, Derrick Bernath scored with a mere 11.5 seconds left in the game.
The pressure was on again for Kincardine when they travelled to Listowel the next evening (Thursday, February 17th) for an 8:00 pm. start. The Kinucks came out strong again as did their opponents. Kincardine had many shots on net in the last half of the first but netted no goals. In the second, with the Kinucks on the PK, an amazing glove save by netminder Kevin Chau had the spectators in awe. At 13:39, Logan Shewfelt scored for Kincardine with a nice wrist shot. The play moved back and forth at an equal pace for the remainder of the second. Then midway through the third a Cyclone player snagged a backhand rebound off his own shot tying the game at one a piece. A few minutes later at 5:18 Jordan Bell scored after a scrum at the net. The Kinucks were ahead but the Cyclones answered back at 3:03 forcing a ten minute overtime period to keep the spectators on edge! It was a disappointing end for Kincardine when Listowel scored at 7:04 in the OT period for a final score of Listowel 3, Kincardine 2.
Kincardine will now continue on in the WOAA Playdowns against Saugeen Shores and Goderich.
