Kincardine Atom LL2 travelled to Teeswater on 04Mar2009, for their second game in as many days. Coming off a disappointing outing in Durham, Kincardine put in an exceptional performance in Teeswater.
Once again, Kincardine was faced with a short bench of 8 skaters for their third playoff game in a row. Would fatigue play a factor in this game?
The first period saw Kincardine LL2 play the best team period of the year for the team. Every player did was involved and giving their best effort. The defence of Chris (#15), Alex (#8) and Brendan (#10) ensured that Teeswater players in front of their net were covered, cleared the puck effectively around the boards in their end, held the opposing teams blueline to keep the puck in the offensive zone and covered well for their pinching partner. Forwards Ryan (#16), Rachit (#2) and Mackenzie (#30) covered their defencemen well, cleared the puck out over the blueline when fed up from the defencemen and went hard to the offensive net when they did not have the puck. Centres Hogan (#11) and Virat (#4) provided excellent support for the defence by chasing down Teeswater attackers all the way to their net, carried the puck through the central zone and forechecked with fury. Kincardine had many chances in the first period that were turned away by excellent Teeswater goal tending. Excellent defensive play kept the Teeswater chances to less than a handful in the first period. The score was tied at 0 going into the second period.
The second period saw Teeswater claw their way back into the game, putting Kincardine under some pressure in their end. The Kincardine defence bent, but did not break. Alex (#1) made several outstanding saves to keep Teeswater off the scoreboard. Late in the second period, Virat (#4) picked up the puck in Kincardine's end for an end to end rush, splitting the Teeswater defence and finishing with a low shot into the corner of the net to give Kincardine the lead. The second period ended 1-0 for Kincardine.
The third period saw Teeswater increase the pressure on Kincardine as they tried to even the score. This gave Kincardine some excellent chances as the centres beat pinching Teeswater defencemen, but all chances were turned back by outstanding goal keeping from Teeswater. One rush up the ice ended up with four complete passes - right wing to centre to left wing back to centre for a shot at net. In the dying minutes of the third, Chris (#15) rushed the puck by the length of the ice coming in on goal from the side. The Teeswater goalie made the stop, with a rebound coming out in front of the net. A hard charging Mackenzie was right there to hammer the puck at the open net, but an acrobatic leap and hand extension by the Teeswater goalie kept the sure goal out. Teeswater pulled their goalie with just over one minute left in the game and hemmed Kincardine in their end for the entire minute. Excellent defensive positioning and good puck pursuit kept Teeswater around the perimeter of the Kincardine net. Alex (#1) made 3 or 4 key stops to preserve the shutout victory for Kincardine, 1-0.