12 March 24, 2012 - ObserverXtra

16 | SPORTS
kings: Stratford up 3-1 in second round of GOJHL playoffs; it’s do or die on Friday night
kings | 13
what was a crucial point
in the series.
“The better team won.
The group that came out
and played as a team won
the hockey game, and
the group that came out
and played as individuals
didn’t,” Dean DeSilva said
following the Game 4 loss
Wednesday night.
“We’ve got a game plan
in place, we’ve talked to
them about it before the
game, but once that game
starts it’s up to them to
execute it.”
Four minutes into the
game goaltender Nick
Horrigan made a spectacular
left pad save on
Stratford’s Chad Binning,
then followed it up with
another big right pad save
seconds later on Ryan
Watson to keep the score
tied at zero.
Those saves jumpstarted
the Kings and less
than five minutes later
Brett Priestap fired his
fourth goal of the playoffs
and first of the series past
Cullitons netminder Jesse
Raymond to give Elmira
a 1-0 lead, assisted by
Michael Hasson and Riley
Sonnenburg.
The Kings dominated
the remainder of the period,
outshooting Stratford
21-12 and leading 1-0
heading into the intermission,
but in the second
period bad habits and bad
penalties snuck into the
Kings game.
“I thought I had addressed
that with players
before the game but obviously
not,” said DeSilva.
Stratford turned the
tables and tied the
game at 18:29 when the
puck bounced onto Ray
Huether’s stick in the slot
and he tapped it into the
open net from five feet
out.
The Cullitons outshot
Elmira 10-8 in the second,
but the home team still
had their chances, in particular
Brady Campbell
who was stopped on a partial
breakway with 11:08
left on the clock, and again
with 3:15 remaining when
he stripped the defender
of the puck and walked
in alone on Raymond but
was turned aside to keep
the game tied.
The third period turned
into a war of attrition
as neither side was willing
to give an inch past
their own blueline, but
again the Kings had
their chances and were
stymied. The best came
with about 8:50 left on the
clock when Priestap was
sent away on a breakaway,
but robbed by the left pad
of Raymond as Priestap
tried to cut across the
front of the net and tuck
the puck home.
That turned out to be
the save of the game –
and perhaps the save of
the series – as Stratford
immediately turned up
the ice and scored a rather
weak goal on Horrigan
on a shot that eluded him
through traffic.
The final seconds were
frantic as the Kings tried
to tie it, but they failed to
do so, falling 2-1 on the
scoreboard and now trail
3-1 in the series heading
back to Stratford on Friday
night. Raymond finished
with 38 saves in the
win and has now made
159 saves on 165 shots in
the series, but Priestap
wouldn’t go so far as to
say that the goalie is now
in shooters’ heads.
“He’s making the saves
from outside it’s just that
nobody is going to the
dirty areas to put the puck
in,” Priestap said. “Since
Game 2 we haven’t kept it
simple, we’ve been trying
THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2012
Kings goaltender Nick Horrigan makes a diving pad save on ryan Watson of the Stratford Cullitons in Game 4 of their semi-final matchup on Wednesday night. The save – one of 32 on the night – would spark the team, but the Kings
eventually fell 2-1, and now trail Stratford 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. [JameS JacKSon/oBSerVer
Left, Brett Catto lines up a shot during Game 2 of the series on Sunday night, which the Kings won 2-1. right, Lukas Baleshta protects the puck from Culliton forward Pat Clifford in Game 4 on Wednesday night. The Kings headed to
Stratford Friday night, looking to extend their series to Game 6 back on home ice on Sunday.k [JameS JacKSon/oBSerVer
to do too much, and Horrigan
is keeping us in it so
we have to help him out
a bit.”
For DeSilva, the reason
the team trails in the series
is his players’ refusal
to do all the little things
necessary to win in the
playoffs.
“Guys are trying to be
too fancy instead of just
getting the puck down
low and jamming it at
the net, which is what we
want to do. Just jam and
look for rebounds and
create confusion in front
of the net and score ugly
goals.
“But these guys want
the highlight reel goals,
and they don’t realize that
the dirty goals win you
championships. The highlight
reel goals will make
you a hero for one night.”
Game 5 of the series
goes Friday night in
Stratford at 7:30 p.m., and
should the Kings force a
Game 6, it will be played
at the Dan Snyder Arena
on Sunday at 7 p.m.
series summary:
Game 1 Mar. 16 in Stratford
Stratford: 4 Elmira: 1
Game 2 Mar. 18 in Elmira
Elmira: 2 Stratford: 1
Game 3 Mar. 19 in Stratford
Stratford: 3 Elmira: 2 (double OT)
Game 4 Mar. 21 in Elmira
Stratford: 2 Elmira: 1
Game 5 Mar. 23 in Stratford
Game 6 (if necessary) Mar. 25 in Elmira
Game 7 (if necessary) Mar. 26 in Stratford