A slow start and an unlucky late bounce cost the Huntsville MBRP Minor Midgets Game 1 of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association BB finals on Sunday at the Jack Bionda Arena by a 3-2 score.
As the opening puck was dropped the Otters seemed more caught up in the fact they were in the finals and less focussed on playing in them as only a minute and a half in, they found themselves down 2-0 against a St. Mary’s team that showed up to play.
“I don’t think we were mentally prepared for that onslaught,” said head coach Randy Robinson. “St Mary’s, to their credit, were on attack mode from the moment the puck was dropped. That kind of caught our players off guard a bit. They haven’t seen something like that all year. But there was also a bit of a lull on our part because the players are thinking they made it (to the finals). Then reality set in and they know now it will be harder than the last series.”
Clearly rattled but not willing to crumble, the team fought through broken plays and started playing the body and slowly began to establish their game to try and take away St. Mary’s game.
They still ended the first period down by two goals.
But progress seemed to calm the team down getting out of the first period with no further damage and their play reflected it during the second period as Huntsville began to outplay St. Mary’s. If not for a solid St. Mary’s goaltender, Huntsville easily could have been right back in the game in the period.
The third period provided more of the same as the Huntsville players pressed even harder to get on the scoreboard and netminder Natalie Robinson made some timely saves to give her team a chance to get back in it.
Huntsville’s hard work finally paid off on a highlight real play, as Jimmy Temple pinched down low and got a backhanded shot to go top shelf to finally get the Otters on the board with five minutes remaining.
This lifted the team’s spirits and the attack intensified. With two minutes remaining, the Otters scored again to tie the game on a great shot from Tyler Vanhorne on a nice feed from Brendan Krahn.
“I think they realized that our game plan will work here,” coach Robinson said in regards to the turnaround in the Otters’ game. “They knew they had the tools to win, but they had to work through it first. St. Mary’s has a similar game plan to (ours). The coaches pointed that out to them, and that they were playing it better than us (early in the game).”
It appeared the Otters were scripting another exciting comeback from behind the finish, but fate turned on the team this day with 30 seconds remaining. A lone St. Mary’s player was deep in the corner almost behind the goal line. He threw a puck to the front of the Huntsville net and the puck careened off a Huntsville skate past a surprised Natalie Robinson.
Coach Robinson said that while the result was disappointing, the good news is the team is now equipped with the knowledge they can play with St. Mary’s and if they remain focussed and prepared they can control their own destiny.
The Otters are going down to St. Mary’s for Games 2 and 3 on March 20 and 21.
Coach Robinson said that the team is heading down to the southern Ontario town the night before Game 2, so the team can be focussed on winning their best-of-five series.