SURPRISE UPSET.
The South Muskoka Shield began their season opener against the Bradford Rattlers on Friday in the lead, but came up just short in a post-overtime shootout, where they lost 5-4.
Photo by Louis Tam
GRAVENHURST -- The South Muskoka Shield failed to open its season on a high note, after dropping a 5-4 shootout decision to the Bradford Rattlers Friday night at Gravenhurst Centennial Centre.
“Losing this game will hopefully teach us a very valuable lesson early in the season,” said head coach Dallyn Telford. “Straying from the game plan, no matter what the score, produces bad results.”
However, Telford believes the Shield can take many positives from the game, played before an enthusiastic crowd of 180 fans.
“With only one hour of practice as a team prior to the game, I thought we retained a lot of information and did a reasonably good job of keeping the game simple,” he said. “Our team speed in the first period was excellent. However, conditioning was a factor and an issue we will address immediately.”
He said the team stopped skating after building a 3-0 lead in the first period. Shield goalie Rob Sutherland tired out too and succumbed to Bradford’s unrelenting offensive pressure late in the game.
Despite the loss, Telford stands by his decision to sign the veteran goalie over former Shield netminder Eric Pye.
“It was the toughest coaching decision ever made,” said Telford. “I hope it was the right decision. I don’t think I could go wrong either way. With Rob being here last year and winning goalie of the year, it probably gave him a bit of an edge. He almost made a pro team so hopefully that gives him incentive to play his best.”
A number of new players have been signed to the team to bolster the roster. They include Brodie McDonald of Washago, Aaron Turner of Huntsville, Justin Mullen from Parry Sound and Randy Mortley from Midland.
In Friday’s home opener, the Shield started off strong as Donny Danroth opened the scoring with a power-play goal before two minutes had expired on the clock. He was assisted by Jericho Buwalda and Travis White.
Danroth added a second marker, assisted by White and Dylan Sontag at 12:09, before White came through with a goal of his own at 5:59, assisted by Danroth and Sontag.
Bradford finally got on the scoreboard with just a few minutes left in the second period to make the score 3-1 going into the third.
South Muskoka jumped ahead 4-1 less than a minute into the frame when White scored his second goal of the game with Sontag and Danroth combining once again on the play.
But the three-goal lead didn’t last long as Bradford found their game and scored three unanswered goals to tie the contest and send it into overtime.
Telford said the Shield missed some great scoring chances late in the game.
The teams traded a couple of scoring chances in the extra period, however nothing was resolved and the match went to a shootout.
Bradford’s first shooter scored on Sutherland and that was all they would need. All three Shield shooters — Danroth, Buwalda and Sontag — were stopped by the Rattlers’ Carson Bird.
“At the end of the day, we’ll take the single point and buckle down in practice this week to ensure that we get two points this Friday,” said Telford.
Goalie Tanner Swift is scheduled to start the next game, this Friday against the Shelburne Red Wings in Gravenhurst at 8 p.m.
“Tanner has worked hard all summer,” said Telford. “He looked great in practice and at training camp, so he’ll see more action this year if he performs as well as he has so far.”