Feb 12, 2016 | Bruce Schlitt | 593 views
Novice AA Take Game 1 of OMHA Quarter Finals
On Friday February 12, the Novice AA Gryphons traveled to Fergus for Game 1 of the OMHA Quarter Finals and came home with a 4-1 victory over the Centre Wellington Fusion. The victory was a total team victory, from the outstanding goaltending of Alessandro Gruosso to the strong defensive corp to the hard skating forward group.
After holding off some pressure in their own zone to start the game, the Gryphons found their legs and opened the scoring 7:47 into the first period. Nathan Schlitt came down the wing and whistled a wrist shot just wide that bounced out the other side to the waiting stick of Landon Mitchell. Mitchell stuck the puck in the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. The score remained 1-0 after the first period.
3:30 into the second, Landon Mitchell won the draw in the Fusion zone and quickly snapped a wrist shot on net that caught the Fusion goalie off guard and the score was 2-0. Then with 2:13 left in the frame, Tanner Bothwell fought off two defenders in the corner and fed a perfect pass in front to Koen Smith. In a blink Smith slammed the puck home and the Gryphs lead was up to 3. The score stood 3-0 after two periods of play.
The fast paced game continued in the third with the Gryphs battling for the puck at every turn. With just over 8 minutes left, Nathan Briggs pounced on a turnover in the neutral zone and raced down the right side of the ice before he snapped a wrist shot top shelf for a 4-0 lead. With 1:33 left, the Fusion snapped Gruosso's shut out as sniper Sam Black rocketed in a wrist shot on the power play.
The Gryphons now lead the best of five series 1-0 and host the Fusion on Sunday afternoon.