Mar 20, 2016 | Bruce Schlitt | 1048 views
Novice AA Battle Back In Game 2 To Even Series
The Novice AA Gryphons exploded for five goals in the third period on route to a 6-1 victory over the Burlington Eagles in Game 2 of the Novice AA Tri County Final. With the victory, the Gryphons have evened up the best of five series at one game apiece.
The game started out a close tight checking affair. With 2:22 left in the opening frame, Tanner Bothwell got the Gryphs on the board when he slid in a rebound into the open net to give Guelph the lead. Koen Smith and Nathan Briggs drew assists on the play.
The second period saw both teams with numerous chances but were denied by excellent goaltending. Kurtis Abbey came up with several glove saves to keep Burlington off the board. Finally, with only 41 seconds left in the second period, Burlington's Brady Hollingsworth broke in off the side boards and roofed the puck top shelf to tie the score at one heading into the third period.
In the third, Guelph got the bounces and exploded for five goals. 2:28 into the final period, Tanner Bothwell fed Nathan Briggs in front and Brigss banged it home for a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later, Nathan Schlitt's forechecking led to a turnover and he fed the puck back to defenseman Vincent Piccone. Piccone made no mistake as he stepped to the top of the circle a smoked a wrist shot in the far corner for a 3-1 lead. Then, two minutes later while killing a penalty, Landon Mitchell stripped the Burlington defenseman of the puck and walked in alone on a breakaway and buried the biscuit for a 4-1 lead. With 5:39 left, Nathan Briggs pounced on a loose puck while on the powerplay and slammed it in for his second of the night and a 5-1 lead for the Gryphons. With 2:33 remaining in the contest, Tanner Bothwell fed a beautiful pass thru two Burlington defenders in the neutral zone to send Koen Smith in all alone on a breakaway. Smith made no mistake to complete the scoring.
Kurtis Abbey was strong in the Gryphons net, facing 16 shots in the victory.
The Gryphons return to action for Game 3 of the series this Wednesday night at home.