Feb 20, 2018 | Bruce Schlitt | 2043 views
Minor Atom AE Punch Their Ticket To OMHA Semi Finals
The Guelph Gryphon Minor Atom AE's are on their way to the OMHA semi finals following a gritty 2-1 victory over the Milton Winterhawks in Game 4 on Tuesday night. The Gryphons took the series 3 games to 1.
The game was a nail-biting back and forth affair with Milton giving it all they had to keep the series alive. Guelph got on the board first with 1:58 remaining in the first period when hard forechecking led to a goal mouth scramble and Peyton Markwood jammed in the loose puck for a 1-0 lead. Caleb Davison and Liam Bendo drew assists on the play for their efforts. However Milton answered right back as a Milton forward floating in the neutral zone caught a clearing pass and went top shelf on a breakaway. The score stood 1-1 after one period of play.
The second period belonged to both goaltenders as several outstanding saves were made at both ends of the rink to keep the score 1-1 going into the second intermission.
The winning goal came at the 1:44 mark of the third period. McKenna Petti came barreling into the Milton zone to intercept a Winterhawk breakout attempt and carried the puck deep before threading a pass to Connor Laskowski in front. Laskowski's shot was partially blocked by a Milton defender but Chace Roffel pounced on the loose puck and rifled home the eventual series winner. Milton poured on the pressure for the remaining 13 minutes but the Guelph defense stood strong to turn back the Milton attack time and time again and the clock wound down, giving Guelph the series victory.
Max Heroux was sensational in the Gryphon crease, coming up with several game saving stops in the third period to give the Gryphons the win.
Guelph now advances to the OMHA semi finals against the Oakville Rangers.