Flyers jump out to 2-1 Sutherland Cup lead

By C. Scott Holland

Playing in their first Sutherland Cup final series, the Leamington Flyers turned some heads, jumping out to a 2-0 series lead before dropping game three in Stratford on Monday night.

Game one of the series was held in Stratford last Friday night with the Flyers looking flat in the opening period but flicking the switch in the second and third to win 4-1.

The second game was in Leamington on Sunday, and once again a fabulous second period led them to a 4-1 victory in front of 1,665 fans.

Game three in Stratford on Monday was an all-Warriors affair that ended with the Flyers losing 6-2.

In game one at Stratford, it was a scoreless tie with the Flyers jumping on board first when Trevor LaRue’s powerplay shot from the slot eluded Stratford starter Owen Willmore. Nearly two minutes later, however, the Warriors knotted the contest.

At the outset of the third it was like the Flyers had flipped a switch. Solid defense and timely offense plus sparkling netminding by Bryce Walcarius vaulted the Flyers into the lead.

During a scramble in front of Willmore, Ryan MacPherson jammed in the handiwork of Owen Holmes. At 7:29, during a powerplay, Connor MacPherson rifled a screen shot that made it a 3-1 contest. With 90 seconds left, the Warriors pulled Willmore for an extra attacker but had to put him back in for a faceoff. Cody Brekke and Thomas Grossi worked the puck to captain Gabe Piccolo, whose backhand shot from in close made it a 4-1 final.

“We knew we had to win a game on the road. I didn’t think our start was great, but we knew they would come out hard,” said Flyers coach Dale Mitchell after game one. “We did a good job weathering the storm

and played a solid second and third period. It’s important we hold home ice advantage at this point. We owe our fans a better effort from our last two games played at home.”

On Sunday, Leamington hosted their first Sutherland Cup contest with 1,665 fans attending, including many notable former Flyers players such as former NHLers Kris Manery and Kirk Bowman. It was a noisy crowd that watched a rather thrilling game that featured several early penalties.

For both teams it has been a hard-fought battle in the first two games, and while the shots do not reflect that, a majority of the two games were puck battles along the board and keeping shooters from having good scoring opportunities. In the opening frame Sunday, Stratford tabbed the first goal on a powerplay for a 1-0 lead.

The opening minute of the second yielded two more penalties - one to each team. Then the Flyers shifted gears and cranked out all the goals they would need to gain a victory.

At 4:51, the hard work of Owen Holmes sent the MacPherson brothers on a two-on-one breakaway.

Connor passed to Ryan, who quickly cranked out a right lane shot into the open side of the Warriors’ net and suddenly it was a tied game.

Just over two minutes later, Holmes again hooked up with Ryan MacPherson, who skated in close to Willmore going right to left, deked the goalie and shoveled the puck into the net. The Flyers extended the lead to 3-1 at 9:35 when Gabe Piccolo rifled a screen shot from the right side.

The Warriors got under Flyers’ starter Bryce Walcarius skin twice in the third, but the Flyers’ defense limited the Stratford scoring chances.

With under four minutes left in the contest and down 3-1, the Warriors pulled Willmore for an extra attacker but at 17:02 Griffin Grundner intercepted a blueline pass and skated alone on a breakaway that ended with him sliding the puck into the vacated net.

Stratford got back into the series with a 6-2 victory at home Monday night. Scoring for the Flyers were Griffin Grundner and Hayden Reid. Bryce Walcarius suffered his worst defeat in months, stopping 18 of 24 shots during 44 minutes. Boe Piroski replaced him for the remainder of the third and stopped all four shots he faced. Owen Willmore halted 28 of 30 for the win.

Schedule

Game 4: Thurs. May 4 at Leamington, 7:10 pm.

Game 5: Sat. May 6 at Stratford, 5 pm.

Game 6: Sun. May 7 at Leamington, 5:10 pm (if necessary).

Game 7: Tues. May 9 at Stratford, 7:30 pm (if necessary).

Flyers Hayden Reid (7), Nolan McKibbin (20) and Anthony Ciaramitaro (9) work along the boards as Stratford attacks in game two. Trevor LaRue watches the front of the net as goaltender Bryce Walcarius holds the post. The play resulted in a scoring chance for Stratford, but Walcarius was up to the challenge, prompting chants of “Wally” from the capacity crowd at Highbury Canco Arena. The Flyers won the by a 4-1 score. SUN photo