Photo by Morris Prokop
GLOVE GRAB – Firth goaltender Paul Husband makes a glove save on a shot from Kilrich's Darryl Cann as Firth defenceman Marcel Barrault looks on in the Whitehorse Oldtimers Hockey League playoff final game Wednesday night at the Canada Games Centre. Kilrich won the playoff title with a 3-2 victory.
Photo by Morris Prokop
EYE ON THE PUCK – Kilrich goalie Mike Hawkins watches the puck fly past the goal.
Photo by Morris Prokop
CHARLIE'S CHANCE – Kilrich's Greg Charlie takes a shot on Firth's goalie Paul Husband while Damon Crosby sprawls in an attempt to stop him.
Photo by Morris Prokop
SPECTACULAR SAVE – Firth's Brent Stokes is foiled by Kilrich goalie Mike Hawkins.
Photo by Morris Prokop
IN THE NET– Firth phenom Nate Clark ends up where he usually puts the puck.
Photo by Morris Prokop
GAME, SET, MATCH – Kilrich players congratulate goalie Mike Hawkins right after they narrowly escape with the 3-2 victory and the league title.
Anthony Grottoli banged in a rebound off a goalmouth scramble to give Kilrich Industries the Whitehorse Oldtimers Hockey League playoff title with a nail-biting 3-2 win over the Firth Rangers Wednesday night at the Canada Games Centre.
Anthony Grottoli banged in a rebound off a goalmouth scramble to give Kilrich Industries the Whitehorse Oldtimers Hockey League playoff title with a nail-biting 3-2 win over the Firth Rangers Wednesday night at the Canada Games Centre.
Grottoli's goal with 12:50 remaining in the game made it 3-1 and proved to be the winner in a hard fought match between the two final teams.
Firth's Ben Kielb scored a couple minutes later on a nifty feed from Nate Clark to bring Firth within one goal, but that's as close as they got.
Firth pulled goalie Paul Husband in the waning moments of the game, and came agonizingly close to sending it to overtime, but Kielb watched in disbelief as his final shot of the game with seconds left tumbled high up in the air and landed on top of the Kilrich net, preventing Firth from tying it up late.
"Near the end of the regular season just after one of our worst games, we adjusted a bit in terms of who was playing where and we started winning again," said team General Manager Sean McLeish. "We took that momentum and the confidence it built right through the playoffs."
The teams were tied 1-1 after one period with Shawn Kinsella scoring for Firth on a deflection and Wade Harrison for Kilrich on a rebound. Danny Johnson gave Kilrich a 2-1 lead seven minutes into the second on a sweet pass from Greg Charlie.
Both goalies were stellar in this one, as Husband and Kilrich's Mike Hawkins each flashed the leather with some dandy glove saves.
As they came up from the B side, Firth needed to beat Kilrich twice to claim the coveted trophy, but Kilrich got the job done in a single game. The lumber men won four straight playoff games to take the title.
McLeish heaped praise on his team for persevering through a challenging season.
"The dressing room, arguably the most important aspect of a team, was really great; whether we won or lost there was only good things happening on the bench and the dressing room. And it was good to see Greg Charlie finally win something!"
That's a wrap on the Oldtimers 2021-22 hockey season. Thanks go out to all the players, refs, timekeepers and sponsors for making it a success in these COVID-challenged times.The league's AGM is on May 5, and then it's off to the lakes and the links.
– Submitted by Bernie Adilman
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