Wednesday December 7(Round 1, playoffs)

(2)United Arms vs Raging Rhinos(3)

C.Levesque’s late goal sends Rhinos to semi finals

Much of the game felt like overtime with both sides keeping it as close as possible. After an early third period goal by D.Charbonneau, the United Arms grabbed their second lead of the night with still plenty of clock time left over. In search of an equalizer, the Raging Rhinos eventually got their opportunity on the power play. M-A Piche managed to get his name in there as the sniper tied the game by the five minute mark of the frame. At that point, neither side wanted to make any sort of mistake knowing that the next goal would almost surely decide their fate. But all things must come to an end and somewhere down the line somebody will pull through. In tonight’s case, it was the Raging Rhinos prevailing. C.Levesque scored in what felt like an overtime goal that left just over a minute left on the clock. N.Mauro and K.Haratounian gave their sides an equal opportunity to win the game, but it was N.Mauro’s extra save that may have made the difference.

(2)Underdogs vs Fat Roy(4)

Big 2-goal first period sets tone for Fat Roy

By getting their two first period goals, Fat Roy had the luxury to dictate the pace in their favor. J.Velenosi and M-A Lanenti each scored in the opening frame and J.Sanoudakis didn’t concede a tally up until the ten minute mark of the second frame. J.Eid cracked the barrier for the Underdogs in hopes of sparking more goals to come. While they did manage another tally, Fat Roy never fell behind. N.Gikas snapped a 2-2 third period tie five minutes before J.Pantelis’s added an insurance marker. The Underdogs didn’t get the start they wanted but battled back to make things very interesting. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be. Both sides took nothing for granted playing a full out 45 minute game.

(5)Armadillos vs Dragons(1)

What could have been? Dragons give up 2 shorty’s in 5-1 loss

When playing for your season, you almost have no choice for any sort of mistakes. The Dragons, on two straight attempts, rather then capitalizing on their power play managed to give up two shorthanded goals instead. That kind of a sequence only hurts your morale. P.Koutsogiannopoulos and J.Urqhart each scored with a man less and the Armadillos just fuelled the rest of the way. R.Cohen set up P.Koutsogiannopoulos’s second right before collecting his third point of the night. Looking back, the Dragons were awarded a pair of golden opportunities that could have potentially gone their way. Their only bright moment came by the five minute mark of the third period when L.Dulcetta spoiled C.Stavriadis’s shutout.

The SalumiVino player of the night goes to Peter Koutsogiannopoulos of the Armadillos. His early shorthanded goal along with his second tally was a big reason why the Armadillos got the better of the Dragons.

After a nail biting night, the three winners will move on to the semi final rounds. The Punishers skipped this do or die round for finishing in first place. The semi final match ups as are as follows:

(1)Punishers vs Raging Rhinos(7) As long as the Raging Rhinos keep it close than they have a chance. It’s up to the Punishers to find their openings and keep doing what they’ve done all season long.

(3)Armadillos vs Fat Roy(5) One slight advantage the Armadillos have is their experience. Although Fat Roy have years under their belt as well, C.Zafiropoulos will need to implement a strategy on how to stop or at least slow down the Armadillos transition game.