Game # 39
Peterborough Stars 2 - Lindsay Muskies 3 (shoot out)
January 18th, 2008 in Lindsay
Summary
Another important shoot-out success saw the Muskies move ahead of the Quinte West Pack in the sixth and last playoff spot. For the third time in the last four games, it took a skills contest to decide the outcome of this game. Also for the third time this season the Muskies overcame the Stars this way - and each time the score has been tied 2-2 after the overtime period. This, however, wasn't quite as good a performance as some of their recent games, and the Muskies had to hang on just to get to overtime. But hang on they did, with a lot of tenacity and desire, as they realized just how vital every point is now. Matt Ginn got the start again and was called on to make crucial saves on several occasions in the closing stages of the game as the Stars responded well after the Muskies twice took the lead. Mitch Vasey and Ryan Oliver got the two goals in regulation while in the shoot-out, Shayne Taylor again showed how deadly he is one on one with the netminder.
Period 1
The first period was one of those periods when things took a while to gel. The Stars came out as you might expect a team with five straight losses to do - working hard to put things right. But for a long time there was plenty of effort from both teams but little to show for it in terms of goal-scoring chances. Then just past the halfway mark things heated up. The Muskies got a good breakaway but it came to nothing and within seconds the Stars were doing the same thing at the other end, with Matt Ginn having to pull off a sharp save for the first time in the game. Then the puck was immediately sent back down to the Stars' zone where Ryan Oliver got away a shot that struck the crossbar. The flow of the game for the rest of the period was decided by a glut of minor penalties that neither team could take advantage of. In the last minute the Fish almost caught Peterborough shorthanded. The first was a weird bounce of a stanchion that almost found the net as Zach Fryia headed behind the net to corral it. The second was a nice move that saw Shayne Taylor try to slip a pass across the crease to a fellow forward and which must have been a goal if it had got through, but it was just tipped away by a Stars defenceman at the last moment.
Period 2
Things opened up in the second period with the Muskies taking a 2-1 lead. The first came at 2:35 when Mitch Vasey tipped in a Jordan Sinclair shot, with Rob Kay also picking up an assist. But the Stars came back when an unfortunate slashing penalty gave Peterborough a powerplay. They turned it into a goal with a redirect by Brad Gehl at 10:42. The Muskies were still playing hard, though, and they got their lead back at 12:22 when Ryan Oliver roofed a quick shot behind Fryia. The only assist went to Shayne Taylor for the pass that set Oliver up. The Muskies finished the period on the powerplay and would start the third with more than 90 seconds left to try to add to their lead.
Period 3
The Fish tried hard to make the powerplay count but were not able to, and it turned out to be their last chance with the extra man in the game. They did start the period quite brightly, though, but then things changed in a hurry. A rather routine point shot from Justin Crawford found its way through a crowd and into the Lindsay net at 3:34 and suddenly the scores were level again. From that moment on, the Stars seemed to get stronger and stronger, and it took a lot of grit and determination, combined with Matt Ginn's quick reflexes, to hold on. The last couple of minutes in particular had the Muskies' fans' nerves jangling but the team battled enough to take the game into overtime and so the players knew they had managed half the job by securing the first point.
Overtime
Again the Stars had the best of things in overtime, but the real story of the extra frame was the huge number of turnovers by both teams. The amount of snow on the ice was the chief suspect in this case, suffocating several promising breakouts and causing deep embarrassment to several players. But given the previous games between these teams, we might as well have skipped the overtime and gone directly to the shoot-out, because that is where they always end up.
Shoot-out
After Matt Ginn saved the first Peterborough attempt (by Kyle Ramsay), Shayne Taylor had a chance to put the Muskies in front. Ten days ago in the shoot-out at the Evinrude Centre he comprehensively beat Fryia with a hard shot glove side and perhaps the goalie shaded him to do the same again. But this time Taylor beat him comprehensively by deking left and sliding the puck behind him. It turned out to be the game winner as Ginn turned away first Pier-Olivier Cotnoir and then Matt Gray to secure the vital extra point that moved the Muskies ahead of the Quinte West Pack in the standings. The Muskies now head to Bowmanville on Sunday evening having taken seven of the last eight available points.
Box Score: Click here
Game Sheet: Click here
Photographs
Early Lindsay pressure in the first period.
On a shorthanded breakout, Shayne Taylor's pinpoint pass is just tipped away before it reaches its destination.
Referee Hancock goes to check who it was that tipped in the shot for the game's first goal - it was Mitch Vasey.
Ryan Oliver is either doing the rain dance or he has just given the Muskies a 2-1 lead.
Third and goal for the Muskies at the Stars' one yard line.
Shayne Taylor shines again in the penalty shoot-out, winning a huge point for the Muskies.