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| Nick Weiss and Brock Sorensen celebrate Weiss' winning goal in overtime. (Photo: Tim Prothero) |
The Peterborough Lakers had to go to
overtime but they maintained their perfect home record against the
Oakville Rock franchise with a 12-11 win Thursday night. Brock
Sorensen, who had a pair of breakaway goals earlier in the game,
forced a turnover, raced down the floor and fed Nick Weiss for
the game-winning goal with 59 seconds left in the overtime period.
Oakville had a final chance to tie the game up but were turned aside
by new Lakers goalie Matt Vinc to hold on for the win.
The game went back and forth through
the first two periods with Oakville seeming to have an answer every
time Peterborough started to make a push. The Rock led 5-4 after the
first period and 9-8 after the second. Aaron Wilson tied it up
for the Lakers just 1:18 into the third period but once again
Oakville responded quickly. Stephan Leblanc put the Rock back
in front less than a minute later. Shayne Adams made the lead two
goals at the 5:09 mark.
It took the Lakers almost 10 minutes to
find the net again, but fortunately for them Vinc wouldn't be beaten
again in regulation or overtime. Cory Vitarelli finished off
some quick ball movement with a quick stick bounce shot past Nick
Rose to pull the Lakers within one. Oakville held on to that lead
into the final minute. Peterborough took a time out, pulled Vinc and
put six attackers on the floor. Mark Steenhuis took a pass at the top
of the offensive formation and ripped home a shot from well outside
the dotted line, much to the delight of the 2,758 in attendance.
Vitarelli had a hat trick and 2 assists
for Peterborough and Steenhuis added 2 goals and 3 assists. Five
different players scored twice each for Oakville, including rookies
Adams, Mike Mawdsley and Patrick Corbett.
“We didn't have an option [other than
to rely on young players]” said Rock Head Coach Phil Sanderson.
“We have seven or eight 22-year-olds, a couple of 24-year-olds and
what not. It's unfortunate that these guys are young and don't have
the older guys to learn from, but they're getting fast-tracked and
doing a great job for me so I can't complain about that.”
Sanderson was disappointed in the loss,
but once he had cooled down after the game he looked on the bright
side and remembered that Oakville is in the process of building a
team that can contend for titles. “I think it'll just be a matter
of time before we start turning the other corner on some of these
close games,” he said. “Hopefully it's this year and hopefully we
can start winning some of these close games instead of letting them
slide away.”
Vinc let some goals slip away from him
early in the game but turned it around as he got more comfortable.
“It took a while to try to settle in, just trying to get used to
the team,” he said of his first game between the pipes for the
Lakers. “You want to play real well and I think that's where I was
at, trying to make saves instead of just making them. Then when we
came back you get a bit of confidence and you feel better in the
net.”
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| Cory Vitarelli scores on a quick stick shot in the third period to make the score 11-10 Oakville. (Photo: Tim Prothero) |
