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| Andrew Suitor (red helmet inside post) dives to stop the ball from crossing the goal line and prevent the Six Nations Chiefs from tying the game late in overtime. Peterborough won 10-9 to force Game 7 in the MSL finals. (Photo: Darryl Smart) |
Missing their starting goalie and the
league MVP, the Peterborough Lakers prevailed 10-9 over the Six
Nations Chiefs Friday night in a thrilling overtime win that forces a
seventh and deciding game in the MSL finals. Tyler Carlson
stepped in for Matt Vinc, who was away at a wedding, and
played well in goal for the Lakers. Carlson got a little help from
Andrew Suitor, who dove to stop the ball on the goal line as
it was trickling in with seconds left in the overtime period.
That play saved the Lakers from giving
up another late tying goal after Jeff Shattler had forced
overtime with a shot through a screen with just eight seconds to play
in the third period. John Grant Jr. scored both Lakers
overtime markers on lasers from the outside. The first gave them a
9-8 lead and the second came 1:14 after Roger Vyse had tied it
up for the Chiefs. Both Vyse's goal and Grant's winner came on the
power play.
“When you've got a defence like this
it's pretty easy to come and just do what you've got to do,”
Carlson said. “Vinc is a great goalie and it's awesome sitting
behind him. He's going to come out next game and we're going to kick
ass again. We're going to win again and we're going to take it to the
Mann Cup.”
Carlson gave lots of credit to his
defence and especially Suitor for his big play. “That was
incredible. Suits jumped on that loose ball. It was almost there.
Even half a second more it would have been in.” The goalie says the
team's confidence was never shaken, even when they were down three
games to one in the series. “You can hear it in there. Everyone's
up, everyone believes. Down 3-1, yeah okay. We do believe. We just
had to get that first one under our belts and start to believe and we
do.”
Shawn Evans led the Lakers with
3 goals and 4 assists, his second straight big game to lead to a
Peterborough win. With regular-season MVP Mark Steenhuis
missing the last three games while on a family vacation, Evans has
moved into a tie for the lead in playoff scoring with Six Nations'
Cody Jamieson. Grant had 2 goals and 2 assists and Cory
Vitarelli a pair of goals and a helper for the Lakers.
Shattler scored 3 times and added 2
assists for the Chiefs while Jamieson had 2 and 2. Junior callup
Johnny Powless, MVP of the recent Minto Cup, chipped in with 4
assists for Six Nations.
“It was a hard fought game by both
teams. It's hard to be mad at a game like this,” Shattler said.
“The bounces went their way tonight and we've got to pull up our
socks and play the game of our lives in Game 7 in Peterborough.”
That Game 7 will go Sunday night at
Peterborough's Memorial Centre at 8pm. It can be seen on JVI's live
PPV webcast. Click on the Webcast Sports logo in the right column of
this web site to purchase and watch the game.
The winner of the series will play host
to the Victoria Shamrocks in the Mann Cup beginning September 5.
