Wild fall in GMHL South Division quarter-final to Storm
By Jon Yaneff, Sports Reporter
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:03PM November 30th, 2011 6:30PM
It was the most important game of the series. If the Deseronto Storm won, they would have a strangle hold, two-nothing Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League South Division quarter-final series lead. If the King Wild won, well the series would be tied at one apiece. Instead the Wild were swept, three games to none.
So, everybody had to be on top of their games in Game 2 of the series Saturday. And everyone was, as the Wild fell 4-3 after forward Jeff Morris scored with 36 seconds left in the game to give Deseronto the win at the Dr. William Laceby Community Centre and Arena in Nobleton.
The Storm tied the game up with 8:40 left in the third period, as the many Deseronto fans that made the trip could be heard cheering with joy, as forward Andrew Bobas beat goaltender Kyle Parker.
The whole momentum of the game and series changed when Wild goalie Phil Bogner left the game with 5:47 left in the second period with a neck injury he sustained trying the cover up the puck.
The Storm then capitalized on a power play shortly after that, as forward Brad Clark scored to tie the game at 2-2.
After Farrugia scored the first goal of the game in the first, Sweet tied it early in the second as he took his time and roofed the puck in tight on Bogner. The Wild then had the lead after forward Matthew Salituro banged in a rebound from an Anthony Simone shot.
Game 1 – Deseronto 6, King 3
The first game of the series had the Wild drop a 6-3 final to the Storm at the Deseronto Community Centre Friday.
King opened the scoring with a Jon Adams power-play goal, but Morris tied it up with 2:35 left in the first period.
After Morris and defenceman Cody Maracle scored to give Deseronto two goal advantage, Wild forward Nick Leggieri brought it within one on the power play before the end of the second.
Deseronto then dominated the third, as Sweet and a pair of Maracle goals beat Parker. King’s lone goal scorer in the final frame was Farrugia (unassisted).
“They really played with their crowd,†said Farrugia, who viewed a packed arena in Deseronto. “It definitely helped them, but they’ve been playing with it all year. All-in-all though, whoever shows up is going to win the game.â€
Game 3 – Deseronto 7, King 5
Back in Deseronto for Game 3 had the Storm sweep the series, winning 7-5 on Sunday.
Deseronto scored with five seconds on the clock, as Sweet beat Bogner, who was able to suit up for the final game after leaving Game 2 with neck problems.
The second was back-and-forth, as first Farrugia and Steve Wicklum gave the Wild a lead, before Deseronto bounced back with Bobas and Clark each scoring. Simone and forward Max Qwarnstrom then rounded out the scoring for both teams in the second.
In the third, Clark and Morris gave the Storm a 6-3 lead before the Wild played comeback. Forwards Matt Marchese and Dan Douglas scored within a minute, with about four to go to make it a one-goal game.
But, with less than a minute left, the Wild on a power play and Bogner pulled, King ran out of gas and Clark finished off the Wild with an empty net goal.
“I’m really proud of the guys for playing with what we had,†said Hampton, who had 14 players in his lineup for the series. “You could see them in the final minutes of the game, the puck would be 10 feet away and they just couldn’t get to it – they were exhausted.â€
“It would have been easy go to into Deseronto (in the deciding game) and lie down and get beat, but they didn’t,†added Hampton. “They came and fought right to the final buzzer.â€
Leaving over agers: Though the Storm will now advance to the second round, they lose about 11 over agers for next season, said Hampton. The Wild lose five players, including defenceman Derek Long, and forwards, captain Steve Wicklum, leading scorer Brendan Farrugia, Tom Coukos and Nick Leggieri.