Anybody’s game goes to Lions for Peewee C series win

All bets were off when the South Dundas Peewee C Lions and the NGS Braves hit the ice in Morrisburg, Sunday, February 22, for game three of their four-point UCMHLplayoff series.

The seesaw battle got started on Morrisburg ice last Thursday, February 19 with a very decisive Lions 6-0 victory. It resumed in Finch on Saturday, February 21 where the Braves turned it around to score a very decisive 6-0 victory of their own and send the series to a third game.

So when the two teams hit the ice on Sunday, in Morrisburg, it was very much either team’s game to win. And it was a hard fought battle with the Lions coming out on top by a 5-3 score to claim the series four points to two.

Nathen Verhey, unassisted, scored the lone goal of the first period for the Lions, and the 1-0 advantage held until early in the second when he collected his second for a 2-0 Lions lead.

The Braves charged back, with goals from Johnny McAdams at 8:11 of the second and Logan Villeneuve at 10>43 of the 15 minute period. That tied it and that’s the way it stayed through the second period.

Then 2:33 into the third period, Devon Swindells, got help from Ben Wiltshire to put the Lions up 3-2.  

That lasted until 10:22 when Verhey scored his third unassisted goal of the game to give the Lions a little space with a 4-2 advantage.

Jordan Evans got one back for the Braves with 44 second left on the clock, but that would be it.

Collin VanHoof, from Scott Brooks, counted the Lions final goal  to make it 5-3 and allow the Lions to claim the series.

It was a big game for Nathen Verhey who registered his 25th goal of the season.

The series opened Thursday night, February 19 in Morrisburg, with a 6-0 Lions victory.

The Lions hit the ice fully charged to go up 4-0 in the first period on goals from Devon Swindells (from Nathen Verhey), Mackenzie McKee-Markell (from Maclean Machon),  Machon (from Callahan Staye) and Verhey (from Scott Brooks and Swindells).

After a scoreless second period, McKee-Markell set up Jeffrey McPail to make it 5-0 Lions early in the third period.

Swindells counted the final Lions goal with just over a minute left in the game to complete the 6-0 victory.

Derrik Jansen was in net for the Lions shutout.

Then in Finch, on Saturday it was a different hockey game as a charged up Mackinnley MacKillican put the Braves up 3-0 with a hat trick performance.  He started it early in the first period and then added his next two counters in the second.

The Braves added another three unanswered third period goals from the sticks of Bryce McCrae, Tristan Leduc and Yannick Vaillancourt for the 6-0 win.