CHESTERVILLE – The South Dundas Lions forced a tie-breaking game five in their Novice C House championship battle against the North Dundas Demons. The tie-breaking match came after the two teams tied game four in Morrisburg on March 29th.
At that game, the Lions played catch up throughout.
Scoring opened early in the first period when Hunter Racine sent the puck past Lions goalie Mason Roderick, giving the Demons a 1-0 lead. The Lions countered back late in the period when Hudson Shaver and Tiarra-Lynn Weegar set up Connor McCurdy’s goal, tying the game 1-1 going into the second period.
Early in the second, Cameron Van Der Zweep’s goal put the Demons back in the lead. The Lions had lots of opportunity in the period to tie the game up, but couldn’t get past Cohen Gilmer in net.
Into the third period, the Demons kept the pressure on, hunting for a third goal in the game. However Roderick made key saves midway through the period to keep the Lions in it.
With 1:13 remaining in the game, McCurdy scored his second of the night, this time unassisted, securing a tie and keeping the Lions alive in the series. The game ended in a 2-2 tie and sent the series back to Chesterville for a decisive game five.
The March 31st final game had the stands filled to the rafters with fans cheering on both sides.
The Demons kept the action in the Lions end for most of the first period. Roderick faced 10 shots on goal in the period, stopping them all. The Lions did put shots on goal, with McCurdy, Daymon Julien and Liam Barkley advancing the puck.
After a scoreless first period, the Demons got on the scoreboard with less than a minute on the net when Ethan McDonald sent the puck into the Lions goal. Demons led 1-0 going into the third period. The Lions rallied throughout the period, but could not tie the game up before the final buzzer. The Demons won 1-0, and take the Novice C House championship.
The Novice C team was the last of 14 teams from South Dundas remaining in the playoffs this year.