Login

Ashes · 05-22-2022, 08:46 AM

Everyone loves a good comeback story. (Well, maybe not the teams on the losing side of it) And, a few days ago, we saw one hell of a comeback happen in the SMJHL. Generally, when you see a team up 5-0 over halfway through the 2nd period, it's pretty safe to say that the game is practically over. However, this is not always the case - and the Colorado Raptors found that out the hard way, as the Regina Elk managed to mount one hell of a comeback to win the game 6-5.

1ST PERIOD

As you might expect, the 1st period of the game was pretty much dominated by the visiting Raptors. As the siren sounded to signal the end of the period, Colorado was up 2-0, outshooting the Elk 17-10. The first goal for Colorado came in their first shot of the game, just 26 seconds in - as Godwin Lupercal picked up a loose puck and let off a sharp angle shot right past Conner McLavish. The second goal followed a few minutes later - the puck deflected up out of bounds off of McLavish's blocker, and off the following faceoff Tom Pedersen quickly got the puck over to Talan Bacalso, who fired away from the point, Hynek Heidinger got a nice redirect on it, yet McLavish somehow found a way to get his blocker in front of it - however, the rebound was picked up by Pedersen and fired right in to make it 2-0. Regina did have a few chances as well, especially near the end of the period, but nothing came of it.

2ND PERIOD

The Raptors keep the pressure going early in the 2nd, and a few minutes in Hynek Heidinger finally finds the goal he was robbed of in the 1st. A few minutes later, Regina's Don Juan takes a slashing penalty, and pays for it only 9 seconds later, as JR Frankenstero makes it 4-0 pretty much right off the faceoff. The fifth goal for Colorado came not too long after - Jolmi Koivu's hit on Angry Gilmore resulted in the visiting team taking possession, as Koty Kochan picked up the loose puck, and right away fired a shot, beating McLavish glove side. At this point, some fans had already started leaving the arena - a decision they would come to regret. At this point, shots on goal were 23-14 - 6-4 in the second period, meaning the Raptors had scored on half of their shots in the period so far. However, at this point, something changed. Maybe it was just frustration about getting stomped so hard, maybe it was seeing the home crowd abandoning their team, maybe the coach had had a few words with the team, but the Elk started waking up. 50 seconds after the Raptors' 5th goal, a long range shot from Gordie Goodenough found its way into the goal - little did the Colorado Raptors know, this was only the beginning. Regina began to take the initiative, play more aggressively, they started finding more chances. in the 15th minute of the period, team captain David-Artturi Donskoi got control of the puck, he then went around the back of the net, found Don Juan in the slot, who made it 5-2 - and suddenly the fans stopped leaving the arena. Those who were lucky enough to not have exited the building yet returned to their seats, and those who had gone were banging on the doors, asking to be let in. Tension was quickly rising on the ice, as a fight broke out between Colorado defenseman Not Deadly and Regina winger Kezia McKenzie. There were no more goals scored in the 2nd period - the 3rd was where the tide truly turned.

3RD PERIOD

At the end of the 2nd, the shot count was Colorado 29, Regina 18. Remember those numbers. The Elk's first goal of the period came after a faceoff win from Ronnie Pickering, who quickly sent the puck over to Ignaz Pleyel, whose first shot was stopped by Shiny Shuckle, but he picked up the rebound and put it behind the goalie to further close the deficit. Regina kept up the offense, with several high danger shots in quick succession, but Shuckle was proving to be a strong adversary - at least for the time being. However, he ended up buckling under the pressure, as M'Baku Olubori got the puck off of a faceoff win and blasted it into the net, closing the gap down to just 1 goal. And then, with 6 minutes left in the game - after passing the puck around for a while, just looking for an opportunity to get their fifth goal, it finally happened - Ronnie Pickering, from the slot, passed it back to Angry Gilmore behind the net, who then sent it back to Pickering, who was quickly making his way forward towards the goal - and with a lovely finish, it was 5-5 - and though the game was tied, it felt like it was already over. I mean, how do you come back from blowing a 5 goal lead? Well... you don't, and though Shuckle tried his best to hold back the continued onslaught, a net-front tip from Gordie Goodenough got him his second goal of the night, as the crowd in the Brandt Centre went wild. And that was that - the Raptors pulled their goalie for the last minute of the game, but even 6 on 5 they couldn't get a shot off. The siren sounded to signal the end of the game. REG 6, COL 5. And remember that shot count I mentioned? At the end of the game, the shot count was 35-31 in the favour of Regina - meaning that in the 3rd period, the Elk outshot the Raptors 17-2.

A truly dominant 3rd period performance from a team that seemed to get better and better as the game progressed, this is the kind of performance that shows a team's fighting spirit. Goodenough, with his 2 goals (which, by the way, was enough to get him his 100th career SMJHL point!), was deservedly named the first star of the game, but the performance of third star Ronnie Pickering should also be noted - with a goal and 2 assists, totaling for 3 points on the night. I can only imagine the Colorado coaching staff had some... choice words for their players after that performance - a team with any kind of championship ambitions cannot afford to blow 5-0 leads like that.

*CptSquall* · 05-22-2022, 08:40 PM

Approved, +5 TPE to @Ashes

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us