YARMOUTH, N.S. – The Yarmouth Mariners were 29.7 seconds away from winning Game 5 of their playoff series with Truro when the Bearcats scored to tie the game 1-1.
The Mariners did eventually win the game, but not for another 33 minutes later when Yarmouth’s Chris Goreham, assisted by Patrick Daley, scored the winning goal in triple overtime.
The two teams went into this game tied in the series with two games a piece and it was evident throughout the game that both teams were hungry for the series lead. It was a fast-paced, high octane, hard-battled game throughout the three hours and 24 minutes from the time the puck dropped at 7:31 p.m. to when the final buzzer sounded at 10:55 p.m. before a sold-out crowd of 1,501 people.
Yarmouth had opened the scoring at 3:26 in the first period with a goal by Kyle Bergh, assisted by Logan Timmons. There was no scoring in the second period by either team. The Bearcats pulled goalie Kevin Resop from the net for the extra attacker in the final 50 seconds of the game, which paid off for the Bearcats with the visitors scoring with 29.7 seconds left.
There was no scoring in the first 10-minute overtime period and none in the second 20-minute overtime frame. Goreham’s goal came at 2:37 in the third OT.
During the game Mariners goalie Leif Hertz stopped 45 of 46 Truro shots. The Mariners had 40 shots on net in the game.
The stars of the game were:
1st Star: Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners #8 Chris Goreham
2nd Star: Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners #29 Leif Hertz
3rd Star: Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners #9 Kyle Bergh
Yarmouth now leads the series 3-2. Game 6 goes Sunday night in Truro at 7 p.m. If a Game 7 is needed it’ll be Tuesday in Yarmouth at 7 p.m.
The other Eastlink South Division playoff game on Friday night also went into overtime with the Amherst Ramblers winning the game 4-3. Will Lafford’s winning goal took considerably less time than Goreham’s in Yarmouth with the Ramblers winning at 2:04 into overtime. The South Shore Lumberjacks lead this series 3-2. The next game also goes Sunday night.
OTHER MHL NEWS
In other MHL news, the league announced Friday night that the Woodstock Slammers have announced that they will be taking a leave of absence from the Maritime Junior Hockey League for the 2018-19 season. The Slammers club has been a member of the league since 2003, the last 12 of those years under the direction of the River Valley Hockey Club Inc. Since joining the MHL, the Slammers have captured three league playoff championships, one Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian Jr.A Championship and, in 2012, a silver medal at the RBC Cup National Jr.A Championship.
“Due to a combination of factors, it is no longer in the best interest of our organiztion to continue operations,” said Slammers President Wes Corey in a prepared statement. “This absence will allow for the potential sale of the franchise and/or provide the opportunity for a new individual or group in Woodstock to assume control of team operations.”
“We thank our loyal fans, our billets, our volunteers, our coaches and support staff for their dedication to the Slammers and the community. We would also like to acknowledge the Town of Woodstock and their entire administration for their tremendous support. The many successes of this franchise have been directly related to our generous sponsors. Finally, we wish to thank our Chairman, Andrew McCain, for his years of commitment, professionally and financially.”
The MHL said it has been formally advised of the Slammers’ decision.
“This is a sad day for the MHL,” said league President Brian Whitehead. “The Slammers have been an integral part of the league’s history and we sincerely hope to see the strong tradition of Jr. A hockey in the Woodstock area continued somehow. We will continue to do anything that is viable to support all of our teams.”
