AMHERST – After 68 games, the Amherst Adult Hockey League season came down to the final two minutes of the final game.
That’s when Aaron Dobson scored the game winner with a top-shelf back-hand shot, giving Maltby Sports a 2-1 win over J&K Electric in Game 3 of their best-of-three championship series Saturday night at Amherst Stadium.
“We came in as the underdog but we didn’t really feel like the underdog,” said Dobson after winning the AAHL title. “We knew if we kicked it into second year we could beat any team, and that’s what we did.”
The first game of the AAHL season began way back on Oct. 15, 2017. That’s the night J&K beat Maltby Sports 15-1.
J&K went on to have the best record in the AAHL this season, with Maltby never too far behind in second place.
Dobson said he and his teammates talked strategy coming into the playoffs.
“We talked about how to generate more offense by doing less of the fancy tic-tac-toe like we’ve been doing all year and, instead, get pucks to the net, get guys to the net, and crash and bang.”
They also didn’t shorten their bench for the playoffs.
“We said, ‘You win as a team, you lose as a team and we’re just going to roll through the lines,’” said Dobson. “We did it all year. We didn’t have an overwhelming record but we felt pretty confident in what we could do with all our guys.”
The second period of Game 3 of the championship series ended with J&K up 1-0, with Ryan Smith, the AAHL scoring champion, knocking in the lone, unassisted goal for J&K.
Jordie Shaw tied the game 1-1 with 6:30 left in the game, with assists from Dobson and Jon Tattrie.
Dobson then scored the game winner with less than two minutes left in the game with assists from Tattrie and Chris Sproul.
Jarret Munn got the win in goal for Maltby, and Remi Thomas the loss. Both goaltenders faced 28 shots in the game.
It was the first AAHL title for Maltby Sports, and the first title for Dobson.
“This is the first time in five years that I’ve won, so it feels good to get the monkey off my back.”
Danny Small, league vice-president and a player with Colson Overhead Doors, said it was a great season and a great final.
“J&K had a solid year. They had a great team and won a lot of games this year, but to see Maltby Sports come out and come from behind and get the 2-1 win is pretty impressive,” said Small.
This was the sixth season for the AAHL, and Small hopes there are many more to come.
“Every year we get some new players and lose a few players but it’s always a good time,” said Small. “It’s something they look forward to during the long winter months. It drives a lot of laughs and we encourage people of all skill levels to come out.”
Dobson agrees.
“A big thank you goes to Danny Small because he puts a lot time and effort in. It’s a day-to-day job looking after everything and he doesn’t get the respect he deserves, so hats off to him,” said Dobson. “And I hope we keep doing this league and get more guys out on the ice because it’s a fun time. It’s good hockey, it’s a good atmosphere, and there’s no hard feelings afterwards.”
Standings
Regular Season
J&K led the regular season standings with a record of 19-6-5 (wins, losses, ties) for 43 points.
Maltby finished with a record of 17-12-1, for 35 points.
Bluewave Energy finished with a record of 10-16-4, for 24 points.
Colson Overhead Doors finished the season with a record of 7-19-4, for 18 points.
Playoffs
Maltby won four of their five playoff games, going 2-0 against Bluewave in the semi-final, and 2-1 over J&K in the final.
J&K won three of their six playoff games, going 2-1 against Colson and losing 2-1 to Maltby.
Scoring leaders
Playoffs
Ryan Smith lead the playoffs with 13 points, Jon Tattrie and Kurtis Langille had 11 each, Jordie Shaw and Chuck Chandler eight each, Chris Sproul seven, Phil Farrow and Aaron Dobson five each, and Andy Bonnell and Greg Brennan ha four points each.
Regular Season
Smith had 106 points in the regular season, Tattrie 86, Shaw 83, Marshall MacDonald 80, Sproul 59, Matt Colson 51, Joel Stone 49, Danny Small 48, Farrow 47, and Langille 45.
