Game 1, in Huntsville, of the semi finals against a strong Acton Tanners team proved to be a wake up call for the Otters. After going 9-0 through 3 series, adversity rang the Otters bell and in the end they answered with authority.
The Tanners went up 1-0 at the 6 minute mark and shortly after were thwarted on several attempts with big saves from Cole Frasier. Cole showed us his improvement again by flashing his butterfly style!! After the Otters fell short, Acton scored again to make it 2-0 . Taylor Cottrill scored before the end of the first for a 2-1 Acton lead.
Early in the second, Acton went up 3-1 before some hard work by Cottrill paid off for Cole Patey who scored. The teams traded goals back and forth with a nice solo effort from Cottrill . Frasier came up with 2 big saves within a minute of each other before Acton scored with 17 seconds left for a 5-3 lead after 2. The third period saw the Otters fall to penalty problems and Acton scored 2 more for a 7-3 win. The score could have been much worse if it weren’t for the effort of Cole Frasier. Great job Cole.
Game 2, in Huntsville, saw the Otters down a man early and Acton up early with a 1-0 lead after 1. The second period proved to be one of the worst of the year for the Otters. Despite some great glove saves by Owen Buczek, the Otters were down 4-1 after 2 with a large serving of the same for the third. Owen faced several shots from the slot , stopping most of them but Acton came away with a dominating 5-1 win.
The series and hockey season appeared to be over. Ironically enough, every parent , coach and player was confident going into Acton. There was little doubt for this reporter that if the Otters could win Saturday, we would win the series.
The Otters players and parents boarded the bus for game 3 in Acton this past weekend. With the Acton players and coaches feeling very confident, the Otters put a halt to their March Break plans and celebration.
Game 3 started with the Otters down again and Acton went up early 2-0 . Dman Tysen Robb shot one from the point with a nice tip by Cottrill for a 2-1 score after 1. The second period saw Captain Cole make it 2-2 and shortly after Owen came up with several stops before Brayden Holman buried one for our first lead. After Patey scored again the Otters were on their way to victory before Acton tied the game 4-4. Overtime was needed. A good see saw battle in OT came to an abrupt and beautiful halt, when Cole Patey cut across the blue line and buried one under the Gatorade bottle for a 5-4 Otters victory.
Game 4 in Acton proved its true…Its worth the drive to Acton. After a 0-0 first , our boys decided to show the Acton Tanners what they were really made of. Scoring for Huntsville was Cole Patey with 4 goals , Cottrill and Markle scoring singles and a great effort from the Dmen core of Robb , Jake Hildebrandt, Jack Lockwood, Alan East and Cole Punchard . Goalie Owen was solid as usual.
For all the marbles,Game 5 at the Don Lough saw the Otters down a man again but killed it off and followed it up with a Mattice to Patey goal. After Acton scored to make it 1-1 , Dman Alan East grabbed the puck and fired in a goal for a 2-1 Otters lead in the second and then Cole Patey unleashed a rocket to the top shelf that the Acton goaltender is still looking for. Goalie Owen Buczek may want to try baseball as he showed us the golden glove on several saves. Brayden “Waterbug” Holman buried one and later Cottrill slid a shot in from a Patey feed .
This game featured the Otters putting the peddle down when needed. A great effort from all the players. Coaches Farnsworth and Mattice pulled this team together to play as a unit and when they do, they are a very strong hockey club.
Next series for the All Ontario championship will be against the Pelham Panthers.
Thanks everyone for coming to support….YOUR HUNTSVILLE OTTERS.