On Sunday March 16th in Brantford, in Game 5 of the best of 5 semi-final playoff series between the major peewee Huron Perth Lakers and the Brantford 99ers, nothing was decided in regulation time. It took 6 periods of hockey, 3 in overtime to finally decide the series winner.
The 99ers scored late in the first period to take the lead which stood up until early in the third period. While shorthanded, Joshua Zelek stopped a rush and fed the puck to Maxim Mulder who unleashed a slap shot while crossing the blue line that made the net bulge to the delight of all the Laker faithful. The overtime periods were nerve wracking as both teams exchanged chances until late in the third overtime period. Goalie Zach Hall did his job in giving an opportunity for a Laker to be a hero. This occurred with about 4 minutes left in the third overtime when Braeden Burdett received a pass from Tyson Koopman in the neutral area of the ice, streaked down the right side and buried the puck top corner to the relief and joy of all the players, bench and loyal supporters in the crowd. This climaxed a hard fought series between the 2 teams and sent the Lakers to the playoff finals against the Chatham Cyclones beginning this weekend.
The series began with the Lakers winning game 1 4-2 in St. Mary’s and then losing the next 2 in Brantford 4-2 and 7-2. The Lakers bounced back in game 4 in St. Mary’s winning 7-3 locking up the series at 2-2. Game 5 was in Brantford, a place where the Lakers had not won all year until game 5 when it counted the most.
Other Laker players getting points during the series included Reid Campbell, Eric Vander Eyk, Kyle Stanbury, Tyson Hall, Griffin MacDonald, Parker Miller, Joel Denotter and Rhys Britton. Goalie Owen Hahn picked up key victories in games 1 and 4. Strong defensive play by Jake Weston, Shawn Barnett and Connor Otto completed the team effort in this series.