On Saturday, Jan 19th. the Elmvale Home Building Centre Bantam AE team traveled to Midland
to take on the Centennials in OMHA playdown action. The Elmvale Coyotes
were up 2 games to 0 in this 3 out of 5 series and looking for the sweep.
The Coyotes soon realized that a series sweep was not going to be as easy as
they anticipated and just 2 minutes into game 3 found themselves down
1-0. By the 8 minute mark a well prepared Midland Centennial team
increased the lead to 3-0.
At the 10 minute mark a rattled Coyote team finally decided to show up and play hockey and got themselves on the scoreboard when Josh Tapscott scored on a rebound from Jason Flury. Late in the first, Thomas Maw helped the Coyotes back into the game when he fired a shot past the Midland netminder with assists going to Tapscott and Charlie Fleiger.
Early in the second, Flury tied the game at 3-3 when he scored on a rebound from Nathaniel Charman. The Coyotes continued to battle hard and with just 5 minutes left in the second an equally determined Midland team once again retook the lead when some sustained pressure resulted in a goal sneaking by Elmvale goalie Tristen Chiasson. The Elmvale Coyotes would go into the third down 4-3.
After a quick flood the Coyotes looked forward to some fresh ice and quickly generated several scoring opportunities. After spending much of the time in the Midland end, a loose puck came out of the zone and the Centennials made no mistake with it and increased their lead to 2, making the score 5-3 Centennials. The Coyotes still had some fight left in them, and with 5 minutes left Jake Veenstra put a Flury rebound in to close the gap to 1. With a minute left and the Coyotes net empty, the Coyotes fired several shots at the Midland net but all were denied making the final Midland Centennials 5 and Elmvale Coyotes 4 and send the series to game 4.
Game 4 in this best of 5 series was played on Jan 20th in Elmvale in front of a large home town crowd. After being down early in the previous match, the Coyotes came out much more prepared in what they hoped to make the final game of the series. Early in the first the Coyotes helped improve their chances when Thomas Maw scored on a pass from Aidan McKinstry putting the Coyotes up 1-0. Unlike the first 3 games of the series this game was a low scoring defensive battle and the Elmvale defensive pairings of Landon McGinnis/Philip Eales and Charlie Fleiger/Aidan McKinstry were up for the challenge, turning away any Midland player looking to enter the Elmvale zone.
Midway through the second, Maw would get his second of the game when he tipped an Andrew Sommervill shot past the Midland netminder with an added assist going to Aidan McKinstry. The score was now Elmvale 2 Midland 0. The Centennials were not going to go easily and continued to battle hard and with 1 minute left in the second they were able to beat Elmvale netminder Ryan Dauphin when a point shot bounced high off the glass right onto the stick of a surprised Centennial player, making the score Coyotes 2 Centennials 1.
The third period saw Midland battle hard and fire many shots at the Elmvale net but with some good saves by Dauphin and some great defensive plays The Elmvale Home Building Centre Bantam AE team was able to send the fans home happy taking the victory and the series. The Elmvale Home Building Centre Bantam AE team will now face the Collingwood Blackhawks in their next round of OMHA playdowns. The Bantam AE Coyotes would like to wish both Jason Flury and Thomas Maw the best of luck in their trip to the International Silver Stick Finals where they will be looking to help the Bantam Rep team bring home the Championship banner.