TORONTO - The Brockton Rockets hung in there long enough to better the Beau's Beer Hack by a single goal this past Saturday night at Maple Leaf Garden. Meanwhile over at Upper Canada College the Gas Station Islanders tied the Humiliation 2-2, the Lads were blanked by the Porcupines 2-0 and the Wheatfield Souldiers doubled up on the Jokers 4-2.
Rockets forward Michael Wilcox opened the scoring midway through the 1st period of his squad's second Maple Leaf Gardens match of the season, combining with team scoring leader James Neilson to solve Hack goalie Aaron Brophy. Neilson made it 2-0 a mere 30 seconds later, this time with Wilcox and Oliver Sutherns on the helping end.
Although the Hack won the opening faceoff of the 3rd period, the off-the-draw forchecking of speedy Rockets rookie Scott Prudham overwhelmed the opposition's defensive tandem who turned the puck over at the blue line, allowing Prudham to skate in on Brophy and pot another mere seconds into the frame.
Down but not yet out, the Hack began to step up its offensive pressure as the team's vaunted passing game finally sparked to life with David Laverdiere and Louis Durand setting up Aaron Foster in the slot to draw within a pair. Time was not on the Hack's side, though, as the Gardens' clock showed just 17 seconds remaining in the game. Motivated by the pressure, the Hack won the ensuing faceoff and moved into the Rockets' zone where Laverdiere and Durand quickly went back to work, this time setting up Tim Bolan for the goal and drawing with one. After some minor controversy regarding time remaining, an additional 2 ticks were added to the clock for a meagre sum of 6 seconds. This time, the Rockets won the drop and controlled the puck safely as the final buzzer sounded.
With the win the Rockets improved to 3-5-0 on the season, good enough for 6th place in the standings. The Hack, meanwhile, fell back to .500 with a still not-too-shabby record of 3-3-2 and a lock on 5th spot. The Beau's Boys are currently tied with the 4th-place Lads for points, however, the Parkdalians have a game in hand.
Speaking of the Hockey Lads, the team (now 3-3-1) was in tough against neighbourhood rivals the Parkdale Porcupines on Saturday night and, for the first time this season, were held off the scoreboard entirely. The Porcs - featuring a short bench of regulars augmented with four spare players - netted what would stand up as the game-winning tally late in the opening frame as James Walker completed a play with Chris Valente and newcomer Justin Lyons for his 4th goal of the season. The next lamp wouldn't be lit until near the end of the match, when Chris Maclean scored an unassisted insurance marker on the powerplay. Veteran 'Pines tender Dean Bentley earned his first shutout of the season, as his squad locked down 1st place in the overall standings with an impressive 4-2-1 record.
The Gas Station Islanders continued their trend of points accumulation, this time by way of a 2-2 tie with the Humiliation (3-2-2). Dominic Chartier potted the game's first goal, solving spare goaltender Burke Lawrence (on loan from the Jokers) with the assistance of newcomer John Dunn. Mike Thompson tied it up before the end of the 1st, though, combining with Luke Scheer on the play. Jim Sioukas then put his side up late in the next period, finishing off a tidy play involving Nicos Fassler and Clint Whitworth. But less than 3 minutes later, GSI rookie Ian McRobie would make good on a feed from spare Jan Bourassa (along with a fortuitous carom off an official's skate) to knot proceedings 2-2. The 3rd period would see no scoring as the team's settled for a point each and a handshake. With the tie, GSI improved to 2-3-1 on the season and, after beginning the campaign with three straight losses, is now undefeated in their past three games.
The Wheatfield Souldiers bounced back from one of those GSI victories, this time picking up a win over the rival Jokers Hockey Club, who were on the board first just a half minute into the game. The goal was potted by Charlie Rishor, who claimed his 4th of the season with the assistance of Craig Hughson and Gary Rideout Jr. Souldiers defenceman Rodney Merchant drew his side even about 5 minutes later, though, banging home a rebound of an Eric Toth attempt to solve goalie Burke Lawrence. Toth would earn his 3rd of the season just 16 seconds into the 2nd frame, combining with Harkness brothers Mike and Steve in the process. Just over a minute later, team scoring leader Keven Magura would blast one past Lawrence for his 6th tally of the season. Kelly McCaig and Scott Montgomery picked up helpers on that one, which made the score 3-1 in the Souldiers' favour.
The third period would see Wheatfielder Ryan Turner score unassisted on the powerplay, while Joel Lacoursiere combined with Hughson and Mike Takacs to put the puck past Souldiers' goalie Sheldon Shurland with 5 minutes remaining in the game. That would do it for scoring as the Souldiers (now 4-2-1) bettered the Jokers (2-2-2) by a score of 4-2.
UUHA Regular Season action continues next Saturday, Nov. 8 with the Souldiers and Lads facing off at 7:00 PM, followed by the Dufferin Groove and Jokers at 8:00 PM. The final game of the night has the visiting Morningstars up against the Gas Station Islanders at 9:00 PM. All three games take place at Upper Canada College.