BRANTFORD – The Brantford Blast are having a hard time with the Whitby Dunlops in ACH Sr. AAA playoff action. After winning game #1 of the best of seven by the score of 3-2, the teams traversed to Whitby for Game #2 where the Dunlops downed the Blast 5-4, both in regulation time.
Saturday night in Whitby, Cameron Sault came up big with a goal and an assist along with other good scoring chances. Sault is one of the most consistent members of the Blast averaging more than a point a game. He kept up his pace with an assist on Brantford’s first goal scored by Chris Rebernik, and a third period goal.
The Blast penalty killers gave up three power play goals to the Dunlops, including the first two Whitby goals of the game, scored by Brett McConnachie and Corey Tamblyn.
Dunlops’ Kyle Musselman scored the next two in the second period, but Derek Mederios gained some ground back with his goal from Joel Prpic and Jamie Williams.
Sault accounted for the only goal of the third period, from Rebernik and Dustin Alcock at 15:11, but that would be as close as the Blast could get as Whitby held on for the 4-3 win.
Friday night was a wide open and entertaining affair in Whitby. Six-foot-seven, Joel Prpic, former Boston Bruin, and Colorado Avalanche, scored first at 8:53, but Whitby’s Corey Tamblyn erased the Brantford lead to end the first 20 minutes of play tied at 1-1.
Derek Mederios and Ryan McCarthy built a 3-1 second period lead but Tamblyn got the last word again, scoring for Whitby at 14:08 to pull to within one with one period remaining.
Try as they may, the Dunlops could not find the goal they needed to push the game into OT against Anthony Marshall and the Blast held their ground with the game ending 2-1 in Brantford’s favour to even the series at 1-1.
The series will continue this weekend with Game #3 in Brantford Feb. 26th, and Game #4 in Whitby, Feb. 27th.
