BRANTFORD – Nobody seriously expected either team to sweep the best of seven Allan Cup Hockey League final series especially between the Brantford Blast and the Dundas Real McCoys.
The series opened in Dundas Friday with Brantford winning it 5-3. Then on Sunday afternoon at the Brantford and District Civic Centre, the McCoys came out with a 4-3 win to tie the series at a game apiece.
Friday night Cam Sault continued on his hot streak with two goals and two assists in the 5-3 win.
Dundas jumped out front 2-0 after the first period on goals scored by Scott Stafford and Jason Ward.
The Blast had a huge second period beginning with Joel Prpic’s powerplay goal at 3:45 with assists earned by Chris Leveille and Cam Sault. Dundas answered at 4:05 with Cam Wilson’s goal to restore the two-goal edge at 3-1.
The Blast exploded with three goals in the second half of the period. Leveille made it 3-2 on a powerplay from Sault, who scored the tying goal at 16:58 from Chris Rebernik. Chad Spurr gave the Blast the lead at 17:49 from Jamie Williams and Jon Jankus.
Cam Sault put in his second of the game 21 seconds into the third period, and Brett Leggat and the Brantford defense tightened up to keep Dundas off the score sheet in the last 20 minutes for the 5-3 win.
Sunday afternoon it was the McCoys’ turn to send the hometown fans home disappointed with a 4-3 Dundas win to even the series.
McCoys’ Cam Watson and Brantford’s Rebernik scored early in the first period, Sault assisting on Rebernik’s goal. Tuan Crane inched Dundas ahead at 9:42 and Brantford’s Jeff Caister sent the teams to the first intermission tied at 2-2.
On this day, it was Dundas putting in the big second period with a pair of goals scored by Greg Stewart.
Prpic cut the Dundas lead in half 1:35 into the last period, but in just the opposite to what happened in Dundas, the McCoys kept the Blast shut out the rest of the period and the Brantford was unable to beat Daren Machesney in the Dundas net and the McCoys held on for the 4-3 win.
When asked what went right and what went wrong Sunday afternoon, Blast centre Cam Sault gave the same answer to both questions, “special teams.”
“Our penalty killing was good today, we kept ‘em outside,” he said. “Our powerplay was not good. I guess its back to the drawing board on that.”
At one point late in the second period the Blast had two minutes playing 5-3 when McCoys’ Justin Davis and Ryan Crane were both called for minor penalties on the same play, But the Blast could not generate a decent scoring opportunity as the Dundas penalty killers performed perfectly keeping Brantford shooters without a good angle to the net.
“But overall, we need to work harder.”
The series continues back in Dundas this Friday with Game #4 set to go at the Civic Centre Sunday afternoon at 2 pm.
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