Mac Olsen
Express Staff
smokyriverexpress.com
Last week, the Fort St. John Flyers were on the verge of shutting out the Falher Pirates for the Campbell Cup.
The Pirates lost back-to-back games against the Flyers.
The first game in the best-of-seven series was played in Fort St. John on March 3, which the Flyers won 4-3 in overtime.
Game two
The Pirates hosted the Flyers for the second game on March 6.
Dakota Mason opened the scoring for the Pirates just 57 seconds into the first period, with Travis Mazurek assisting.
But Jake Ebner evened the score for the Flyers at 2:19, putting the puck in the basement. Sam Brennan and Brandon Millin assisted.
The game was 1-1 at the end of the first period.
J.M. St-Pierre scored the Pirates’ second goal at 1:27 of the second period, putting the puck in the basement. Nathan Smith and Darren Brochu shared the spotlight with him.
But the Flyers dominated the rest of the period. Rick Cleaver evened the score at 9:25, putting the puck into the net on the approach. Jeff Shipton and Adam Horst received the assist.
Then Reid Campbell scored a power play goal at 18:54, Shipton and Horst shared the assists on this goal as well.
The Flyers were ahead 3-2 at the end of the second period.
It was crunch time for the Pirates in the third period, as they needed a tying goal. This goal eluded them for most of the period, as Flyers employed strong forechecking and defensive play throughout.
However, the Pirates’ efforts finally paid off at 18:55, as Neil Maisonneuve put the puck in the living room, and tying the game at 3-3. Joel Pelletier and Khalin Marsolais collected the assists.
The Pirates were within moments of forcing the Flyers to play in overtime with this tying goal.
However, the Flyers managed to score the winning goal with just 29 seconds remaining.
Rick Cleaver scored the team’s fourth goal, with Reid Campbell and Brandon Millin assisting.
Game three
Nonetheless, the Pirates found a glimmer of hope on March 8, when they and their fans headed to Fort St. John for game three.
By the third period, the game was in a 5-5 tie, forcing overtime. Then the Pirates managed to score the winning goal for a 6-5 victory.
However, at press time, the Flyers were ahead two games to one in this best-of-seven for the Campbell Cup.
The Pirates were to host the Flyers on March 10 for game four, then return to Fort St. John on March 13 for game five.