Niagara Predators on the ropes for game 3

After losing 5-3 to the Renegades in North York Saturday night, the Niagara Predators are down two games to zero in their second round Russell Cup playoff series. That leaves them on the brink of elimination from the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League playoffs as they head back to the Canlan Ice Sports Centre for game three Sunday evening. 

For over 58 minutes the game could have gone either way, but untimely back-to-back penalties gave the Renegades a two-man advantage, allowing Darius Mani to score the winning goal with only 1:17 left in the third period. 

Niagara was forced to play without two of their hottest goal scorers Saturday. Both Anthony Tropea and Nolan Wyers suffered injuries in Friday night’s 6-3 loss in game one at home and were out of Saturday’s lineup. 

Team president Robert Turnbull said he and the coaching staff talked to the players about their teammates' absence before the game. 

“We told them each player would get an opportunity to play, probably more than they thought,” he told The Local Sunday. “We explained, you just have to do your role. For most of the game they did. We had a couple of bad goals against us. But we took them down to 3-3 and we had the opportunity to score.”

The action went end to end all through the first period, with both teams getting chances to score. Declan Fogarty was foiled twice early on by North York goalie Nick Lewicky and defenceman Ethan Boyd had a breakaway chance but was unable to take full control of the puck. 

Later, Cameron Savoie caromed the puck off the crossbar and the Renegades’ Vadim Karpenko banged one off the post beside Preds goalie Zane Clausen. 

With North York’s Gianlui Amato in the box for interference, the Preds took their first lead of the series with 4:32 remaining in the first period. Boyd took the puck behind the Renegades net and fed a pass to Cameron Savoie in the slot. Savoie quickly fired it into the net behind Lewicky’s right shoulder for the power play goal. 

Nickolai Salov tied it up for the Renegades four minutes into the second. With a player from each team in the penalty box, Salov skated with the puck behind the Predators’ net and was left unchecked to the left of Clausen. He took a wrist shot and put it past Clausen’s outstretched right leg. 

Ryan Fritz and Joe Lionti added power play goals before the ten-minute mark of the period, and the Renegades were up 3-1. They took that lead to the dressing room with them, but were forced to start the third one man down when Darius Mani was assessed a penalty for holding with 15 seconds remaining in the second. 

The Preds failed to capitalize on the advantage, but a minute later Declan Fogarty narrowed the gap to 3-2. It was once again Boyd setting him up in the same spot from where Savoie scored in the first, this time with a quick shot past Lewicky’s left leg. 

Two minutes later, the Preds tied it up when Timur Mirzaiants skated in front of the North York net with Alexander Isidori in pursuit. With the defender trying to tie him up, he was able to sweep the puck in behind a screened Lewicky to make it 3-3.

Fogarty took a penalty almost immediately after the Mirzaiants goal, but Clausen shut the door and his teammates played a flawless shorthanded shift. 

The Predators had some chances that were stopped by Lewicky, but the turning point came with 3:09 left in the third. Alex Andrews knocked Jedidja Somersall to the ice away from the play and was penalized for checking from behind. 

With the Renegades pressuring in the Niagara zone, Preds forward Tyler Gearing hooked an opponent’s stick and sent it flying toward the boards. He was called for interference, giving the Renegades a five-on-three advantage for another 1:08.

The Preds killed the Andrews penalty, but were still down a man when Mani picked up his own rebound and gave North York the lead. 

Before the ensuing faceoff at centre ice, Mani was sent to the box for his excessive celebration, giving the Preds a power play opportunity with just over a minute to go. Clausen soon skated to the bench in favour of the extra attacker, but the Renegades got an empty net goal from Eric Stephenson to ice the victory.

“It hurt,” Turnbull said about the late penalties. “It really hurt bad. When we had two men down with two minutes to go, we had one forward and two defenceman. Everyone was kind of backing in on the goalie and they were taking pot shots. The kids were blocking shots, doing everything they needed to do to prevent them from scoring. But it was almost inevitable.”

Overall, though, after two games where they had a chance late in the game to upset the South Division’s number one team, Turnbull was pleased with their play. 

“The game was unbelievable,” he raved. “You have to tip your hat to the kids. They were cheering one another on from the bench. The kids played great. They back-checked, they did everything. I hated the loss, but I was pleased with their performance.”

Turnbull is hoping both Tropea and Wyers are available for Sunday night’s do-or-die game three back in North York. Puck drop is at 7:45 pm. The game can be livestreamed at gmhl.tv.