The best-of-seven series between the Alliston Hornets and Penetang Kings is now tied at a game apiece after both squads came up short on their own home ice.
The series opener at the New Tec Rec Centre Friday ended with a disappointing 2-1 loss for the Hornets in front of a near capacity crowd of close to 800. But the Penetang fans felt a similar sting of defeat on Sunday after dropping their home game 5-1 to the visitors.
Friday’s game saw all the scoring happen in the first period.
Penetang’s Kelly Loughran put the first lights up on the scoreboard with a powerplay goal eight minutes into the game.
Two minutes later, Alliston tied it up when Robbie Rutledge fired a rocket from the blue line that flew through several players and beat Penetang goalie Chris Daniels on a screened shot. The Kings took the lead late in the first period when Aaron Duval intercepted a pass in front of the Alliston goal and picked off the corner of the net.
When they returned to the ice after the break, the second period turned into 20 minutes of frustration for the Hornets after dominating the period and opening several chances but just not getting the shots that counted.
A scoreless third period ended with Alliston putting a sixth attacker on the ice with a minute and a half left to go, but the extra man didn’t make the difference by the time the buzzer sounded.
“We know they are a good team and we came out ready to go,” said Alliston head coach Darrin Shannon after Friday’s loss. “We didn’t score when we had some chances. It’s frustrating but nothing is given to you. We have to earn it. We just didn’t capitalize on those chances.”
What both teams did use to their advantage were penalty minutes. All three goals were scored with a man advantage and the referees weren’t letting anything go when it came to calling infractions.
Alliston racked up 24 minutes in the box with Penetang earning 32 minutes with a man behind the glass.
The Hornets turned it around on Sunday during the road trip to Penetanguishene to tie the series.
Penetang’s Lenny Robillard opened the scoring six minutes into the game, but that was the only time the Kings squad would get the puck past Hornet netminder Jon Porretta.
The Hornets have earned a reputation as a third period team and there was no better time to prove it than Sunday. Jason Campeau tied the game in the second period, and a third-period barrage put the Hornets ahead by four goals and left the Kings reeling. “It’s kind of weird the way it works sometimes. I was hoping for a bit better result at home because we had already lost two games at home in the Fergus series,” said Kings’ coach Wes Parent after Sunday’s game. “I don’t think we’ve lost three games at home all season and now we’ve lost three games in a row at home in the playoffs.”
The series will return to Alliston tonight (Wed., March 12), for game number three with the puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Game four will be in Penetanguishene on Fri., March 14 with an 8:30 p.m. start. Game five will be in Alliston on Sun., March 16, with an earlier 6:30 p.m. puck drop.
New Tecumseth Deputy Mayor Rick Milne and Penetanguishene Mayor Anita Dubeau have issued each other a challenge.
The loser of the series has to display the winner’s flag in the town’s council chambers for two weeks. A free dinner is also on the line.
Hornets fans are reminded to display the poster found on the back page of the special section found in last weekend’s edition of The Herald or print one out from the PDF on our website www.allistonherald.com and show the team your support.
-With files from the Midland Mirror
