by Murray Link
On Thursday, April 4th, the Eastern Ontario Super Hockey League will crown one team league champion. Fans will either see the North Dundas senior Rockets claim their third straight EOSHL title or the Gananoque Islanders take home their first championship in the league’s 4 year span. In a best of 5 series that has seen both teams win 2 games a piece at home, it will all come down to this last game. With a home record of 44-2 (including playoffs) in their 3 years in the league, Rockets fans will be hoping that home ice advantage plays a part in game 5.
Game 1 of the series took place on Saturday March 23rd in a matinee game in Chesterville. Despite being outshot 50-37, the Rockets pulled out a win on the strength of their goaltending by #25 Matt Jenkins. First star of the game was Rockets forward #63 Fabian Walsh 3pts (2G,1A).
In game 2, the Rockets were on the road in Gananoque on Sunday March 24. The Rockets looked as if they were in control early, scoring the first 3 goals of the game and leading 3-1 after the first period. As the second period played out, the visiting team found themselves in major penalty trouble. As a result of being short handed, Gananoque scored 5 power play goals and went on to win at home 7-3.
With the series tied 1-1, game 3 took place on Thursday March 28 at 8:00 pm in front of a sellout crowd in Chesterville. The faithful fans of North Dundas were not disappointed as they were treated to a spectacular back and forth game that went into overtime. As the overtime period commenced, the crowd became electric and at the 10:31 mark of overtime, Rockets forward #10 Marc-Andre Labelle blasted the puck past the Islanders goaltender for the win. “I thought the roof was going to blow off the arena……I had an amazing time” exclaimed Lori Link, who attended her first Rockets game ever.
Game 4 took place in Gananoque on March 30, where a win would capture the EOSHL title for the Rockets. In a closely matched game which saw both teams record 34 shots a piece, Gananoque scored a late goal in the third period to win 4-3. “What a close game” bellowed Rockets fan Kyler Mcdonald, who made the trip to Ganonoque….”I wish they had won, but it will be nice to win it at home”.
Game 5 will take place in Chesterville on April 4th at 8:00 pm where fans will see one team be crowned EOSHL Champion. The final game will also be streamed live by EOSHL TV….just look them up on Youtube and hit subscribe. The question is North Dundas Rockets fans: ARE YOU GOING TO THE GAME?
