 Wednesday
night the selected "Best in the OPJHL" took to the ice at North York
Centennial and the result was a predictable shootout that saw the North-West
squeak past the South-East squad by an 11-10 count.
North-East scored early and often after the
opening faceoff, taking a 4-0 lead before half the period was over. South-East
would recover somewhat before the frame would end with the NW team leading 7-4.
Will Hooper (Wexford Raiders) and Danny Gould (Brampton Capitals) tended the
cages for their respective clubs.
The teams traded three goals apiece in the
second period, a much better period of hockey as both teams started to play
with a little more jump and it almost looked at times to be a hockey game
rather than a shinny contest.
Kevin
Tompkins scored in the second to cut the deficit to 7-6, Tompkins
batted home a rebound out of mid-air for the lone "Waxer" goal of the
night. Later in the game Tompkins had countless additional chances, including
ringing one of the iron shortly after he scored.
Late in the second period Tompkins drove to the
net from the blueline and earned an assist when the scramble resulting from the
rebound on his shot concluded the scoring for that stanza.
After two complete SE still trailed by three,
Nate Bedford (Lindsay Muskies) and Dana Bannerman (Collingwood Blues) were the
goalies in the middle frame.
The third period saw the SE squad outscore the
opposition 3-1 and the outcome remained in doubt right up until the final
buzzer as the SE team put on the pressure with the extra attacker after pulling
the keeper to try and gain the equalizer. With three seconds left on the clock
SE won the draw at the right faceoff circle cleanly to the trigger man on the
point but Jamie Fraresso was able to keep the puck out and preserve the win for
the NW. Matt Tanel manned the cage for the SE squad in the final period.
Jimmy
Ball made several strong rushes from the blueline and created a great
scoring chance at the end of one solo rush.
For both Waxers it was a respectable showing and
in particular Tompkins was clearly a force in the second and third periods and
was easily one of the best performers of the night.
The Player of the Game Awards went to Scott
Mifsud (Thornhill Rattlers) and Troy Thompson (Newmarket Hurricanes) both of
whom had outstanding performances in the showcase game.
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