MULTIMEDIA

If you missed it then it's unfortunate that the words that lay here aren't quite able to tell a full story, if you were there, you already knew that words would not be able to describe it.

The opening twenty minutes were uneventful enough, both teams trading a goal each in a period that dragged out due to the numerous minors called against each side.

After the Raiders had taken a 1-0 lead on an early power play goal the Waxers tied it up later when Derek Doucette's shot along the ice went through a screen of traffic in front of the Raider keeper. Adam Doucette and Mark Menonte with the helpers.

After the intermission the bizarre would begin and wouldn't end until the final whistle.

A minute into the second the Raiders scored a shorthanded goal, a breakaway effort to retake the lead. A minute and a half later Menonte back handed the 2-2 goal into the Raider cage, Derek Doucette and Andy Schofield with the assists. Less than forty seconds later Kevin Tompkins took the short outlet pass from netminder Rick Marnon and drove all the way to the net, tucking the puck home for the Waxers first lead of the night at 3-2.

So far nothing terribly unusual, not for long. Less than three minutes later, with the Waxers again on a powerplay, a rerun of the opening goal of the period takes place, another shorthanded goal for the Raiders to tie the score at 3-3.

At the nine minute mark (still the second period) the Raiders retake the lead at 4-3. Less than a minute later Adam Doucette ties it up at 4-4, Menonte and Jason Duffy with the assists.

The end-to-end action is almost non-stop as both clubs seemed to discard any sense of defensive responsibilities. With exactly a minute left in the period Jason Young scored on a breakaway of his own to make it 5-4, Alex Stoyan and Paul Robinson with the assists. Then the Raiders strike twice, five seconds apart before the period concludes to retake the lead again, this time 6-5.

After that period of shinny, which saw both clubs combine for nine goals, it seemed as if nothing else could possibly happen out of the ordinary. There already was a sense that the last team to touch the puck would take the game. How true that would be as we'd all find out in the final period.

The third period saw no scoring at all by either side until the final minute, certainly both sides had chances but weren't able to convert. Then with just 26 seconds on the clock and the score still 6-5 Wexford, a faceoff in Raider territory the Waxers pulled their goalie for the sixth attacker. Just three or four seconds later Young put home the equalizer from Adam Doucette and Tompkins.

Now with just 23 seconds remaining in regulation time, a 6-6 tie, and a faceoff at centre ice one might not have been blamed if overtime thoughts loomed. However, the bizarre got more bizarre, an icing call shortly after the centre ice faceoff resulted in a draw deep in Waxer territory. The Raiders won the draw and and with just 10 seconds on the clock put home the game winner. Behind again the Waxers pulled their goalie again but the Raiders controlled the faceoff and scored into the empty Waxer cage to conclude the scoring.

This was a game unlike any other seen by these eyes and as was mentioned at the outset, probably not by any other either.

Ironically, with thirteen goals scored (fourteen with the empty net goal), the goaltenders weren't the problem. There were just large defensive lapses and obviously numerous ones, by both sides.

So now that we've seen all that we can see that is odd or unusual it's back to the business at hand. One of these two teams is going to advance to the South Division Finals and what was once a best of seven game series is down to a mini-series, a best-of-3 affair.

The one-night holiday is over now and it's time to get back to work, there is no reason to expect that the Waxers will not use the day off before Sunday's game five match in Scarborough to refocus and forget what will be laughed about years later as perhaps the strangest game they've ever played in.

G A M E   S T A T I S T I C S

No.

 G

A

PTS

PIM

PPG

SHG

GWG

TOTALS