The first period featured excellent hockey as one might expect in a game seven situation of a semi-final series. While the Waxers may have held a slight edge in the play the Raiders came away where it counts and a 1-0 lead after the opening twenty minutes.

At the seven minute mark netminder Rick Marnon made an excellent stop on a point blank slapper from the lip of the faceoff circle, however, the puck had squirted through and was slowly finding it's way over the goal line when Albert Ferrante raced in and swept the puck towards the boards. Jason Duffy and Mark Menonte quickly reversed the flow and rushed to the opposite end of the rink and Adam Doucette took the pass 6-8 feet in front of the Raider cage and whipped home the 1-1 goal. All of that took exactly seven seconds from the time Marnon faced the Wexford slapper (I watched the clock for some reason, perhaps sensing something was about to happen).

The Raiders regained the one-goal edge six minutes later but the Waxers would come back with less than two minutes left to tie it up once again. Jimmy Ball caught Duffy with an outlet pass at the Markham bench, Duffy then spun past a defender and rifled home the 2-2 goal. The Raiders weren't long in re-establishing the lead when they converted a breakaway before the period would end.

Early in the third period the Raiders scored a powerplay goal, taking advantage of the 5-on-3 manpower advantage and put Wexford ahead by two goals for the first time in the contest.

With the Waxers still shorthanded, now by just one man, Kevin Tompkins cut the deficit to one, Ball and Adam Doucette with the assists.

For Waxer observers this was a familiar scene, the club that wouldn't quit was doing it again. Before the midway point of the period Jesse Boucher unloaded a slapshot from just inside the blueline to even things at 4-4. Kevin Cribari and Tompkins with the assists.

With about eight minutes left the Raiders once again forged ahead, converting on a defensive lapse by the Waxers to take a 5-4 lead.

Then with over five minutes remaining the Waxers were on the attack when a Raider grabbed the puck with his glove and literally threw it in the air from blueline to blueline and seconds later the Waxers were dealt a holding penalty. Less than a minute later they were down two men. Suddenly the contest turned from an exciting affair with two well matched clubs battling it out for a spot in the Division finals to a game that was to have no end. To suggest that it was stunning is a gross understatement. It was a cruel twist of fate that created numerous questions, all without any plausible answers.

It cannot be put into words the sense of loss and the helplessness that came to be as a result. Whether I'm back next year or not, this season will be forever known as the season that never ended.

G A M E   S T A T I S T I C S

No.

 G

A

PTS

PIM

PPG

SHG

GWG

TOTALS