Mar 07, 2016 | cshanks | 1021 views
PW B Lynx Win Round 2 of Lower Lakes
The Lindsay PW B Lynx won their 2nd round playoff series in 2 straight against Toronto Leaside (3754) on the weekend with a 3-1 win.
The game was played in the Agincourt Recreation Centre and both teams found getting time and space difficult on the small ice surface. Shots were hard to come by and Leaside came out determined to not give the Lynx any opportunity to shoot. However, with 2 minutes to go in the 1st period Hannah Vallier made a nice pass from the Lynx zone to Kayla Golden in the neutral zone. Golden made a good rush up the ice and got a hard low shot off from just inside the Leaside blueline which went in on the shortside to give the Lynx the 1-0 lead (lone assist to Vallier).
The 2nd period was much of the same with limited opportunities for both teams. The Lynx were able to start their aggressive forechecking game late in the 2nd period and this caused trouble for the Leaside team. Aggressive low pinches by the D of Hannah Vallier and Emma Shanks and Julia Sudsbury and Emma Lees led to some sustained pressure. With just under 4 minutes to go in the period the line of Julia Staniland, Taryn Lindquist and Laura Brown had a dominant forechecking shift which led to a point shot from Emma Lees. Brown then took a rebound and was stopped by a good leg save by the Leaside goalie but Taryn Lindquist pounced on that rebound to knock home what would be the eventual game winner (assists to Brown and Lees). Just over 2 minutes later the Lynx would go up by 3 with Mya Mattiussi scoring on a rocket from the high slot. Again a strong pinch from D Emma Shanks created a good possession and a nice passing play which saw Kayla Golden and Gracie Cunday pick up the assists. The score would head into the 3rd period with the Lynx up 3-0 as Emma Francois made some good glove saves to keep the 3 goal lead.
The Lynx tightened up throughout the 3rd period to limit the Leaside chances. The line of Maddy Donnelly, Taylor Allen and Nixon Francis had some great shifts in keeping the pressure on the Leaside team. But Leaside didn't give up and with 6 minutes to go got a good bounce at their blueline to create a rush up the ice which resulted in them getting a good hard low shot off which was just able to trickle past Francois to cut the lead to 3-1. Leaside pulled their goalie and was able to get the puck in deep but strong play in their own end by Vallier, Shanks, Golden, Donnelly and Cunday was able to continually relieve the pressure and get the puck out without any real dangerous chances and help the Lynx hold on for the 3-1 win and the series sweep.
The Lynx now move onto the Eastern Regional Final against Whitby with the right to represent the East at the Lower Lakes Championship Weekend up for grabs. Go LYNX Go!!