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Barons clinch spot in final and eliminate Trojans from NOSSA

Trojans goalie Damien Bissonette makes a nice glove save in the third period with Barons forward Nicholas Raymond on the doorstep. Photo by Chris Dawson.


Trojans goalie Damien Bissonette makes a nice glove save in the third period with Barons forward Nicholas Raymond on the doorstep. Photo by Chris Dawson.

It wasn't a classic like Saturday's triple OT affair between the Barons and the Trojans, but the result was the same.

The Barons scored 4 times in the second period en route to a 5-3 victory Tuesday night in NOSSA round robin play at Memorial Gardens.

With their 2-0 record, including a 5-2 win Tuesday morning over Confederation, the Barons clinch a spot in Wednesday night's NOSSA "AA" Final.

The Trojans day was the polar opposite. They dropped a 5-0 decision to Sir James Dunn early Tuesday morning and followed that up with another disappointing loss at the hands of their rivals from across town.

It was a see-saw battle to start the contest, as Nathan Hewitt opened the scoring 3:26 into the first period and the Trojans responded quickly, just over a minute later as Joey Zdunek evened the game 1-1.

In the dying seconds of the first, The Trojans got the lead back as Dan Weber's shot went off the post and in making it 2-1 Trojans with 7 seconds left on the clock.

The second period things opened up even more. Only 23 seconds into the middle frame a Barons point shot went through a forest of legs beating Damian Bissonette. Yves Benoit was credited with the goal that made it 2-2.

But on the powerplay, the Trojans regained the lead as a Ken Peroff point shot went through a screen and past a stunned Mathieu Belanger giving West Ferris their second and final lead of the contest.

Just over 2 minutes later the Barons square things up again as Nathan Hewitt carried the puck into the Trojans zone and fired a weak low shot through the legs of Bissonette, a goal the Trojan netminder would have loved to have back. That made it 3-3.

Then at the midway point of the contest Michal Vezina converted a nice pass into a goal making it 4-3.

The turning point may have been the next goal as Nathan Hewitt scored again, this time on a soft low shot from near the slot, making it 5-3 with just over a minute left to play in the second.

The Trojans didn't mount much offence in the third period, but Damien Bissonette made a few tremendous third period stops or the score could have been more lopsided for the Barons.

Barons Head Coach Dale Hewitt said everything just seemed to fall into place tonight, as his team tried to play a more aggressive style of play and didn't sit back on their 2 goal lead.

"I think we played a really strong defensive game tonight, we kind of trapped in the neutral ice area and it seemed to work for us," said Hewitt.

"We were going to forecheck 2 men keep one guy back and if we did get control of the puck our plan was that the 3rd man comes into the high slot and becomes a dangerous offensive threat for us."

As for the Trojans, they will play a meaningless game Wednesday morning against Confederation because their season ended tonight.

Head Coach Rick Mitchell believes the game turned around with the Barons two quick second period goals.

"Second period really took the wind out of our sails and it was really tough to get back into it, the kids have gone through an emotional period right now and I think they just kind of gave up a little," said a humbled Mitchell.

The Barons will also play a meaningless game Wednesday morning as they will face Sir James Dunn at 10 a.m.

Earlier Tuesday night Confederation and Sir James Dunn finished in a 5-5 draw.

The final will take place Wednesday night at Memorial Gardens. Game time is 7:10 p.m.

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Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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