Ian Denomme's goal with less than seven minutes left in regulation was the difference maker as the North Bay & District Major Midget AAA Trappers slipped by the Kapuskasing Flyers 2-1 in game one of the best-of-five Great North Midget League at Memorial Gardens Friday night.
Denomme used his speed to go through the neutral zone and came near the slot where he fired a quick shot that deceived Flyers goalie Nicholas Dube.
Matt Hardwick gave the Trappers the lead in the first as he found a rebound in front of Dube and slipped it underneath his outstretched glove hand for the game's opening tally.
Jacob Comeau evened the score on the power play as he picked off an errant Payton Vescio pass and walked in and beat Trappers goalie Joel Rainville upstairs early in the second period which evened things at 1-1.
The Trappers did an effective job containing Flyers star forward Samuel Bourdages who was held off the scoresheet but drew more than 10 penalty minutes as the Trappers forwards - namely Bailey Chenier and Brett Shawana - shadowed the skilled forward.
However, the Flyers top scorer was kicked out of the game late on a slew foot call in the final two minutes of regulation. That call will likely keep the 69-point scorer in the regular season out of the lineup for the rest of the series.
Trappers head coach Guy Blanchard thought his club started slow but got better as the game went on.
"Our 2 weeks off showed in the first just were not sharp," admitted Blanchard.
"We had some real good chances in the second and third but couldn't put them in, however we played a strong defensive game and didn't allow too many quality shots. It's a good one underneath our belt."
Game two of the series takes place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night at Memorial Gardens.
