Jeff Michael and the rest of the Skyhawks shake hands with the Eskimo players after their Game 7 win. Photo by Matt Gordon.
Nearly 2000 fans showed up at Memorial Gardens for Game 7 of the NOJHL Eastern Division Final and the home side did not disappoint. The North Bay Skyhawks bested the Abitibi Eskimos 3-0 to clinch a spot in final against the Soo Thunderbirds.
Prior to the game the Skyhawks bought back the suspension of forward Trent Lizee that he received for a hit from behind in overtime of Game 6. That penalty ultimately cost the team the game as the Eskimos scored on the ensuing power play. The move proved to be well worth the cost as Lizee scored two goals in game 7, including the game winner and was a force on the penalty kill all night blocking several shots.
“(Lizee) got the game puck, he felt that he cost the team and I knew he was going to come out hard. To score two goals is a bonus but his PK and his down low work was unreal tonight,” said Skyhawks head coach Ian Swalucynski of Lizee’s efforts on the night.
Lizee opened the scoring less than 5 minutes into the game and got the Gardens crowd off their feet and banging their thunder sticks.
“Big monkey off my back, it helped the guys out. My stall mate W. Laporte always kept me up; he said you’re going to get the game winner and he was right,” said Lizee of scoring the games opening goal after taking the penalty in game 6.
The Skyhawks out shot the Eskimos 13-7 in the opening frame but were only able to beat Eskimos goaltender Francis Albert with the single goal.
The second period was much different as the Eskimos carried the play for most of the time out shooting the ‘Hawks 12-3 and keeping backstop Jeff Michael busy. Michael was up to the task making several good saves including a couple of glove saves that could have easily been goals.
“He’s a competitor and he’s shown that all year,” said Swalucynski of Michaels’ performance in the game. “He makes sure he does all the little things to help our team,” added the coach.
With the score still at 1-0 the game moved into the third period and with the way the series had gone, everyone knew it would be a great finish.
Midway through the period Skyhawks leading scorer Dustin Fummerton picked up the puck at center ice and broke in two on one with winger Solomon McCann. Fummerton sucked in the defenseman and fed a pass to McCann who deked out Albert and tucked the puck behind him on the backhand.
Less than 3 minutes later Lizee got his second of the game again assisted by Fummerton. The diminutive forward tracked down Abitibi defenseman Ryan MacDonald behind the net, stripped him of the puck and fed Lizee in front who potted the puck in the wide open net.
Shortly after the goal a melee ensued when Skyhawks forward Will Laporte hit an Eskimo player right in front of their bench. The Eskimo’s Scott Colosimo came in to his team mates defence but bit off more than he could chew when Will’s brother Nick intervened. Colosimo squared off with Laporte but once the 6’4” defenseman landed a solid shot the smaller Colosimo had to turn his head and hold on for the linesman to intervene.
In the end the Skyhawks were left down a man for a full four minutes as each Laporte was assessed a minor penalty and tossed from the game.
The Skyhawks were able to kill off the entire four minutes without much of a scare as they blocked several Eskimo shots and Micheal made the few saves he was asked to. Lizee again shone on the penalty kill as he led the way with two blocks on this kill alone and almost picked up a shorthanded marker near the end.
The final few minutes faded away and the home crowd showed their appreciation with their loudest cheering of the playoffs to date. After the buzzer the teams shook hands as is the playoff tradition and the two head coaches spent a few minutes chatting at center ice before parting to their respective dressing rooms.
“We lost to a great hockey club,” said Abitibi head coach Paul Gagne. “We’ve got to walk proud because we went seven games with a good team. I don’t think we were picked to even win one,” added the coach.
After the game Michael was asked who he would pick as the series MVP and he pointed directly to the big man from High Prairie, Alberta.
“It’s gotta’ be Liz; he doesn’t care how much ice time he gets, he doesn’t care to sacrifice his body in front, he’s the man. He scores goals, he back-checks, he plays the body; he’s everything you could want,” said the American net minder.
Lizee was the games first star while Fummerton and Michael were stars two and three respectively. McCann, Kyle Radigan and MacKenzie Koopmans all added single helpers in the winning cause. Final shots were 28-23 in favour of Abitibi.
The Skyhawks will now move onto the NOJHL final where they will face the Soo Thunderbirds. The teams split the season series 2-2 with the home team winning every game. That bodes well for North Bay as they will hold home ice advantage for winning the overall title in the regular season. The dates for the final have not been announced but stay tuned to Baytoday for the details.
This will be North Bay’s first time back in the final since the 2005-06 season.
“Of course I’m excited, this is big for us; this is what we want, this is why we’re here, we’ve got one more goal,” said Swalucynski of the upcoming NOJHL final.
