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Rizky Business - Skyhawks eliminate Northern Wolves in OT

Skyhawks Dustin McCrank and Danny Loach swarm the front of the Northern Wolves net in the 3rd period. Goalie Paul Pidutti played a stellar game for the visitors in a 2-1 overtime win for the Skyhawks. Photo by Chris Dawson.


Skyhawks Dustin McCrank and Danny Loach swarm the front of the Northern Wolves net in the 3rd period. Goalie Paul Pidutti played a stellar game for the visitors in a 2-1 overtime win for the Skyhawks. Photo by Chris Dawson.

Marc Andre Rizk scored at 2:46 of the 2nd overtime period to give the North Bay Skyhawks a 2-1 win as the Skyhawks win the best of seven series in 5 games.

Despite being hammered 9-1 Sunday night on home ice, the Northern Wolves played a solid game thanks in large part to the goaltending of Paul Pidutti. The NorWolves OT hero in North Bay Friday night continued his excellent play on the road as he turned away 24 Skyhawks shots alone in the first period.

The Northern Wolves got on the board early in the second as Jacques Proulx banged in a rebound from the side of the net to give the visitors a big 1-0 lead.

Late in the second period the Skyhawks appeared to score, as a Chris Pontes shot from the top of the circle seemed to elude Pidutti and bounce in and out off the inside crossbar.

It was a frustrating first 40 minutes for the Skyhawks as they outshot their opponents 33-9 after 2 periods but found themselves down a goal heading into the third period.

The home team continued to apply pressure in the third and at the 13:43 mark their persistence paid off as Danny Loach finally slid one past Pidutti on a goal that was very close to being disallowed as the net came off its moorings about the same time the puck crossed the goal line.

The Northern Wolves seemed to use the controversial goal as a rallying point as the visitors blasted the last 7 shots of the third on Michael Lalande including about three game saving stops in the final minutes of the period.

The two clubs took a brief rest on the bench after 60 minutes and played a short 10 minute overtime period in which the Skyhawks outshot the Northern Wolves 5-4 with the only highlight of the period being an end to end rush by Tyler Perry who was denied by the left pad of Pidutti once again.

The Skyhawks finally put an end to the game and the series less than 3 minutes into period number five, as on a broken play Marc Andre Rizk seemed to fan on a shot that slid harmlessly through the legs of Pidutti and giving the Skyhawks the decisive victory.

While the win was big for the Skyhawks, coach Randy Edmonds wasn’t impressed with his club’s lack of offence after scoring nine times in their last meeting.

“I thought we were light offensively,” Edmonds said in his post-game interview.

“When you have 24 shots in the first period and you don’t score you have concerns as a coach because the advantage as the game goes on, the advantage obviously goes to the team on the road.”

While Edmonds wasn’t keen on his club’s offense, he was very pleased with Michael Lalande’s clutch playoff goaltending.

“He was great, he kept us in the game, I mean when the score was 1-0, the next goal was real important, if it was 2-0 it might have been pretty difficult for us to come back, he was outstanding I thought he was our first star tonight for sure,” said Edmonds.

The Skyhawks likely will meet the Abitibi Eskimos in the Eastern Division final beginning either Sunday or Monday night.

Their Northern rivals can sweep their best of 7 series on Thursday night with a win in Chelmsford to eliminate the Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats in four straight. If that scenario unfolds the series would begin Sunday.


Game Notes:

Both Chase Gallacher and Yves Bastien are expected to return to the lineup to start the next round. Bastien has been rested for the past two games, while Gallacher got the night off after recording a "Gordie Howe" hat trick Sunday in Copper Cliff (1 goal, 1 assist, 1 fight).

The Game Stars were:

#1. Paul Pidutti - faced 57 shots
#2. Brett Venasse - one assist
#3. Marc Andre Rizk - game winning goal


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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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