Skyhawks take 3-2 series lead over Eskimos

The Skyhawks swoop in on Eskimos goalie Steve Hamel. The Skyhawks scored four times on the Eskies netminder en route to a 4-1 win at Memorial Gardens. Photo by Todd Vandonk.

The North Bay Skyhawks took a 3-2 series lead Tuesday night, defeating the Abitibi Eskimos 4-1. The Skyhawks picked up their third home win in the series, in front of 2,500 screaming fans at Memorial Gardens.

Tyler Perry’s dismissal was quickly forgotten, after Matt Collins beat Abitibi goalie Steve Hamel 55 seconds into the game. With out their top sniper, Perry, the Skyhawks used a tight defense and contributions from all lines to record the win.

“We thought we played really well tonight,” said Coach Randy Edmonds. “We limited them to only six scoring chances the whole game, and a lot of the guys that we wanted to step up, did a great job.”

Already on the score sheet, Collins got his second of the night, after deflecting a Jon Ryan point shot that fooled goaltender Hamel. With the early two goal lead the Skyhawks were able to open the play up and create quality chances, only to be denied by Hamel. The solid goaltending would pay off, when Luc Champagne buried a back door pass from Nick Torresan. The power play tally brought the Eskimos to with in one, after twenty minutes.

With 4:50 left in the second, Skyhawk’s forward Chase Gallacher circled the crease, before finding the open mesh. The goal seemed to sink an Eskimo club, that out shot the Skyhawks 10-8, in the second period. Mike Lalande showed call up, Craig Schoen, a goaltending display, making key stops on Abitibi power plays during the second. Schoen, a local affiliate player, played back-up role to Lalande, due to a Chris Abby hand injury.

In the third, the Skyhawks shut things down offensively, for the Eskimos. Worn-out by the Skyhawks defensive pressure, Abitibi could only produce 6 shots in the third period. Marc-Andre Rizk netted an empty netter with 25 seconds left, adding salt to the wound, of the Abitibi players.

“We dominate at home and they dominate at home, so hopefully continue that trend, and can squeeze one in with a little more pressure on them,” said Eskimo’s Coach Paul Gagne.
“I thought we did well on the power play and Lalande did his job. And as a team they do a good job protecting him, so give them credit for that.

The Skyhawks will go into the Jus Jordan Arena, searching for the Division title Friday night. The win won’t come easy; despite enjoying success in Iroquois Falls, the Skyhawk’s efforts have come up on the road. Both losses in the series, for the Skyhawks, come on the road in double overtime heart breakers.

“We played two real good road games in the past. We’ve gone to second overtime goals in both, so we won’t be intimidated but know it’s going to be very difficult,” said Edmonds. “It’s just a matter of following the game plan. Coming into tonight we were in a best of three, with two out of three at home. We got two chances to get it done now but if we can avoid the seventh game, we would obviously like that.

Story by Todd Vandonk