PALMERSTON – This past weekend the Minto 81’s continued their WOAA Senior AA quarter-finals series against the Shelburne Muskies. With a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, Minto was looking to seal the deal and move on to the next round.
And on Sunday night in dramatic fashion, they did just that.
The Trains travelled to Shelburne on Feb. 22 for game five of the series.
The first period started off with a bang with three goals by the 81’s – two from Francois Cote and the other by Wade Pfeffer. The Muskies responded, scoring a handful of goals in the first period to make it a 5-3 game after 20 minutes.
The second period saw no scoring from either team.
The third period was much like the second. In an attempt to tie the score, Minto pulled their goalie but that only led to an empty net goal for the Muskies. Shelburne won the game by a final score of 6-3, sending the series back to Palmerston for game six on Sunday night.
With the loss the night before, Minto was looking to get back on track and get the series win against the Muskies.
The first and second periods started off slow with Shelburne scoring a goal in the first and Minto finding the twine in the second, leaving the score 1-1 going into the third.
In the third, Minto’s Jordan Delaurier found the back of the Muskies’ net to give the 81’s a 2-1 lead. With just over two minutes left, Shelburne scored on the power play to tie the game. Neither team would score in the final minutes, sending the game to overtime.
With multiple shots on the Muskies net, including a couple off the post, 20 minutes had passed and neither team was able to score, sending the game to double overtime.
Only three more minutes were needed to decide a winner, as Minto’s Brady Anderson scored to win the game and the series for the 81’s.
Semi-final scenarios
The 81’s won the best-of-seven series 4-2 and now wait to find out who they will face in the semi-finals.
Minto will either face the Ripley Wolves or Tillsonburg Thunder in the next round, depending on the results of the remaining two quarter-final series.
Ripley and the Durham Thundercats are going to game on Tuesday night. A Ripley win would see the Wolves take on the 81’s, while a Durham win would see the Trains face the Thunder.
The Clinton Radars have also advanced to the semis, defeating Seaforth in six games. A Durham win on Tuesday night would see the Radars play the Thundercats in the next round, and a Ripley win would see them face the Thunder.
To learn the schedule and opponent of Minto’s next series, visit their social media pages: Facebook – Facebook.com/Minto81s or Twitter – @81shockey.