The Brampton Excelsiors got a wake up call in their first game of the MSL Eastern Division finals. There’s no other way to put it after a 12-3 beat down. Even without Anthony Cosmo, Sandy Chapman and Mike Kirk, it’s an embarrassing loss after a strong series win against the Kitchener/Waterloo Kodiaks. After three days off between games and with their big guns back in the line up, including Dan Dawson, it was time to head home in what was arguably a ‘must-win’ for Brampton early in the playoff series.
If the return of Kirk, Chapman and Cosmo would energize the Excelsiors, on the other side of the ball, Stephan Leblanc returned to the Six Nations Chiefs after recovering from an injury suffered in the NLL season, and had five points in game one. He would assist on Rock teammate Colin Doyle’s opening goal to put the Chiefs on the board five minutes in. John McClure tied it when he beat his man one-on-one and hit the net in stride to tie the game going to the break.
Six Nations were no doubt unhappy with their performance in the first having scored only once on thirteen shots. They even met in a huddle in the tunnel before coming onto the floor for the second. Whatever was said worked as Rhys Duch scored twenty-two seconds in to give Six Nations the lead. Matching goals from each team ninety-six seconds apart kept the game separated by one goal before Brampton opened up. Joe Resetarits scored twice in a minute, the first on a four-on-three man advantage, the second four-on-four. Those two goals were followed by a John McClure marker which saw Brampton score on their first four shots of the period. The streak would end shortly thereafter, although on seven shots in the period, Chiefs goaltender Mike Poulin only managed two saves.
Poulin did get his stick on a third shot, off the stick of Joe Walters with the shot clock winding down from way outside, but the ball snuck through his legs and into the back of the net with forty-one seconds remaining on the clock. With time expired in the period as both teams were heading to the rooms, Doyle and Cosmo exchanged words. The two former teammates began to walk away before Doyle gave Cosmo a shove. Kirk took exception, which drew the attention of Rory Smith. With the gathering growing, both benches then came over to the side boards. Nothing more than words were exchanged except a few errant swipes and lock ups, but the officials did a great job of putting a cap on a situation that could’ve turned ugly.
As the third period started, it was announced that Clay Hill for the Chiefs and Dylan Evans for the Excelsiors were assessed five minutes each for fighting and game misconducts while Kirk and Doyle drew two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct plus ten minute misconducts and finally, Rory Smith picked up a game misconduct for his actions. The rumble looked to energize both sides, but it was the Chiefs who were able to score twice in the final frame. Although it only drew them within one as Cosmo stole the show again and Brampton evens the series one game apiece with a 6-5 win.
Game three goes Thursday night in Six Nations. Meanwhile, game three of the Western Division finals against the Peterborough Lakers and Brooklin Redmen also goes Thursday night, from Brooklin. Peterborough leads the series two games to none. The game will be broadcast online by JVI Productions at www.webcast-sports.com on pay-per-view for $7. Visit the website to purchase the webcast, or to view upcoming shows from MSL or Junior A.
