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Waxers Score Dramatic
Comeback Victory,
Lead Series 2-0
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St. Mike's goalie
Mike Binnington makes great save on Matthew Meszaros |
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photos by Mike Tillaart |
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(Feb.26.07)
The Markham Waxers came back from a
3-1 second period deficit last night to steal a victory in the
St. Michael’s Buzzers own arena and take a 2-0 lead in their
second round playoff series.
The Waxers opened the scoring in the
first period, then gave up three unanswered goals, then scored
three in a row themselves to earn the win.
Claudio Cowdrey scored
for the Waxers at 5:13 of the first period, with assists from
JoJo Bojanowski and Corey Tamblyn. The fact that this line was
able to step up was particularly crucial later in the game as
St. Mikes was able to hold the Waxers high-scoring trio of
Michael Scheu, Daniel Torres and David Kostuch to one goal on
the night.
That first period lead
was short-lived. St. Mikes tied the game at 6:34 with a goal by
Tyler Forbes, assisted by Sean Fontyn. During a four on four
situation, Forbes was left alone in front of the net and buried a
shot from close in against Waxers goalie Matthew Spezza. St.
Mikes took the lead at 13.32 when the speedy Louie Caporusso got
in behind the Waxers defence, took a long lead pass on the
Waxers blue line and went in on a breakaway. Nikolai Knights and
Justin Troiani drew the assists on the play.
The Buzzers went up 3-1
at 12:08 of the second period on a goal that resulted from their
hard pressing style of play. Buzzer pressure in the Markham end
caused a Waxer turnover and ended in a goal by Fred Cassiani.
Kyle Neuber assisted on the play.
Markham got that goal back at 15:51
when sharpshooter Mike Scheu put one in with assists from Daniel
Torres and Miles Cope. A hard pressing Cody Hamilton coming in
from the point also helped to make the goal happen. The second
period ended with St. Mikes up 3-2.
In the third period, the Waxers tied
the score on hard work off the faceoff. JoJo Bojanowski banged
one in at 8:22, the assist going to Corey Tamblyn.
At 10:03 the Waxers bench erupted in
joy as Claudio Cowdrey scored his second of the night, the goal
coming again from hard work right off the faceoff by Corey
Tamblyn and JoJo Bojanowski.
Waxers goalie Matthew Spezza barred
the door from the middle of the second period onward and allowed
the Waxers a chance to win the game. He made a number of big
stops, especially in the third period and faced a total of 39
shots on the night.
St. Mikes goalie Mike Binnington did
everything he could to help his team, stopping 35 of 39 shots
directed at him, including some incredible stops in the second
period when the Waxers were pressing to get back into the game.
One of these came on a breakaway by Matthew Meszaros. |
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JoJo Bojanowski |
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Claudio Cowdrey |
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Corey Tamblyn |
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After the game, Corey Tamblyn gave
St. Mikes full credit as a tough team that presses hard.
“They force all over the ice. They
are a really good team at that. This is their home rink and
they play it almost to perfection.”
I asked forward Mark Cornacchia how the small ice
surface at St. Mike’s arena affects the style of play.
“It affects you a lot,” he said. “It makes the glass your best
friend. You have to use the boards to get the puck in deep.
You have to make quick decisions.”
He said the Buzzers tailor their
hard pressing style with the small ice that they play on at
home. |
Coach Rick Cornacchia praised his team for a good
character win and pointed to the play of goaltender Matthew
Spezza.
“A good goaltender gives you a chance to win and
Spezza did that tonight.”
And how did it feel to be up 2-0 with a chance to
really take a strangle hold on the series on Tuesday
night at home?
“We have to continue with the same intensity, the
same desire, and the same patience because they (St. Mikes) are
not going to give up. They’re a good team.”
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Waxers Goalie Matthew Spezza
makes one of his 36 saves |
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The series continues on Tuesday, February 27 at
the Markham Centennial Arena, starting at 7:30 p.m.
Grant Weaver
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