Lightning win marathon shootout
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Tillsonburg Millard, Rouse and Rosebrugh Lightning Bantam B girls scored in the last minute, then won a marathon shootout Sunday at the Colin Campbell Community Arena to eliminate Stratford from the first round of OWHA playdowns.
“It was nerve-wracking, probably for everybody,” said Lightning coach Sean Ebdon after a 1-1 girls hockey playoff game was decided by the 12th shooter.
Tillsonburg went into Sunday’s game trailing the OWHA series by two points after a 1-0 loss last week and a midweek tie in Stratford.
“We went up to Stratford with nine skaters, one with a bad ankle and one sick, and tied them. A really gutsy performance by the girls.”
That meant the Millard, Rouse, and Rosebrugh bantams had to win Sunday… and they had to win in regulation time.
“Which we did, with 40 seconds left, to break a 0-0 tie. It was do-or-die for us.”
Megan Moore scored for the Lightning with 40 seconds left to win 1-0 and force OT.
“Someone shot it in and it bounced off the goalie,” said Moore, who buried the rebound. “I didn’t know it went in at first.”
“The whole game was pretty much close,” said Lightning goalie Kiera Moylan. “They had pulled me for that goal, then I went back in for the last 40 seconds and I knew I couldn’t let any in.”
“She (Moylan) kept us in the game, for sure,” said teammate Mikaela Lessif.
That left both teams with three points, and they returned to the ice for a five-minute sudden death overtime to decide it. Scoreless in OT, they moved on to a shootout.
“We went through 12 shooters in the shootout before we finally scored,” said Ebdon. “Definitely lots of excitement.”
Moore was the second Lightning shooter and was unsuccessful with her deke.
“Nervous,” said Moore. “I think most of the team was. I was scared… maybe a little scared.”
“Yeah, I think we were all pretty nervous,” admitted teammate Mikaela Lessif, who was the only skater on either team to score one-on-one.
“I thought she was going to score,” said Moore. “She has a good shot.
“It went right over her glove,” said Lessif, noting her gameplan was to go top shelf. “The first one… I didn’t know she was pretty good down low.”
Moylan backstopped the Lightning to the win, stopping Stratford’s 12th shooter to clinch it.
“I was calm the whole time – I had confidence my team would get a goal,” said Moylan. “We really wanted it.”
“Mikaela was our 12th shooter, and we only had 11 skaters,” said Ebdon. “We went through the entire team, and Kiera did her job and stopped all 12.”
The Lightning didn’t go into Sunday’s game with a lot of shootout experience this season.
“We haven’t been to a shootout all year,” said Ebdon. I knew there were some nerves about it – there was a lot of girls not looking at me when it was getting down to it. You could just tell they were thinking, ‘please not me.’ Their reactions were… a bit scared, maybe, because obviously we do struggle with it.
“Kiera’s a hell of a goalie, so us practicing it,” said Ebdon, laughing, “is not boosting anybody’s confidence during practice. She’s very good in there. It was in the back of their minds, I think, ‘we do it in practice and I can never score, I hope it’s not me.”
But they did work on it the last couple practices, and they all gave it their best Sunday.
“Mikaela came down the first time, had her beat, and just missed the net. When she came back a second time, I said ‘stick to what we practiced, or do what you want.’ I mean, we’re 12 shooters in now and everyone’s baffled. She (Lessif) went down and beat her glove side.
“Keira’s been awesome for us – she’s had a phenomenal year. She is very stellar, and I would say she was probably the calmest, it seemed, about the whole situation.”
“Some games have more importance, but that doesn’t change my play,” said Moylan. “I play my best every game – I try to anyways.
“I don’t mind shootouts. My dad’s been working on it with me at practice. I just read what they (shooters) are doing. Most of them just take shots.”
ROUND 2
Tillsonburg will meet the winner of Wilmot (New Hamburg) and Norfolk in the second round of OWHA playdowns.
“I think Wilmot’s up 3-1 and they’re at home Tuesday night,” said Ebdon.
Second in the LLFHL, Tillsonburg only trailed Lakeshore (Essex) in the season.
“We battled all year,” said Ebdon, looking ahead to their next league playoff game Friday.