| Subject: Silos Take Game 7 Thriller, Face Victoria Next |
Author:
Saskatoon Sun
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 21:58:04 06/08/03 Sun
For the Saskatoon Silos, it's out of the frying pan and into the fire, as the Silos move onto the Western Conference final after taking a 3-2 Game 7 victory from the Calgary Cougars.
The series against the arch rival Cougars was a hard-fought affair, with momentum swings galore for both teams. But, in the end, Saskatoon's victory came down to the team's best player scoring a big goal late in the game.
After the teams took turns dominating the first two periods, the score going into the third period was tied at two. The Silos had the better of the play in the third, but could not get one past Calgary goaltender Arturs Irbe.
At 16:53, however, the Cougars' Miroslav Satan took an ill-advised double minor for cross checking, which put the Silos on the power play for the remainder of the game. The Saskatoon players buzzed around the Calgary net, but Irbe was up to the task.
Then, with the Silos moving the puck smartly, Hans Jonsson passed to Theoron Fleury to the right of the Calgary net. Fleury wasted no time in whipping a goalmouth feed to Alexei Yashin, who was parked to the left of Irbe. Yashin made no mistake on the shot, banging home the pass before Irbe had a chance to react. The goal came at 19:53 of the third, turning a frenzied Saddledome crowd stone silent.
The Silos killed the final 7 seconds, with the jubilant Saskatoon players mobbing victorious goaltender Jocelyn Thibault after the horn sounded.
There was a bit of celebrating in the locker room following the game, but the Silos' players know that this series win is only the first step.
"This was a great win for this franchise, no doubt about it," said a smiling Martin Gelinas. "But we now have to face another tough team in Victoria, so we don't have much time to savor this one."
An obviously pleased Head Coach Bob Hartley liked the way his team overcame adversity in this series, and expects his team to put up a good fight against their next opponent.
"Victoria has a good balance of offense and defesne," said a beaming Hartley, "plus they have one of the best in net in Patrick Roy. So, we've got our work cut out for us against the Totems, but I expect the boys to be up to the challenge."
For Saskatoon center Alexei Yashin, the win was especially sweet, since he missed last year's seventh game, a one-goal loss to Calgary, due to an injury.
"It was tough to watch that loss last season, knowing that I could have made a difference for the guys," said Yashin of last year's series loss. "So, when Theo put the perfect pass on my stick, I just made sure I buried it. It was pretty much like scoring an overtime goal at that point. It's a great feeling."
Coach Hartley praised the effort of the Cougars, a team that has given Hartley fits the past two seasons.
"That's a great organization," Hartley said of the Cougars. "If they had won tonight, they might have been on their way to a second straight Hoser Cup. I hope that we can repeat their success of last season, but we don't want to get ahead of ourselves."
Silo Siftings: Another pleased individual wandering around the victorious Saskatoon dressing room was team GM Ken McKenna. The victory was vindication, of sorts, for the GM, since many had criticized all the trades McKenna had made over the course of the 2003 season. "Well, the goal is to win the Cup," said the McKenna, waving a victory cigar in this writer's face, "so I haven't been vindicated yet. But this was a big win for this organization, and we need to build on that starting with the next game."...McKenna, like his coach, took the time to praise the Cougars' organization. "Craig McTavish is a fine coach, and Ryan Long is a first-class GM. They'll keep that team competitive into the future." As for beating their nemesis, McKenna wished they could play seven more game. "That was great hockey!" enthused the GM. "I wish every series was as entertaining as that one was. Something special happens when these two teams face each other."
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 