INNISFAIL – First year Eagles’ forward Justin Moltzahn may not have the offensive numbers in the playoffs like some of his teammates but when opportunity knocks, he answers.
And a big important one came in the third period Saturday night at the Innisfail Arena in Game 2 of the North Central Hockey League finals with the score tied 3-3.
“I got lucky and stepped in. The goalie made a great play to block it. The puck just came back to me, and I saw an opening and I fired it home,” said Moltzahn, who until then had not yet scored in the playoffs. “It's a rare occasion, kind of like a solar eclipse but when it happens it's pretty special.”
The Birds went on to win the March 15 game 6-3 and they now lead the best-of-seven series two games to none against the defending league champion Lacombe Generals.
The Eagles came out of the gate before a capacity home crowd of almost 1,000 fans skating hard and firing on all cylinders.
The Generals, an excellent senior men’s hockey team and worthy defending league champion, had trouble from the start finding the right gear.
In fact, after more than five minutes into the game the Birds had a nine to zero lead in shots on goal.
But Lacombe still managed to stay in the game until the Birds broke it open in the last period.
The Eagles’ Tyler Berkholtz opened the game’s scoring at 13:01 and Lacombe’s Cam Maclise quickly tied it with a shorthanded goal at 10:33.
And then the Birds reclaimed the lead at 7:45 on a marker by Chase Thudium.
The first period ended 2-1 for the Eagles.
At 15:22 of the second period the Generals tied the game again on a goal by Thomas Beretta but the Birds regained the lead once more when Ty Clay scored at 8:40.
And while the Birds continued to outplay and outshoot the Generals the game would be tied one last time when Lacombe’s Jared Williams found the net with just 1:33 remaining in the second period.
It was 3-3 heading into the third period and it stayed that way until Moltzahn scored his game winner at 13:33.
The Eagles Quintin Lisoway then scored at 7:45 and Davd Nippard added an empty net goal for the Birds with 1:48 remaining and the final score was 6-3.
The Birds finished the game by outshooting the Generals by a wide margin of 54 to 27. Eagles rookie netminder Chance Griffith once again claimed the victory.
The Eagles take Game 2, and head coach Ryan Dodd, while pleased with his troops’ effort and desire, is not taking anything for granted.
He knows the Generals are an excellent hockey team capable of exploding at any time.
“The worst thing you can do is fight a cornered, caged dog,” said Dodd after the game. “They're going to come out fighting, and they're going to be hungry for the win. They don't want to go down three nothing.”
As for Game 3 Sunday afternoon in Lacombe, Dodd said he simply wants his players to stick to the team's game plan.
“We talked about clogging up the neutral zone, and that's what we're doing,” said Dodd. “This is our game plan, to eliminate some of their chances and then turn pucks over and go back the other way.
“It's working right now, and I would think they'll change some stuff up, and we'll adjust to it,” he added. “But our club is rolling.
“We're a hard-working hockey group, and one of the toughest things to beat is momentum, and then the other toughest thing to beat is a team that sticks together and plays for each other, and right now that's what we have in our room.”
Travis Yonkman, the head coach of the Generals, said after the game his squad simply needs to play a “lot better.
“Some guys need to pick up the play. I think everybody has to be better at both ends of the ice,” said Yonkman. “It’s that desperate mentality that we need, whether its backchecking or forechecking, laying the body, pucks to the net, and getting in front.
“You got to do it all.”
As for finding things with Innisfail his Generals may want to try to neutralize, Yonkman said the team will do some analyzing" but mostly, he added, his players must get back to what has always worked for them.
“We just have to play our game,” said Yonkman. “I think everybody has to step up.”
Game 3 at Lacombe’s Gary Moe Auto Group Sportsplex starts March 16 at 2:30 p.m.
