Corvairs spoil the party, force Game 7
The stage was set for a historic night in Fort Erie.
The Fort Erie Meteors needed one more win to capture their first Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference championship and it seemed like the whole town was on hand to witness the glory.
Over an hour before the game, the parking lot at the Fort Erie Leisueplex was already nearly at capacity, so full that fans were parking across the street at Greater Fort Erie Secondary School.
Inside, fans saved their seats early and by the time the puck dropped, patrons were standing three and four deep around the top of the walkway.
But the Caledonia Corvairs had other ideas and were in no frame of mind to witness the Meteors celebrate.
Markus Dempewolf scored eight minutes into the third period to break a scoreless deadlock as the Corvairs blanked the Meteors 1-0 to tie the best-of-seven series 3-3 and set up a one game, winner take all showdown Monday in Caledonia for the Golden Horseshoe Conference crown.
Fort Erie general manager/coach Nik Passero, while understandably disappointed with the outcome, was nevertheless defiant in defeat.
“It’s amazing. This town needs it, our players needed it. I’m so proud of them. They could have died in front of that many people but they just kept going and going,” he said.
Then Passero took his unwavering faith in his team one step further.
“We get one game to be champions and we’re going to do it,” he said confidently. “I commend our guys for doing what they did and we’ll get it done Monday.”
Passero had no problem with his team’s effort, particularly the first 40 minutes.
“I thought first period we were great, second period we were great,” he said. “The third period, we didn’t bring it. When they scored we were kind of on our heels and then you’re obviously pushing. I didn’t love our third period but I think our second period was the best period we played in all the playoffs.
“The first period we just dominated them offensively and in the second and third they made some adjustments, which they don’t do very often, so I think that just bodes to what we’re doing.”
The Mets had some point blank chances to score but Keegan Jackson, who got the call in goal in place of Finn Wilson, was equal to the task, kicking out 28 shots for the shutout.
It would have been interesting to see the outcome had the Mets been able to score early in the game with the huge crowd ready to explode in support.
“The longer it waits and we score their season is done and they might die, but it goes both ways,” Passero said.
Passero felt the game could have easily gone in his team’s favour.
“That team had their backs against the wall and they came out and scored one more than we did. I don’t think they played better than we did but it is what it is. It’s a learning experience and you get 48 hours to get the job done,” he said.
Passero has been proud of his club’s resiliency throughout the playoffs, which will be put to the test once again.
“This is not just your everyday loss but I’m fully confident in this group to go get the job done,” he said.
Following the game, Passero had one quick message for his charges.
“If I told you you get one game to be champions, would you take it? It was an astounding yes,” he said.
While hostilities on the ice were kept to a minimum — only 20 total minutes in penalties were called — a fracas broke out in the stands after the second period. Order was quickly established and it appeared two fans were escorted out. About a dozen Niagara Regional Police were on hand and stayed for the remainder of the game.
Metscellaneous: Nolan Stickland, Grant Spada, Caleb Bidgood and Owen Cressman were scratched for the Meteors . . . Tyler Wells, Luc Gauvreau, Vadim Liakhov, Ethan Royer, Davis Penner, Kane Styres, David Harvey and Connor Doerbecker did not dress for Caledonia . . . Listowel has captured the Midwest Conference title while London and St. Mary’s are tied 3-3 in the Western Conference final with Game 7 Sunday.
STATS PACK
Corvairs 1 Meteors 0
Caledonia goaltender Keegan Jackson with 28 saves for the shutout.
Fort Erie Meteors: No scoring.
Caledonia Corvairs: Markus Dempewolf (10).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Fort Erie on Keegan Jackson (28), by Caledonia on Charlie Burns (27); Power plays: Fort Erie 0/5, Caledonia 0/1; Penalty minutes: Fort Erie 6, Caledonia 14.
Attendance: 2,200
Next up: The Meteors head to Caledonia for Game 7 Monday at 7:30 p.m. for the Golden Horseshoe championship.
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