They Shute, They Score...18 Times!

Led by Jeff Shute's 6 goals, the LAN Hackers pummelled the outmatched ADC Lynx 18-2 to win their seventh championship trophy on Thursday night. It was the second straight season in which the third-place finisher in the regular season has won the championship. In the first nine seasons of the ADC FHL, the champion finished in the top two in the regular season standings.

The Hackers established their dominance with a goal by captain Terry Davison only 29 seconds into the match. When Terry’s brother Chris scored less that two minutes later, things were already starting to look grim for the Lynx.

Back-to-back goals by Shute less than 30 seconds apart redoubled the Hackers lead midway through the first frame. But it was a four-goal outburst by the Hackers in the final five minutes of the period that sank the hearts of all Lynx fans in attendance. At the end of the first period, the lead was already 8-0 and the bigger question was becoming whether the Lynx would be able to beat Hacker goaltender Jim Bain.

The Lynx, sorely missing first-team all-stars Mark LeBlanc and Matt Blades, were constantly being outworked by the energetic Hackers. By the time Tim Long managed to score the Lynx goal midway through the second period, the lead was already 12-1. The Hackers extended their lead to 16-1 after two periods, thanks in part to a natural hat-trick by Matt Wheeler.

The Hackers took their foot off the gas in the third period and cruised to an 18-2 victory. Jeff Shute was named the game’s first star. Terry Davison also had seven points, and garnered second-star honours, while goaltender Jim Bain earned the game’s third star.

Notes: The Hackers 18 goals were the most scored by a team in a championship game...the 16-goal margin of victory was the largest in a final...Jeff Shute's 12-goal playoff season was 8th best in history...Shute's 17 playoff points were 10th best all-time...Matt Wheeler's 8-assist playoff season was 6th best all-time...Jim Bain's .941 save percentage in the final was the 4th best mark in a playoff game...this was the second time the Hackers had surrendered only 2 goals in the championship game, but the first time they had won the game.