Halifax Floor Hockey League
However it was the Lynx, slight underdogs according to bookmakers, who got off to a better start. Defenseman Tim Long and forward Pierre Martin scored two of the game’s first three goals, giving the Lynx an early 2-1 advantage. But the energetic Chill continued to apply the persistent pressure that they became known for throughout the season. Led by back-to-back goals by Mike Bedard, the Chill jumped out to a 4-2 first intermission lead, outshooting the Lynx by nearly a 2-1 margin in the process.
The Lynx squad received a motivating tongue lashing by their captain Richard Wanamaker during the first intermission, and it seemed to work. Goals by Martin and Roger Keating to start the second period got the Lynx to level pegging, knotting the score at 4 goals apiece. And after the teams traded a goal each, a high-sticking penalty to the Chill’s Benoit Dugas led to a powerplay goal by Tim Long, giving the Lynx their first lead of the game since early in the first period.
Benoit quickly atoned for his mistake, scoring the next goal of the game to square the affair at six. Until that point, the Lynx had done an admirable job containing the Chill’s dynamic duo of Tony Joyce and Chad Randell, limiting them to a single goal. But both Randell and Joyce tallied late second period markers, giving the Chill an 8-6 intermission lead – a lead they would not relinquish.
Roger Keating opened the scoring in the third to close the gap to a single goal, only to have Randell restore the two goal advantage. Tim Long scored his hat-trick goal for the Lynx to once again cut the deficit to one, but it was the timely Randell who tallied his hat-trick goal for the Chill to open another two-goal lead.
After Bedard and Long traded goals for each team, Randell scored the last goal of the game to make the final 12-9. For his four-goal, two-assist performance, Randell was named the first star of the finale. Lynx goaltender Martin Kane withstood another 60+ shots-against, and was named the game’s second star. His 53 saves were the most ever recorded in a championship game. Chill forward Tony Joyce had a rare game in which he recorded more assists (3) than goals (2), and was garnered with the game’s third star.
Both Randell and Joyce were teammates on last season’s championship-winning Sunnydale Slayers squad, and were the only players to win consecutive titles this season. None of the players on the Chill team have won more than two championships in their respective careers.
The Chill were inspired by the attendance of injured forward Jason Royal, who will get his name on the trophy despite being unable to play in the playoffs. It is the first time Royal has won the championship, after playing a remarkable 91 games in the league.
