Halifax Floor Hockey League
In life, there are three things one can count on: death, taxes and the LAN Hackers winning. That held true Thursday night. No, nobody died, nor did Commissioner David Watson impose a levy on excessive celebrations. It was the Hackers who were dependable, as they fought from behind to defeat the ADC Lynx 9-7 in a spirited affair.
Things looked promising early for the yellow-clad Lynx. Franchise player Craig Mercer tallied three first period goals for the Lynx, helping his team jump out to a 3-1 first intermission lead.
Tempers flared in the second period, with neither team willing to give an inch. Two consecutive penalties were called by the league's new full-time, and highly underpaid, referee Barrie Harvey. After things settled down, the Hackers scored four of the final five goals to tie the game at five entering the final frame. The Hackers' second-period run was capped by a goal by low-scoring defenseman Darren Derocher.
For the third straight period, the Lynx opened the scoring when Tony Warnell converted a pass from Rookie of the Year candidate Dale White. But Hacker captain John Price put his team on his back, scoring two goals and one assist in the final period to lead his team to a 9-7 win. Price's fifth and final goal of the game broke a 7-7 tie and turned out to be the game winner.
Price assumed the league's scoring leader position with his seven point performance, giving him 16 points in two games. Derocher, Donnie Bailey, Jamie Houghton, and Eddie Dwyer added single goals for the Hackers.
In addition to Mercer's hattrick, the Lynx were led by Warnell's two goals and solo tallies by Jason Royal and Rene Aucoin. Dale White added three assists in a losing cause.
SABRES 9 CHILL 8
In Thursday's early game, the high-octane Keane Chill squad squared off against the winless Lite-Sabres. The opening salvo was fired by Sabre snipers Spiro Bokolas and Dave MacKenzie, giving their team an early 2-0 lead. First-overall draft selection Andrew Mercer then cut the lead in half, as his hard shot squeezed through Sabre goalie Chris McMaster. Bokolas continued his sniping shortly thereafter, picking the top corner on Chill goaltender Jeff McCarthy. The teams then traded goals, to make the first intermission score 4-2 in favour of the Sabres. Sabres rookie Matt Wheeler scored his first career goal to open the scoing in the second period. Mike Hashem replied for the Lynx by whacking home a ball that had bounced off the wall behind the Sabre net.
When Bokolas and MacKenzie again traded goals for the Sabres early in the third period, the Sabres appeared to have an insurmountable 8-4 lead. But then the worst possible scenario happened for the Sabres, as a confusing line change led to a Too Many Men bench penalty. Last year's scoring champ Tony Joyce made the Sabres pay soon after, as he beat McMaster low on the glove side.
Joyce' goal seemed to spur the Chill, whose potent forwards then ratcheted up the pressure. First Mark Smith scored, then Jason Roland. After Bokolas scored his fourth goal of the game, Mercer banged home his own rebound to cut the lead to 9-8 with mere minutes remaining. But the Sabres' steady defensive core of MacKenzie, Mike Sullivan, Jason Fitzgerald and Owen Barnhill held the fort, despite the Chill pulling their goalie.
Bokolas finished the game with four goals and three assists to lead the Sabres. Joyce had a hattrick for the Chill while Peter Rankin quietly pitched in with three assists. Both teams move into a tie for second place overall with records of 1-1.