Chill Wins in Shootout for Historic Upset

The 2003A FHL playoffs got underway with a spirited Quarter-final contest matching the 6th seeded Keane Chill versus the No. 3 seeds, the Keane Fire. The buildup to this game left some wondering if the play on the floor could possibly match the pre-game hype, which was generated mostly by a public media exchange during the week leading up to the contest between Fire Captain and goalie Harvey Snelgrove, and ex-Chill leader and current defenseman/backup netminder Mike Griffiths. The two had sparred over, among other subjects, “suspicious All-Star voting” and the 8:00 PM game time, which the higher-seeded Fire claimed was less than convenient for their hard-working, education-seeking squad. Despite fears of a nearly empty Fire bench, when the ball was dropped only injured backliner Bruce Greer (broken hand), and scoring star Kenzie Royal (night studies) were missing. Rugged defenseman Mark Smith (knee) was the only scratch from the Chill lineup.

The two teams played a relatively even first period, which was reflected in the 2-2 score. The checking seemed to be even tighter in the 2nd, but goals by Mike Hashem and last season’s scoring leader Tony Joyce sent the Chill into a 4-2 lead after the period. Snelgrove’s impassioned intermission pleas for desperate hockey paid off, as the Fire put 4 quick shots behind Jeff McCarthy before the 3rd period was 5 minutes old. The Chill needed a quick strike of their own, and they got it as Joyce scored right from the ensuing face-off to get his club back to within one. Several chances for both teams followed, when with 2 and a half minutes to play Joyce took a pass from linemate Hashem and beat Snelgrove to the far side to knot the affair at 6-6.

Regulation time ended with this tie score, sending the teams to a shootout. Goaltending was the story, as both Snelgrove and McCarthy stoned the first and second shooters. Then Hashem, shooting third for the Chill, put a deke on Snelgrove and put it home to give his team the advantage. The Fire’s best chance would come from its fourth shooter, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer Kevin Haddad, who had McCarthy beaten but rang his shot off the post. When McCarthy stopped Rob Tyrrell a round later, the Chill were victorious and for the first time ever a #6 seed had ousted a #3. Because of the closeness and the high quality of play throughout, many observers rated it the best playoff game they had ever seen.

The evening’s other Quarter-final was not nearly as dramatic. Spiro Bokolas and Chris Davison each counted hat tricks as the Lite-Sabres rolled to a 9-5 win over the Sunnydale Slayers. The Slayers would have their chances, as after trailing 4-1 following the first period, they dominated the 2nd frame to close to within a goal at 4-3 entering the 3rd. But after Captain Chris McMaster turned back a flurry of Slayer shots to open the final period, Sabre defender Jason Fitzgerald pinched in and rifled a shot past Graham Dodge to put the 2-time defending champions up 5-3, and take the wind out of the Slayers’ sails. McMaster’s 56 saves were the 2nd most ever recorded in a playoff game, (tying him with marks set by himself in 2001B and Paul Chui in 2002B), behind a 65-save effort by Chui in 2002A. However, it must be noted that each of these other 3 performances came in the “Consolation” game.

The Semi-finals are set for next Thursday with the Lite-Sabres taking on the ADC Lynx and the Chill meeting the top-seeded LAN Hackers.