The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Hornets win three-OT thriller
Saline wins third of season to advance to pre-regional final
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 1, 2007
Down 4-3 entering the third period of Monday's playoff game against Bedford, the Saline Hornets hockey team had 15 minutes to save their season.
Advertisement
"It felt like the world was going to end," said senior Kelly O'Sullivan.
One critical tying goal and nearly three overtime periods later, the Hornets' world was still very much in spin.
A Grant Phillips goal with less than two minutes to play in regulation sent the match into overtime and O'Sullivan's goal with 2:20 to play in the third extra period gave Saline a 5-4 sudden-death victory over the visiting Kicking Mules. The Hornets advanced to Wednesday night's pre-regional final against Jackson, also on Saline's home ice at the Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea.
"We've been in these positions all season, being down, going to overtime," said head coach Drew Denzin. "Tonight they showed a lot of heart. I'm very pleased and very proud of our team."
The win was only Saline's third of the season, and its first over a team other than two-time Hornet victim Dearborn Unified.
Time nearly ran out on the Hornets' chances in the penalty-plagued third period. Multiple power plays gave Saline plenty of looks at the tying goal, and Jay Birko's stinging shot forced a save from Bedford's Lucas Fournier with 6:30 to play.
But Bedford's Jesse Bachlie also could have sealed a victory for his side with 4:10 remaining only for his breakaway shot to slip wide.
Phillips would make the Mules pay for the lost opportunity. Cory Farrell and O'Sullivan worked the puck into the crease, Fournier was unable to control the puck and Phillips stabbed home from close range to knot the score at four.
Bedford responded by threatening on several occasions in the first overtime, but senior goalie Chuck Schneider rebounded from a tough second period to make a series of season-preserving saves.
"We told him he was going to have to keep coming out," Denzin said, "and in overtime he played like a senior goalie. He challenged the puck and kept us in the game. After the first overtime, I thought we settled down and carried the play. That was huge for us."
Despite point-blank power play shots from O'Sullivan and David Dager to start the third extra period, Fournier kept the Hornets at bay and was less than three minutes away from forcing a fourth overtime when O'Sullivan struck. Birko's pass into the slot from the left half-boards caught the tiring Mule defense flat-footed, and the assistant captain made no mistake, firing top shelf to spark a spirited on-ice celebration.
"Right before then, Jay had made a pass that came through the crease and I'd missed it, so I was frustrated. I was looking to get in a good position again and Jay made a great pass," O'Sullivan said of his game-winner. "I teed it up and tried to put it in a good spot."
It looked as if Saline wouldn't need any overtime heroics after a dominant first period. O'Sullivan scored his first with 5:44 to play in the period on a Phillips assist, and the Hornets had another half-dozen excellent opportunities in the closing minutes stoned by Fournier. Birko then doubled Saline's lead with 14:01 to play in the second, on assists by O'Sullivan and Phillips.
Even after Bedford cut the lead in half with 10:57 left, the two-goal lead was restored just six seconds later. Bobby Schilke stole a lazy Mule pass immediately following the face-off and scored on a breakaway for a 3-1 Hornets lead.
The lead would disappear in a disastrous five-minute spell to close the second period. Three Bedford power plays resulted in three consecutive Bedford goals, the last coming with just 14.5 seconds left in the period to send Saline into the second intermission staring at a sudden 4-3 deficit.
Denzin said he was unhappy with the "dumb penalties" during the spell and cautioned that the Hornets should not get "too high" after the win. But he added that after the resolve they had shown Monday, his team would be ready despite the extra 21 minutes-plus of ice time.
"Our line of Birko, O'Sullivan and Phillips, we're going to ride them as long as we can," he said. "We'll see what happens."
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
Expanded
Web
Coverage
Staff Blog, "Inside The Newsroom"
TOP JOBS
