Braves show grit in come-from-behind victory over Dundas Blues

Tyler Brezynskie drives to the net with the puck during the Tavistock Braves' game against the Dundas Blues April 6. Brezynskie scored a goal in the Braves' 3-2 win in Game 1. Alec Richard photo

By Lee Griffi

Tavistock showed exactly why they are a team to be reckoned with during the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s (PJHL) Schmaltz Cup playoffs on Monday night, April 6, at the J.L. Grightmire Market Street Arena in Dundas.

The Blues took a 1-0 lead two minutes into the first period as Jeff Giles roofed a shot over Braves goalie Blake Richard. It could have easily been 2-0 eight minutes later when a down-and-out Richard somehow kicked his pads up while on his stomach to make what could turn out to be the save of the season for Tavistock.

Andrew Harris scored for Dundas midway through the second period to up the lead to 2-0. Still, Tavistock was able to gain some momentum thanks to a shorthanded goal by Tyler Brezynskie with 56 seconds remaining off a beautiful pass from Ryan McKellar.

The third period went back and forth until the Braves were able to take advantage of a brief but devastating 28 seconds by the Blues. Evan Palubeski scored his 11th of the playoffs with a nifty tip off a shot by Ethan Stover off a faceoff to knot the game up at two, setting up the game-winning goal.

Palubeski made a great play to stay onside after a flip pass and was able to slide a pass cross-ice to Yann Raskin with four minutes and 32 seconds remaining on the clock.

“I was sitting in front of the net all game, had some looks, and was able to finally tip one home on a great shot from Stover,” said Palubeski on his tying goal.

The 20-year-old Cambridge native, who has 21 points in 13 playoff games, said negativity just isn’t something in the team’s DNA.

“It’s a lot of positive energy on the bench. We have key guys who are always lifting each other up, and we know we are a team that, when we’re down, we can always get back up.”

Palubeski added he’s never played with such a strong group of leaders in his hockey career.

“We have a pretty unreal leadership group headed by our captain Marc Dionne. He’s the best captain I think I’ve ever played for.”

The Braves outshot the Blues 51-33, something Tavistock has done consistently throughout its playoff run.

Tavistock head coach Zac Berg said no one was pressing the panic button when they went down 2-0.

“This team never gives up. Whether we’re down or up, we stick to the same game plan and eventually we got a few breaks.”

He added outshooting their opponents consistently is a purposeful move given pure hockey statistical data.

“It’s just the way we play. We emphasize shots on goal and then getting to the net. About 75 to 80 per cent of the goals in hockey come from that area, so it's important to get there. It also helps us to be able to roll four lines every night. We have the depth to do it and it’s to our benefit to use it.”

Dundas coach Dane O’Neill said allowing a pair of goals in less than 30 seconds in the third period cost them the game.

“We’ve been focusing on playing a complete 60 minutes all year and not letting off the gas, and tonight it showed what happens when you don’t do that. They are a good team and they took advantage of it.”

On the positive side, O’Neill thought the Game 2 effort was much better than Game 1’s 5-0 loss.

“We upped our forecheck and definitely pressured their D a lot more into making mistakes, and that’s going to be important from now on. I don’t think we’ve tested their goalie enough yet either.”

Tavistock dominated Game 1 with a 5-0 victory as Blake Richard kicked out 21 shots to earn the win. Palubeski and Stover had three points each.

Game 3 in the series is set for 7:30 p.m. in Tavistock on Wednesday, just after the Gazette’s deadline, with Game 4 back in Dundas on Friday, also at 7:30 p.m.

Notes:

The barn in Dundas is one of the more enjoyable arenas to watch a game in anywhere in the league. It reminds me of Simcoe in that every seat seems right on top of the ice surface.

Another positive for those who enjoy having a cold alcoholic beverage during a game – every square foot of the arena is licensed, something the Township of East Zorra-Tavistock may want to take a look at.

Despite Palubeski’s dominating performance, all three stars of the game were from Dundas.

To follow the other three PJHL series, visit www.thepjhl.ca/stats/playoffs/77.