Royals complete near historic sweep of Outlaws

The Tavistock Royals continue to follow the playoff tradition of adding a puck to a wooden board marking every playoff win. Veteran Drew Gerth was given the honour on Sunday afternoon as Tavistock completed a four-game sweep of the Erin Outlaws. Photo courtesy of Tavistock Royals

By Lee Griffi

They were 68 seconds away from a scoreless sweep.

That’s how close Tavistock was to winning four straight games over Erin without allowing a single goal against. The Outlaws scored their first goal of the series to put a single blemish on an incredible goaltending performance by Andrew Masters as he led the Royals to an opening win in the Ontario Elite Hockey League’s (OEHL) South Division playoffs.

Tavistock took a 3-0 series lead on Saturday with a 3-0 road win. Masters kicked out 36 shots while Patrick Vulgan, Deven Kropf and Luke Fanjoy found the back of the net.

“Masters has been incredible; he could have been our player of the game every game,” said head coach Tyson Zehr. “But you've got to give credit to the team as well. Everyone in front of him blocked shots, cleared lanes and made it tough for Erin to get chances.”

The Gazette has reached out to the OEHL to find out if the scoreless streak set any records dating back to the old WOAA days but did not hear back by press time. Zehr said it wasn’t a topic of discussion in the locker room, but he’s proud of what the team accomplished.

“During the series, we weren’t thinking about a streak. It was all about taking it one game at a time. But looking back now that the first round is over, that was pretty special. It's something you don’t see very often at any level, especially against a strong senior team like Erin.”

He added the Royals combine a defence-first mentality with an aggressive forechecking style, something very effective in the opening round. 

“We try to balance both. Our core is defence-first by keeping the game simple, protecting our goalie and being tough to play against. When the opportunity is there, we have a bunch of dangerous guys upfront who can put the puck in the net. That balance is what has allowed us to be successful in the first round.”

The Royals completed the four-game sweep on Sunday with a 5-1 victory. Drew Gerth led the offence with three goals and an assist while Patrick Vulgan and Mitch Atkins added three helpers each. Kropf scored twice as Masters stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced in the game. Erin’s Travis Brown denied the Royals a fourth consecutive shutout with just one minute and eight seconds remaining in the third period.

Here’s how good Masters was in the series; he stopped 125 of 126 shots, had a goals against average of 0.25 and a .992 save percentage. Atkins and Gerth hold the team lead in playoff scoring with seven points each, followed by Kropf with six.

Zehr explained his top three scorers have performed to expectations, as has the rest of the team offensively.

“They’ve been outstanding. Those guys have a knack for finding open space and finishing plays, but it’s more than just them. We had multiple lines contributing all series, which makes us very difficult to defend and match against.”

Tavistock’s second-round opponent has not been finalized, but a matchup with first-place Petrolia is looming.

“We don’t know exactly who we’ll face yet, but the focus is the same. We will continue to take it one game at a time, stay sharp and be ready for whoever comes next,” said Zehr.