Royals split first two playoff games with Winterhawks

Jeremy Munro was honoured with a framed jersey before Saturday night’s game. Munro, surrounded by his family including his mother who flew in from Florida, now holds the team record with 270 games played. His brother Josh, to his right, is also a former Royal. The presentation was made by team president Kyle Wynette. Contributed photo

By Lee Griffi

Tavistock opened its first-round Ontario Elite Hockey League playoff series with a 5-2 road loss to Saugeen Shores on Friday but turned things around quickly thanks to a 4-2 win on home ice Saturday.

Andrew Van Boekel was an unlikely offensive leader in the win, scoring two consecutive goals in just 24 seconds early in the first period to give the Royals a 2-0 lead. The Plattsville native and former Brave scored just twice in 18 regular season games. The Winterhawks cut the lead to 2-1 with a shorthanded marker before Sean Kienapple scored the game-winning goal on the powerplay with one second left in the second frame, his third of the series. The teams exchanged third-period markers with Erik Robichaud finding the back of the net for Tavistock.

Head coach Tyson Zehr said his team bounced back the way he thought they would.

“The guys knew we needed to respond, and we did. We came out flying, played with intensity and set the tone early. That’s the effort we need every night.”

Zehr said Van Boekel’s play didn’t come as a surprise.

“He was a difference-maker. He competes hard every shift, does all the little things right, and when he chips in offensively like that, it’s huge for us. His two goals in the first set the tone, and it was great to see him get rewarded.

Zach Shomphe was outstanding in net, stopping 45 of the 47 shots he faced to earn the victory.

Game one saw the Winterhawks jump out to a big lead with four consecutive goals in three and a half minutes of the first period. Kienapple scored twice on the powerplay in the second to cut the lead to 4-2 but Saugeen Shores would add to its lead with a goal on the man advantage mid-way through the third. Luke Fanjoy had a pair of helpers in a losing effort and goalie Graeme Noye stopped 30 of 35 shots in a losing effort.

Zehr admitted it wasn’t the way he wanted to start the series.

“A long bus ride, a tough rink to play in, and maybe we weren’t as mentally sharp as we needed to be. That’s not an excuse, though. We have to be ready from the drop of the puck, and we weren’t. Giving up four in the first made it an uphill battle the rest of the way.”

Zehr added even after the bad start, the team didn’t fold.

“We battled back and had some good stretches. It wasn’t the result we wanted, but there were things we can build on.”

Tavistock took 14 minor penalties and gave up a pair of powerplay goals in the loss, something Zehr said can’t happen again.

“You can’t spend that much time killing penalties and expect to win, especially in the playoffs. We have to be smarter and stay out of the box.”

Van Boekel played his usual spot on the blueline in game one but was moved to a forward spot for game two as Tavistock was short several players for various reasons including Trevor Sauder, Patrick Vulgan, Deven Kropf and Matt Zilke.

Kienapple has three goals in the first two games of the series and has been an offensive leader for the team in each of his nine seasons. Zehr said the veteran always steps up in the post season.

“Kieno finds a way to deliver in big moments. In game one, his two goals in the second gave us life when we needed it most. Then in game two, his buzzer-beater at the end of the second was a game-changer, giving us momentum and a crucial cushion heading into the third. He thrives under pressure, and we’ll be counting on that as the playoffs continue.”

Game three is back in Port Elgin on Friday while Tavistock hosts game four at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.