Warriors-Nationals series goes down to the wire

The GOHL Western Conference Quarterfinal series between the fourth-seeded Stratford Hunter Steel Warriors and the fifth-seeded London Nationals is heading to a deciding game after the Warriors were unable to close out the series in Game 5 on March 20 and Game 6 on March 22.

Stratford looked to put a stranglehold on their series as they travelled to the Western Fair Sports Centre in London for Game 4 on March 18.

Nathan Slaght opened the scoring for the Nationals 3:25 into the first period, but Evan Arnold from Dax Vader and McQuen Haylock responded for Stratford 25 seconds later. Cruz Ferguson from Max Wildfong and Drew Hodge, midway through the period, put the Warriors ahead. Max Mews put the Nationals level with the Warriors less than 90 seconds later.

In the second period, Nicholas Kiss gave London the lead again with 7:56 remaining. However, in the late stage of the middle frame, the line of Dominic Marshall, Coen Galbraith and Grady Murphy equalized for the Warriors when Galbraith scored his second playoff goal, assisted by Murphy. The same Marshall-Galbraith-Murphy line struck again early in the final period, with Galbraith scoring from Murphy and Marshall just 14 seconds in, ultimately securing the game-winning goal.

London attempted a late equalizer, but Noah Bender and the Warriors' defence held off the Nationals’ offence, securing a 4-3 victory and a strong 3-1 series lead. Despite a rough start and frequent net dislodgements, Bender finished the game with 14 saves.

Warriors head coach Dave Williams praised the team for overcoming adversity to win Game 4 and discussed what it will take for the Warriors to secure the series at the William Allman Memorial Arena.

“I don't know if we were necessarily at our best, but credit to our guys that they know, kind of hung in there and found a way. In a seven-game series, you're not always going to. Games that are just going to be situations where you run the other team over, you're going to have to find some nights where you win without your best stuff. I thought that's a credit to our guys that we were able to find a way to win tonight, maybe without our best stuff,” Williams said.

“We need to get off to a better start. In a situation like this, I think the team that's trailing usually plays with a little more desperation, and I thought they came out with a little more than we did. So, you know, we'll be playing for their season on Friday, and we have to respect that and be ready to go.”

An ecstatic Murphy and Galbraith spoke to the Times about how the game-winning goal happened and discussed the key to closing out the series at the Allman.

“We got the puck in deep, and I just tried to beat the D man around the net, just throwing towards the net, and I kind of slipped off my stick and found him out front. So it worked out,” Murphy said. “We need to come out as strong as we can, make sure they don't get a jump on us and finish off the series.”

“It was a good forecheck from the two fellas, Murphy's able to come around the net with the puck, and he fed me in front, and I was able to bury the puck,” Galbraith said. “Yeah, got to use our fans. We've got to be very energetic to get this final win here to close that series.”

The Warriors looked to punch their ticket to the next round as they hosted the Nationals at the Allman Arena for Game 5 on March 20.

London opened the scoring on an unassisted goal from Nathan Slaght at the midway point of the first period. Stratford equalized when Wildfong put the Stratford home crowd in frenzy with an unassisted breakaway goal 87 seconds into the second period.

Stratford took a 2-1 lead at 7:28 after Haylock scored from Vader and Joseph Curtin, and doubled their lead with 7:30 left as Jonas Schmidt scored his first of the playoffs from Broda and Galbraith.

Just over a minute after the Schmidt goal, the Warriors were rewarded with two powerplays in a 38-second span, giving the home side the opportunity to deliver the knockout blow and clinch the series.

But the Warriors were unable to capitalize, and, unbeknownst to them at the time, the series took another climactic turn late in the middle frame. In a span of 26 seconds, goals from Austen Pomerleau and Cooper McAslan put the Nationals back even, heading into the third period.

In a drama-filled third period, the Nationals took the lead with Pomerleau’s second of the game 38 seconds into the final frame, and Jack McGurn would put the visitors ahead by two with 1:09 left. With Bender pulled for an extra-attacker, the Warriors cut the deficit to a goal with 24 seconds left in regulation by a goal from Quinn Kipfer. Stratford pressed for the game-tying goal, but couldn’t generate a scoring opportunity in the closing seconds as they dropped a 5-4 loss to the Nationals.

Following the game, Williams emphasized the need for his team to maintain their identity and play with the same desperation as their opponents to win the series.

“Well, I think we liked how we came out to start the game, and even to start the second period there put ourselves in a good spot. Unfortunately, I think the second goal was just a little bit of bad luck. We lose the face off, and then kind of lose our guy and give up the first power play goal of the series that we've given up to make it 3-3,” Williams said.

“I still thought we came out and had opportunities, you know, later in the game to score the go-ahead goal, but we didn't. I like that we battled right to the end, even got another one. There were 24 seconds left to try and get ourselves back to even. So, it's a good hockey team (London) over there. Some nights you're going to play a decent, respectable game, and you're not always going to win.”

Game 6 was back at the London’s Western Fair Sports Centre on March 22.

In the first period, former Warrior McGurn capitalized on a strange bounce in front of the Stratford zone. His goal with 6:36 remaining in the opening frame put the Nationals ahead for the fifth time in the series. Schmidt scored his second goal of the playoffs from Lucas Minard and Broda at 7:18 to tie the game for the visitors in the second period.

London responded with two goals (Kiss and Pomerleau) early in the final frame to put the Nationals up 3-1, and Mews added an empty-netter with 3:20 left in the period to seal the Game 6 win. Marshall, from Murphy and Galbraith, with 13 seconds remaining, added a consolation goal for the Warriors in the losing effort.

Williams spoke to the Times about the Game 6 defeat.

“Well, I mean, it was … the type of game you expected. You know, they had a fair bit of desperation. We were able to get it back to one at the end of the second, heading into the third. Unfortunately, we made an error on the power play, and they ended up scoring a short-handed goal. So it's tough to overcome when you go up short-handed goals at any time, especially in the playoffs,” Williams said.

“So, what we've expected so far are two teams that are fairly evenly matched. The margin of error is really thin, so you know, we need to try and be a little bit more consistent here on Wednesday night than we've been the last couple of games.”

Game 7 was played at the Allman Arena on March 25, after press time. The final result can be found on the GOHL official website and an article on the game will be available in the next edition of the Times.

GOHL Western Conference Quarterfinals (#4 Stratford Warriors vs. #5 London Nationals

Game 1 – London 5 Stratford 2

Game 2 – Stratford 4 London 1

Game 3 – London 1 Stratford 5

Game 4 – Stratford 4 London 3

Game 5 – London 5 Stratford 4

Game 6 – Stratford 2 London 4

Game 7 - London vs. Stratford (William Allman Memorial Arena) March 25, 7:30 p.m.

Series tied 3-3, as of press time