Wild start to Doherty Division semi-finals

Lee Griffi, Editor

If the first week of semi-final action is any indication of the entertainment value of the two series, fans are in for one heck of a ride.

Tavistock leads Wellesley 3-0 while Woodstock and Norwich were tied at a win apiece before Wednesday night’s game after the Echo’s deadline in Provincial Junior Hockey League playoff action.

The Braves took a commanding lead after a 4-2 win on home ice Tuesday. Keegan Metcalf scored the game-winning goal with three and a half minutes remaining in the third. He also scored the game-tying marker and assisted on Yann Raskin’s second-period goal.

The Braves outshot the Applejacks 46-27. Wellesley did take a 2-1 lead late in the second period on a shorthanded goal by Jake L’Heureux.

Ethan Stover was in on all three Tavistock goals in game two on Saturday night, scoring twice and adding an assist in a 3-1 win. Stover gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with just three seconds left in the first period and added an empty-net marker late in the third to seal the victory.

Keegan Metcalf gave the Braves a 2-0 lead with his second-period goal before Riley Noble scored for the Applejacks to cut the lead in half. Wellesley was outshot 16-4 in the third period and 37-31 overall.

The two teams combined for 106 penalty minutes, the majority of which came with eight seconds remaining. Tavistock’s Evan Palubeski squared off against Wellesley’s Spencer Davidson and a total of five ten-minute misconducts were handed out. The Braves went 0 for 10 on the powerplay while the Applejacks were scoreless in seven opportunities.

Game one was a much different affair as Tavistock rallied back from a 5-2 deficit to earn a 9-6 win.

Tyler Brezynskie scored the game-winning goal from captain Marc Dionne at the 12:30 mark of the third period. Ryan McKellar added a shorthanded insurance marker four minutes later to push the lead to 8-5 before the teams traded goals.

Keaton Bartlett and Kegan Metcalf led the Braves offence with two goals and two assists each, with Yann Raksin, Ethan Stover, Jacob Reid-Brant and Carter Arseneau adding two points each. Bartlett sits 10th among all playoff scorers and tied among all PJHL defencemen with 14 points.

Woodstock took game one of their series with Norwich by a 3-2 score in front of over 1,000 fans at Southwood Arena. It ended in dramatic fashion as Cooper Vickerman found the back of the net with less than one second remaining in the third period on a three-way passing play involving Charley Barnes and Michael Lee.

The Navy Vets jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the 11:54 mark of the second period. The Merchants tied it up with a pair of markers in the third, setting the stage for Vickerman’s heroics.

Norwich took game two with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory. Kyle Arthur scored twice as the Navy Vets had a 2-1 lead by the 2:19 mark of the third period. The Merchants would tie it up 23 seconds later and score the winner a few minutes later.

Norwich packed 700 fans into the town’s community centre and outshot Woodstock 34-23.