Redmen Fall Short as 2018 Season Draws to a Close
The Brooklin Redmen gave their fans a great deal to cheer about and, once the sting wears off, they will be proud of this playoff run. Facing a 3-0 deficit to the Lakers just a week ago, they rattled off three straight wins, one in overtime and another to force tonight's seventh and deciding game. Tonight's game would get away from the Redmen in the final period however, and the clock displayed 13-7 for the Lakers at the final buzzer.
The Lakers won the first and third periods and the Redmen the middle frame. Mike Poulin assumed his space in the Redmen net and the Lakers decided on Matt Vinc for this one.
The Lakers, in front of a boisterous crowd of 3,026, sprinted out of the gate and put two behind Mike Poulin by 5:44 of the first period. The Redmen did respond and after the opening period the home side had a 5-2 lead. It would be all Brooklin in the middle frame as two separate two-goal runs, sandwiched by Cory Vitarelli's second of the night, made it 6-6 after forty minutes.
The last period would be the Redmen downfall as the Lakers offense came to life scoring seven times that period (a team that scored only 6 in the whole game the night before) to hand the Redmen a 13-7 loss and the Lakers take the best of seven four games to three.
Ian Garrison and Andrew Ecclestone, calling their second consecutive game between these teams, had a quieter night (until the dying seconds) calling each team for five infractions for 31 minutes, The majority of the calls occurred in the final 00:15 as frustration boiled over. The Redmen were 50% on the power play while the Lakers were a complete 100% with the man up.
Scoring for the Redmen were Mark Matthews and Shayne Jackson with two each, singles to Dan Lintner, Ryan Keenan and Austin Shanks.
The Redmen players, coaches and personnel thank their faithful fans and partners who made this a great year. While the team fell short of its ultimate goal, a post-season review will determine where this team goes next. It is clear that Redmen pride is alive and well and fans will look forward to an exciting 2019 season.