Redmen welcome back Hopcroft in win over Chiefs

The Brooklin Redmen were coming off a 9-5 win against the Oakville Rock the other night and hosted the league leading Six Nations Chiefs tonight. The Redmen knew that winning out the rest of the way would help in earning a playoff berth for the 2015 season. Fans at Iroquois Park were excited to see Derek Hopcroft warming up testing his injured leg and were thrilled when he entered the game, that move along with stellar goaltending from Mike Poulin and a solid defense in front of him all added up to an exciting 8-7 win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The Chiefs were coming off a 12-5 win Tuesday night against the Peterborough Lakers to clinch first place overall. Head Coach Rich Kilgour sent Angus Goodleaf to the Chiefs net with Brandon Miller on the bench. Ryan Benesch scored first for the visitors and teams were knotted at 3-3 after one period with a power play goal each.

The middle frame belonged to Brooklin on this night as they outscored the Chiefs 5-1 for an 8-4 lead. Team captain Derek Suddons potted two goals in that period as he decided it was time to show his mates on offense how it was done.

Six Nations are the two-time defending Mann Cup champions and certainly did not make it easy for the Redmen. Led by Ryan Benesch with this third on the night and Stephen Keogh with a pair they closed the gap to 8-7, with two minutes on the clock the Redmen kept their defense tight and held on for the win.

Joining Suddons in the scoring column were Mike Teeter and T.J. Sanders with two each and singles to Dan Lintner and Patrick McCrory.

The Redmen will now do some scoreboard watching over the next few days and host the Brampton Excelsiors next Wednesday in what may be a defining game for the 2015 season.