Both Eastlink South Division Semi-Finals are headed to Game 7.
Last night in Truro, Dylan Burton led the way with five points and Cameron McLeod scored twice to leading the Bearcats to a 6-2 victory over the Yarmouth Mariners in Game 6 of their best of seven series. After the Mariners took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Aaron Maillet, the Bearcats rattled off six straight goals over to force a deciding game in the series. Alex MacDonald and Curtis Heffernan also scored for Truro while Ben Chipman also tallied for Yarmouth. Kevin Resop made 22 saves in the win while Leif Hertz and Thomson Phinney combined to make 27 saves between the pipes for Yarmouth. The Mariners return home to Yarmouth for Game 7, trying to lock down their first playoff series victory since 2012. Meanwhile, the Bearcats are looking to repeat their performance in the 2017 MHL Final by capturing a Game 7 on opposition ice. The deciding game of this series take place Tuesday at 7PM at Mariners Center.
In Amherst, the Ramblers made the fans at the Stadium roar with a 4-3 come from behind double overtime victory in Game 6 of their Semi-Final series with the South Shore Lumberjacks. South Shore would hold the lead for the majority of regulation time, taking a 2-1 first period lead on goals by Adam Crowe and Aiden Casey. Layton Parsons would reply for the Ramblers in the opening stanza. Jonathan Mason’s powerplay goal with 29 seconds remaining in the second period would send the Lumberjacks to the dressing room with a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes of play. This would set the stage for a remarkable Rambler comeback. Jordan King’s goal at the 17:28 mark of the third would close the gap to a goal. Then, with 21 seconds remaining in regulation, Dawson Grenier would find the back of the net to send the game into overtime and the fans in Amherst into a frenzy. For the third time in this series, Amherst would claim victory in extra time as Lucas Sangster’s goal at the 16:59 mark of double overtime would send the series to a seventh and deciding game. The scene now shifts to Bridgewater, where the two clubs will play the final match of this series tonight at 7PM.
Tune into mhl.myhockeytv.com to catch the thrilling conclusion to both of these series, as well as all other coverage of the 2018 MHL playoffs.
Will MacLaren – themhl.ca