The Ghostriders got off to a slow start and were down 2-0 in the first four minutes of the first period on goals from Creston’s Jovi Fabbri and Rob Stuckey but they kept on battling and it finally paid off in the second period when Connor McLaughlin from Thomas Abenante and Evan Burgess opened up the gates and finally beat Weston Joseph . A couple of minutes later it was Thomas Abenante from Connor McLaughlin tying up the game at 2-2 then the Riders pulled ahead when Abenante scored his second, but this time it was on the PP when he was reunited with his first round partners Luke Richardson and Scott Morisseau.
So with the Ghostriders leading 3-2 and just when the Rider fans and players alike were starting to feel good about themselves… Creston’s Trevor LeBlanc from Cody Antos and Colton Meaden scored and tied the game with just 00:03 left on the clock.
The Riders didn’t let the late goal bring them down and they started gaining momentum and finally about half way through the third Connor Morgan scored a battlers goal in a scrum in front of the net to make it 4-3. A few minutes later Connor McLaughlin was nabbed with a hooking call and Creston went to work on the PP but Andrew Walton stood tall and made a few big game saving saves. It stayed 4-3 until the last couple of minutes then Creston pulled their goalie for the man advantage but Thomas Abenante scored into the empty net to make it 5-3. So figuring the game was over, Brandon Formosa , like he did in game # 1, took a late get even penalty and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. But the game wasn’t over and Creston , with Joseph on the bench, surprised everyone including some of the crowd who were leaving the rink by scoring a short-handed goal to make it 5-4 with 00:55 left on the clock. Alex McDougall from Cody Antos and Scott Swiston scored the SH goal . Almost a full minute left was left in the game but Creston was still short handed and with an empty net so Luke Richardson fired one into the aforementioned empty net for the 6-4 win.
Notes
Thomas Abenante was the first star…. Cat Cody Antos with 2 A the second star and Connor McLaughlin who is proving to be a most valuable player in these hard fought tight checking games was the third star 585 fans in Creston, great to see …. Lucky for the Riders at least one Creston.
The Fernie Ghostriders lost game three Tuesday night in Creston by a 2-1 score. The Riders looked good in the first and seemed to be on their game but slowed down after that and weren’t able get in close all that much, and when they did they were stoned by Joseph. They also wasted some of their shots by missing the net. So it boiled down to this Fernie’s best players weren’t their best players . Their one goal was by defenseman Jeff Zmurchyk, who converted a nice Jordie Cool pass while on a 2 on 1. Mark Strachan had the other assist.
Weston Joseph was the first star stopping 40 of 41 and Andrew Walton the second star stopping 29 of 31. Creston’s Ryan Hewitt scored the game winner late in the second. Although the Riders outshot Creston they also allowed several good scoring chances and Walton had to be good. His post’s and cross bars helped him a couple of times too.
Once again the Riders will have to regroup and get a win at home Thursday night and again on Friday in Creston. Game seven would be in Fernie on Saturday.
Elsewhere last night.
Castlegartakes a 3-1 series lead with a 3-2 win in Beaver Valley. Taylor Andersonhas a goal and 2 A in that one. The Rebels out shot BV 26-14.
Osoyoos remains a perfect 8-0 in the 2011 playoffswith a 5-0 win in Kelowna.. The Coyotes spread out the scoring and Thierry Martinewas the only player to get 2 points last night. They now await the Revelstoke Kamloops series, Revelstoke leads Kamloops 3-1 now and will be in Revelstoke tonight.
