Thursday night 65 minutes of hockey would solve nothing, leaving the extra point on the sticks of six players.
Starting the shootout for the Crushers Bruce Hornbrook went glove side with a slapshot, but had the puck go high. EJ Faust was turned aside for Woodstock by Brandon Thibeau, leaving it up to the “final four.”
Andrew Graham would score the eventual game-winning goal on the next shot, followed by missed opportunities by Carlos Amestoy, Mitchell Deruelle and Brett MacLean.
“I kind of tripped a little at the start, so that worried me, but my dad always tells me not to make the move until the very end and I didn’t make that move until the very end and it obviously worked,” said Graham.
In the first period the Slammers were all over the Crushers, outshooting them 15-2 at the 7:33 mark when the Crushers called a timeout.
“He (Jason Malone) just said we need to bear down better defensively and not let them get as many shots as they were getting,” said Graham. “I think we all bought into that and it seemed to work out because we limited their shots from there on out. Obviously when you’re held in your zone for that amount of time it gets a little frustrating, but after the timeout it sparked something and we played a lot better from there.”
More composed, the Crushers started to put more pressure on Woodstock, but the Slammers eventually opened the scoring on the power play 14:36 into the frame.
Not to be out done, the Crushers scored with eight seconds until the first intermission, with the former Slammer, Evan Carmody finding the puck on his stick and scoring with a wide-open net in front of him.
The second period saw more even play between the two teams, but Woodstock took the lead again midway through the period, 2-1 over the Crushers. A pair of goals by Pictou County off the sticks of John Mullally and Mitchell Shewfelt and the Crushers had a lead for the first time in the game with 4:20 remaining in the second.
Carlos Amestoy scored the lone goal in the third period, which sent the game to overtime, tied 3-3.
Graham said the win, even though it was in overtime, is a big boost for the team that was 0-3 against them in meetings so far this season.
“It’s a huge win because they’ve been a thorn in our side all year since we were 0-3 against them going into tonight,” he said. “It’s also great to win at home in front of our fans and for Evan (Carmody) and Tim (Rose) who just got traded from the Slammers, to prove themselves against their former team.”
Friday night the Crushers are playing the Special Olympics floor hockey team at 7:00 p.m. at the YMCA gym at the Wellness Centre. They are on the road Saturday against the Truro Bearcats before returning home Sunday to host a public skate and dressing room open house Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in the Sobeys Arena at the Wellness Centre.
“It’s majorly important to get involved in the community and let everyone know we’re not just here to play hockey and that we’re here to get to know the town and the community.”
Scoring
Pictou County Weeks Crushers 4
1st Evan Carmody from Mitchell Deruelle 19:52 PP
2nd John Mullally from Nick Parker and Mitchell Deruelle 13:22
2nd Mitchell Shewfelt from Andrew Darrigo and Andrew Graham 15:40 PP
Shootout: Andrew Graham
Woodstock Slammers 3
1st Steve Gilliard 14:36 PP
2nd Jake Wright from EJ Faust and Shane MacDonald 11:29
3rd Carlos Amestoy from Steve Gillard 9:01
Shots
Crushers: 38
Slammers: 46
Power play
Crushers 1-10
Slammers 1-9
W: Brandon Thibeau 43 saves
L: Simon-Pier Chamberland 35 saves
