The Weeks AAA Midgets defeated the Cape Breton Tradesmen 6-5 in an overtime game for the right to go the semifinals against Halifax last night at the John Brother MacDonald Stadium.
It was the last of a five-game series between the two teams in the first round of the playoffs.
Well into the second period the Weeks team was down 3-0 but scored two goals late with less than four minutes on the clock in that period to get back in the game. In the third they continued to fight back scoring three more goals to give them a 5-3 lead.
But when things looked like they were secure, the Tradesmen had a resurgence of their own, tying up the game and forcing overtime. Brett Turnbull then scored to give the Midgets the victory to the loud applause of the home audience.
“It was crazy,” Turnbull said.
The Tradesmen have the three top scorers in the league and he said his first focus in the game was defence.
“I just didn’t want them to score,” he said.
But he got a hold of the puck and shot it up top.
“I just got lucky,” he said.
Head coach Dave MacIntyre said he was pleased with the way his team played and the role each played in the victory.
Although the second period was a bit flat, he said they came out strong in the first and managed to keep things together in the third.
“It’s just a testament of how hard the guys keep working and want to win that they didn’t give up when we were down 3-0 and just kept coming back.
Throughout the game, he said he wasn’t worried.
“I was confident that we could beat them in any game, but we just ran into a hot goalie,” he said. “Our hard work ethic paid off.”
Games like this are always hard on players he said.
“They’re so excited and they want to win so bad they almost try a little too hard and they’re gripping their sticks a little too much,” he said. “That makes it hard to handle the puck and bear down in front of the net.”
As the team prepared to play Halifax next weekend in the semifinals, he said they will have to bring the same hard work ethic they had against the Tradesmen.
“They have a very talented team and we got to come out and play blue-collar hockey game.”
