Being up in a series by a marginal 2-0 series lead does not guarantee you a series win, nor does it insure you the focus that is required to be successful.
Delta entered the game leading the series by what some might consider an insurmountable lead thereby guaranteeing them the series win.
The Steelers have been hit with a “bug” that has kept players out of the line-up for a period of time, which include game three.
They (Steelers) are also without Nico Bruno who is out with an undisclosed injury from the hit he received in game one from Crompton, who is also out due to a league suspension.
No different from the previous games both teams continue to go with the mainstay in net that helped get them to this round of the playoffs and both Naylor and Paler-Chow were up to the task.
Delta’s focus was getting shots to the net, challenge for any and all rebounds, play a full sixty minutes and lastly don’t be selfish.
Ice Hawks bench boss Darren Naylor mentioned that he told the guy’s to “play the same game they have until now, but be disciplined on all areas of the ice.”
One area that has been a success is getting shots to the net, which they did where they outshot the Steelers in the first at one point by a 8-3 margin keeping the Steelers shots to a minimal.
Rubin got Delta on the scoreboard first and first of the playoffs at 8:08 with Cuthbert and Wideski doing all the work in the back-end managing to hold the lead for over nine minutes.
The Steelers had chance after chance only to be turned aside by Naylor and it wasn’t until 17:08 that saw Rota lift one over the glove of Naylor after taking a pass from Coltellaro and Lee tying the game at one.
It was as if the Ice Hawks were in shock or disbelief, which seemed to give the Steelers a “lift” that them allowed the Steelers to get a second goal a short 1:37 later.
Steelers Jeffrey Wong caught Delta running around in their zone and failing to capitalize on a clearing play that Wong jumped on getting an unassisted marker at 18:45 giving the Steelers a 2-1 lead heading to the dressing room after one.
Delta hammered shot after shot at Paler-Chow leading in the shot department by 12-9 but managed to go scoreless on two PP chances offered up by the Steelers.
The second goal seemed to spark the Steelers and given the drive they had MacEwen gave the Steelers a 3-1 lead taking advantage of a loose puck at the side of the net shocking the Ice Hawks supporters in the building.
Looking at the bench from the Delta TV broadcast area we (Greg Balloch and I) could not only see but sense the urgency in the players on the bench to a look of disbelief.
Shortly after the Steelers goal Wideski delivered a huge hit at 9:11 in mid-ice which attracted attention from Steelers Liam Cumberbirch, who started the Fight.
Wideski was tagged with a minor for Head Contact plus various other penalties that seemed to spark the team to play not only faster, but more aggressive.
Covering the team all season we knew that this wasn’t over and while Greg and I were pondering who would bring the team back to life.
To the surprise no one it was speedster Jordan Deyrmenjian who came out from the right corner, swerved around one defender and delivered a low shot stick side to “bulge the twine” at 12:57 getting the Ice Hawks within one.
Sparking the team it took a short 1:03 later that saw Tyson Lin break in on the right side going deep to the dot pulling the puck to the right, then back to the left hammering a shot on Paler-Chow who gave up a huge rebound to Trotman notching his 3rd of the playoffs getting Delta even at three on the scoreboard.
As if tying the game wasn’t enough, at 17:40 Dhaliwal got an unassisted marker walking in all alone on the left side, swinging behind the net coming out the right side and with a simple extra move to the left he hammered in what would prove to be the winning goal.
A momentum swing that changed the outcome of the game that “shocked” the Steelers into a sense of disbelief sending the teams headed to the dressing room with the Ice Hawks up by 4-3.
The Steelers gave three unanswered goals in the middle period pondering what they had to do to shut down Delta’s strong offensive style of play.
The third saw more aggressive play for both clubs, but it was Steelers Adam Rota that laid a heavy hit on Tyson Lin behind the net that took him out of the remainder of the game.
After a lengthy discussion with the officials Rota was “tagged” with a Major for Head Contact plus the automatic Game Misconduct, which for the Steelers was a huge loss of talent.
With Delta on the PP it never took long before Bogress got his 8th of the playoffs at 8:10 being set up from both Marsh and Stein giving Delta a 5-3 lead.
Delta wasn’t finished yet and finally Jonathan Stein got his 2nd of the playoffs putting the Ice Hawks up by double digits (6-3) with time running out for the Steelers.
Try as they might Delta was too much for the Steelers to handle and while they pressed, confusion became evident at the bench when someone missed a “cue” when the Steelers had six players on the ice and a goalie on the back end.
Linesman Mike Labbe was on his game and made the call, which was probably one of his easier calls of the season and for him it was simply counting to seven.
The Steelers left heading home to the Burnaby Winter Club (BWC) to face Delta in the pivotal game four, which is a must win for the Steelers.
A loss see’s them pack their bags in hopes of having a fun summer and pondering why Delta was too much to handle, which one could chalk up to the sheer desire to win!!
While Naylor played exceptional (again) he was only tested with 24 shots through three periods while Paler-Chow was peppered with 33 and being outshot in all three periods.
Game Stars:
1st Cam Cuthbert (1 assist/Stong Play)
2nd Mark Trotman (1 goal/1 assist/Heavy Hits)
3rd Gary Dhaliwal (1 goal/Aggressive Play/Sheer Motivation)
PP Chances: Delta 1-4/Steelers 0/2
Delta hit’s the ice March 8th in Burnaby at BWC for game 4 of the best of 7 series, which they hope to finish off – but never say never!!
It would seem that Delta’s style of play and playing a full 60 minutes with contribution from everyone builds team confidence.
Remember – it’s still one game at a time!!!
