Miners close out the weekend with 2 close games…
The St.Albert Senior B Miners defeated the Calgary Knights in both games that were played in St.Albert over the weekend.
On Saturday night, the Miners jumped out to a quick lead, putting up a score of 5-1 before the first period was over. The Miner's first period was highlighted by two quick shots by forwards Graedon Cornfield and Shane Lopatynski, who scored 2 goals within 25 seconds of each other. The Knights battled back in the second period putting in 2 power play goals but the second period ended on a high note for the Miners, as they closed out the period with 2 of their own. 7-3 after two periods of play. Knights goaltender Alex Coutts shut the door on the Miners in the 3rd period and the Knights put two more in before the buzzer, Miners taking Game 1, 7-5. The Miners gave up 4 power play goals and killed of 6/10 penalties, while failing to take advantage of their own power play opportunities 0/3.
Game 2 was very similar to Game 1. The Miners went up 3-0 just 10 minutes into the game and also killed off 9 minutes in penalties in the first period alone. The penalty troubles caught up with the Miners as the Knights managed to put in 2 goals past Miner's goaltender, Dave Marrese, to narrow the gap. The Miners fought through the period and put in 1 more of their own, closing out the period with a 4-2 lead. This was the first time in the series that the Knights had outscored the Miners in a period, doing so 2-1. The Knights took it to the Miners in the third period, scoring just a 1:26 into the final stanza. The Miners forwards were not done scoring in the second period like Game 1, and made the Knights' keeper, Coutts, stand tall between the pipes. Despite Coutts' best efforts, the Miners put in 3 unanswered goals, taking a 7-3 lead with 8:32 left in the third. The last 8 minutes of regulation was all Knights. The Knights made a game of it, scoring 3 unanswered goals of their own, the last of which came with 1:30 left in the game. With Coutts out of his net and on the Knights' bench, the Knights had an extra man opportunity but were unable to put the play together before the final whistle. Miners take Game 2, 7-6.
Miners will be heading down to Crossfield, AB with a 2-0 series lead and a chance to play in what could be the final playoff game of the season at 8:30 PM on Friday Aug 12/2011.
Go Miners Go