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Edgewater starts postseason in style

Most oldtimer players would be hardpressed to remember when a substitute goalie had more weight on his shoulders this season.
hockey

Most oldtimer players would be hardpressed to remember when a substitute goalie had more weight on his shoulders this season. With Edgewater Hotel’s John Grant injured, Shawn Cassellman stepped in to keep the team’s net clear of galvanized rubber.

His teammates wouldn’t be disappointed.

“He did an outstanding job, really filled in the void,” said Edgewater’s Robert McLeod. “He did a tremendous job.”

In the first postseason game for both teams, Cassellman shut down three AON Flames players in a shootout, securing a 3-2 win for Edgewater on Sunday at Takhini Arena.

The only player in the shootout to find the mesh was McLeod, flicking a wrister through the legs of goalie Barry Prince.

“I don’t know, somehow I drew the short straw,” said McLeod on the selection of the shootout players. “We didn’t really have any (plan), just sort of collaborated and they came up with those three names and I was one of them.

“We didn’t actually draw straws.”

Edgewater’s Derek Torgerson scored the only first period goal, assisted by McLeod just 1:28 into the game. However, for the first of two times, the Flames tied the game when Charles Broadhagen knocked in Dave White’s rebound to tie. Edgewater’s Morley Lessard then gave his team another leadoff goal midway through the second before Wade Harrison tied it three minutes later.

“It was a great game—you can’t get any closer than that,” said Flames defenceman Michael Muller. “Their goalie played well, our goalie played well; both (were) stopping shots through traffic, both defences were clearing their ends.”

“We’ve been battling with those guys all year,” said McLeod. “We play our best against them and really they don’t give up.”

Both the Flames and the Klondyke Dental Molars will be fighting to avoid elimination as the two square off Wednesday.

Meds thump Molars

to start playoffs

After one postseason game, Medicine Chest has lived up to its first place seed, handing the Klondyke Dental Molars a sound 5-1 defeat.

“It was a team effort, everyone was going hard,” said Meds’ Greg Bull. “We wanted to come out hard and take it to them and they were a few numbers shorter than us, so we wanted to keep the pressure on and that’s what everyone did.

“We had quick shifts, turnovers and kept our legs fresh and the pace up—that was our plan.”

Medicine Chest ended the regular season with their first loss of 2009, getting shut out by Kilrich 6-0 last Wednesday. However, unlike in their loss to Kilrich, the Meds weren’t playing with just three subs on the bench.

“We had lots of legs tonight,” said Bull. “It was a totally different experience.”

Both of Medicine Chest’s first two goals occurred in a similar fashion. Behind the Molars’ net, a Med passed the puck in front to a teammate pouring into the end that popped it by goalie Ray Davies.

Just 4:40 into the first, Bull passed it out to Ken Vickerman, who rammed it home. A minute and a half later, Bull got the eventual game-winner taking a pass from Lorne Burnett.

“Actually they were both almost identical,” said Bull. “I had a whole side of the net wide open—the same thing with both goals—the goalie was crowding one side of the net and the puck came out and the other side of the net was open.”

The only other multi-point players in the game were Meds’ Brian McWatters with two assists and teammate Dean MacKay with a goal and an assist.

“He didn’t get many goals in the regular season, but it’s often those guys that make the key goals and key effort during the playoffs,” said Bull of MacKay. “I’ve seen it year after year.”

The Meds’ other goal scorers were Mark Pike and Robert Bolton.

Much like the Med’s first two goals, Laurie Malo scored the Molars’ lone goal on a pass from behind the net from Adam Green to move to 3-1 in the midsection of the opening period.

“We called a time-out after they scored three goals on us,” said Malo. “We were playing pretty good after that.

“But it’s too late when they have a goalie like that,” he added, speaking of the Med’s Glenn Traverse.

In their next playoff game on Wednesday, the Meds will be facing off against Edgewater Hotel.

“The playoffs are a brand new season so anything can happen, so we have to take it one game at a time,” said Bull.

Other Sunday results

Performance Centre Turbos 9, Yukon Inn 5;

Kilrich 2, Firth Rangers 0

Contact Tom Patrick at

tomp@yukon-news.com