Canadiens steal opening game on rare OT call

Andy Comber / Essex Free Press

One on one Essex 73's Mike Roach tangles with Belle River's Eric Mayor in their playoff showdown Friday night in Belle River. Essex lost 3-2.

By Kevin E. Neels - March 3, 2010

The Belle River Canadiens gained the upper hand in their best of seven South Division final series with the Essex 73's, edging the locals 3-2 on Friday night, thanks largely to a rare overtime call awarded by referee Shawn Hamelin.

When was the last time anyone can remember a penalty shot being awarded in overtime?

Friday night in Belle River it happened. The call was made after 73's defenseman Jeff Hogan was called for intentionally knocking the net off its moorings.

Belle River jumped on the 73's early in the opener taking a 2-0 lead after one period of play.

Essex played their best period of hockey in the playoffs in period two, dominating the home team while tying the score in the process. Nick Nicodemo notched the first Essex goal before Mike Roach deflected a Mike Dobric point shot past Canadiens goalkeeper Chad Summerfield to even things up. The 73's buzzed around Summerfield for the remainder of the period but could not take the lead.

Period three was scoreless with both teams having their chances, but goaltenders Robitaille and Summerfield stoned the shooters with some big saves.

In overtime the Canadiens had the better chance of winning, thanks in part to a pair of minor penalties called against Essex. While killing the second of those penalties it was Hogan who committed the delay of game sin. The Canadiens elected to have Dylan Chessell take the pressure shot and he did not disappoint the home fans, scoring on a pretty deke to send the 73's home disappointed.

"We were very upset with the referee's call," said Wes Tan. "We played hard for over 60 minutes and it ended that way. This is a hard loss to stomach. We played a near perfect road game and the way it ended spoiled the game. I felt we were the better team tonight. We deserved a better fate. We will just have to regroup and come back strong for game two."

GLJCHL South Division Final
Tuesday, March 2 Belle River at Essex 7:00 pm
Friday, March 5 Essex at Belle River 7:30 pm
Tuesday, March 9 Belle River at Essex 7:00 pm
Thursday, March 11 Essex at Belle River 7:30 pm (if necessary)
Friday, March 12 Belle River at Essex 7:30 pm (if necessary)
Sunday, March 14 Essex at Belle River 7:30 pm (if necessary)

GLJCHL North Division Final
Dresden at Wallaceburg (Wallaceburg leads series 1-0)