AESHL final continues tonight in Torbay
Avalon East final has been a back-and-forth affair between Eagles and Breakers
The best-of-seven Avalon East Senior Hockey League final resumes 8 p,.m. tonight at Jack Byrne Arena in Torbay, with the Northeast Eagles holding a 2-1 lead over the Southern Shore Breakers. Going by the first games of the series, tonight’s contest could be decided by the opening the goal. The team that has scored first in the Games 1, 2 and 3 has gone on to win.
The last three Avalon East Senior Hockey League finals haven’t ended well for the Northeast Tappers Eagles.
In all three best-of-seven finals, the Eagles watched as the St. John’s Caps celebrated three championship victories and coach Darryl Banfield says his team is champing at the bit to collect its crown.
“There’s some guys who have been there for six or seven years and some of them are even thinking about giving it up after this year, but they’re not doing so without hoisting the trophy,” he says.
“There a lot of guys in the room that are pretty eager to win.”
The Eagles, who have a 2-1 lead over the top-seeded Southern Shore Pugliesvich Breakers in this year’s final, can claim a title by winning both Game 4, 8 p.m. tonight at the Jack Byrne Arena, and Game 5 on Sunday at the Southern Shore Arena.
Doing so won’t prove easy based on the “back and forth” nature of the series thus far.
The Eagles took the opener 31 and claimed a 5-2 victory in Game 2, but both games included an empty-netter. The Breakers got back in the series with a 4-3 overtime win last Sunday in Game 3.
“It could have been anyone’s game in all three,” says Breakers player-coach Jamie Tobin, “but we came out on the wrong end of it in the first two and we were lucky to get back into it in the third game.”
Banfield says the biggest difference-maker for his team — and Tobin is inclined to agree — has been the play of goaltender Mark Yetman.
“(He) is showing why he’s arguably one of the best goalies in the province,” Banfield says of the Mount Pearl native who backstopped the Grand FallsWindsor Cataracts (2011) and the Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars (2013) to Herder Memorial Trophy championships.
The Breakers fired 36 shots at Yetman in Game 1, 40 in Game 2 and sent 50 his way this past Sunday.
“Our goaltending’s been excellent, but theirs has been just a little bit better,” says Tobin.
With neither team giving up much to the other in five-on-five situations and each team netting at least one power play goal in all three games to date, both coaches expect special teams to continue being a key factor. Likewise, the coaches suggest whoever comes out strongest in the opening frame will be a good position to win as the team that has scored first through the opening trio of contests has gone on to win.
“The longer you go without scoring a goal, (Yetman) is getting more confident and our guys are squeezing the sticks a bit tighter,” says Tobin. “It’s important that we get on the board early in the first and build some momentum off that.”
More than anything, Tobin says he and his players need to play a solid road game to send the series back to Mobile tied at two apiece.
“The last time we were down there, the first 10 minutes we were all over them and we took an undisciplined penalty and they ended up scoring on the power play and took the momentum right back from us.
“Hopefully, we can come out with the same start and keep it going.”