The
Walkerton Capitals lost a heart-breaker on Monday, falling 5-4 in overtime to
the Blyth/Brussels Crusaders in the second round of the WOAA peewee local
league playoffs.
Both teams came out strong and skated hard, treating fans some quick end-to-end action.
Tyler Wallace scored first for Walkerton with an unassisted effort early in the opening period. Blyth evened it up 17 seconds into the second, and took a 2-1 lead with 4:34 left in the frame.
Just two minutes later, Brayden Grife netted the equalizer on a power play, assisted by Liam Osborne. Some big saves were made in the Walkerton net by Lucas Rowe to keep the Capitals in it.
The Crusaders recorded a power play goal in the opening minutes of the third to up 3-2, and added an insurance marker while short-handed with just over three minutes left.
Walkerton wasn’t done though. Wallace scored on a dramatic penalty shot to bring the Capitals within one, and Justin Bell scored on a wraparound with one minute left to even it up at 4-4.
Walkerton started the 10-minute overtime with a two-man advantage but couldn't pull ahead. Both teams performed solidly in OT and with just .4 seconds left on the clock, with the tie almost in the books, Blyth scored the 5-4 game-winner.
Game two of this best-of-three series is Sunday, March 26 at 5 pm in Walkerton. Game three, if necessary, is Wednesday, March 29 at 7:30 pm in Brussels.