Majors on the Brink After Falling in Wild Affair

Published on March 26, 2006 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Mississauga St. Michael's Majors News Release


BARRIE, ON (March 26, 2006) - The Majors had to play a game of catch-up in Barrie this evening and it ended up costing them. Their 7-5 loss in game 3 puts them down 3-0 in this Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series.

The Majors definitely didn't get off to the start they wanted. They found themselves in heaps of penalty trouble in the opening frame, and the Colts took advantage. Ryan Hamilton put the Colts in front 1-0 only 1:26 into the game, off of Jakub Petruzalek and Travis Fuller feeds. Jeff Larsh tied it up for St. Mike's at the 6:03 mark, on the man-advantage, with the assists going to Justin Donati and Scott Lehman. However, the Colts rebounded with power-play goals at 7:56 and 10:21 to end the opening frame with a 3-1 advantage. The goals went to Petruzalek and Fuller with Petruzalek, Vladimir Nikiforov and Bryan Little getting credited with the helpers.

It was a more even game in the 2nd period. Matt Halischuk's unassisted, breakaway goal at 3:25 got the Majors to within a goal. Then, Matt Caria had a chance to tie it up a few minutes later when he had a breakaway of his own. Unfortunately, his shot sailed wide. Billy Burke added another power-play goal for Barrie, with 21 seconds left in the frame, off of Todd Perry and Matthew Bragg feeds, to give the home squad a 4-2 lead heading into the 3rd.

The Majors didn't get the 3rd period start they were looking for as Michael Lombardi scored off of Little and Hunter Tremblay passes only 51 seconds into the frame. St. Mike's did bounce back with their 3rd goal, via a Justin Donati marker on the power-play, at 3:23. The assists went to Tyler Donati and Cory Vitarelli. Justin then rang a power-play shot off the post a few minutes later. Then, Matt Caria followed that up with Toronto's 4th goal at 10:42 off of a Haskins feed. Unfortunately, Barrie's power-play goal at 12:44 put the home squad back in front by 2. Nikiforov had the goal and Petruzalek and Tremblay notched the assists.

The Majors didn't give up as J. Donati got them to within a goal, once again, at 13:14. The assists were gobbled up by Vitarelli and Jaroslav Mrazek. Unfortunately, Fuller's empty-net goal with 1:03 remaining put the game out of reach. This time, the assist was credited to Dave Pszenyczny.

Wayne Savage finished the night with 36 saves for the Majors while Andrew Perugini had 29 stops for the Colts. The Majors were 2 for 7 on the power-play while the Colts were 4 for 11. The game's three stars were Petruzalek (1st), J. Donati (2nd) and Burke (3rd).

Game four of the series is back in Toronto on Tuesday night (March 28th) at 7:30 pm. It will be broadcast on Rogers television in the Toronto region, channel 10 or 63, and webcast at www.stmichaelsmajors.com.

Majors tickets can be purchased through the team's office at (416) 651-8228, by calling Ticketmaster at (416) 872-5000, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or by stopping by the St. Michael's College School Arena box office within two hours of the puck drop.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 26, 2006


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