Hanover wins key play-off game in Durham
The Canadian Tire Hanover Falcons have given themselves an excellent chance of advancing through this play-off round robin, knocking off the previously unbeaten Durham Huskies in their own building, winning 4-1.
Hanover got off to a strong start, when only 1:11 into the game, Quintin Graydon scored on the first shot of the game, through the five hole, with Dustin Leask drawing the assist on the play. Hanover continued to control the tempo of the game through the period, finally getting rewarded a second time at the 1:16 mark, when Kody Hammell sent a missile into the top corner past a helpless Durham netminder. Feeding him with the pass was Colin Spielmacher, who along with Brook Bross received the assists.
In the second period Durham started finding their footing a little bit, as they started to win battles and created some good scoring chances, but Hanover goalie Ben Klages was rock solid and kept the game at 2-0 through two periods.
In the third period Hanover seized a 3-0 lead at the 10:53 mark, when Colin Spielmacher put one into the back of the net, with Hammell and Bross getting the assists on the play. Durham then responded 3 minutes later, with their first of the game to make it 3-1, but Hanover refused to be denied on this night, as they then made it 4-1, when captain Shay Chittick popped a loose puck in behind the Durham goalie to make it 4-1, with Dustin Leask and Quintin Graydon drawing the assists.
It was a hard earned, solid team effort tonight, with some great play from the whole line-up. Matt Schierz, Chris Hall, Alex Pendergast, Chase Blackburn and Quinton Steward all contributed in a major way defensively tonight, not by registering any points, but doing all the things that allowed our team to win tonight. Good work guys. We are in great position to move onto the next round if we can keep playing solidly like we are. We look forward to our next game action on Saturday.
