Third period sinks Tigers at home against Fury

October 19, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

Add another three to the loss column for the Aurora Tigers, a growing statistic that is already pushing the them out of playoff contention early in the season.
A busy weekend saw the Tigers go 0-2-1, just days after securing their second win of the season over the Lindsay Muskies.
In Pickering on Friday to face the Panthers, Jake Sabourin got the start in net to give Brayden Lachance a rest, stopping 33 of the 36 pucks he faced in a 3 – 2 overtime loss.
Aurora’s top line combined to open the scoring nine minutes in, with Eric Holland notching his team-leading eleventh of the season off assists from Mel Melconian and Daniel Tomassetti. Veteran Matthew Tozer took passes from Evan Spencer and Adam Petric to make it a 2 – 0 lead on the very next shift, before Sabourin was beaten on the powerplay at the midway mark of the first period.
Pickering’s Daniel Lowe tied the game shortly into the second, a score that held into the 3:55 mark of overtime, when Russell Nowry beat Sabourin for the game winning goal.
Spencer was also the only goal scorer of the game heading into the third period against the Whitby Fury at home on Saturday, before the Fury blew open the scoreboard.
With shutdown defenceman James Thomson in the box for tripping, the Fury were able to take advantage of some heavy pressure by potting their first just over two minutes into the third, before taking the lead on a screened shot from the point with just over three minutes remaining. An empty net goal in the final ten seconds sunk the Tigers 3 – 1.
Monday saw the Tigers visit the Cobourg Cougars in the battle of the cats, with Lachance facing an incredible 53 shots over 60 minutes.
Not surprisingly, he and the Tigers were on the wrong end of a 4 – 0 shutout, all of which came at even strength.
The one point from the overtime loss does put the Tigers up on both the Newmarket Hurricanes and the Muskies in the OJHL’s North division, but the 2-12-0-2 record does not match up well with either the division or conference. The Tigers are 13 points back of the Markham Royals and 14 points back of the Stouffville Spirit in the polarizing North, and are still looking for their first win on the road.
The upcoming schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Tigers, who take to the road Friday to visit the perennial powerhouse Trenton Golden Hawks (11-2-0-0). They return home Saturday to host the Kingston Voyageurs (5-4-1-3) for the first time at the Aurora Community Centre since the Voyageurs eliminated the Tigers from last year’s postseason in game six.
Puck drop is at 7.30 p.m.
The Mississauga Chargers (3-12-0-1) will be in town Sunday for the weekly home game.
For stats, schedules, and more information, visit www.auroratigers.pointstreaksites.com.