The first playoff game of round two against LaSalle started off very quickly with the Nationals’ Austin Jeffers scoring on a loose puck in front of the net at 2:31. Not long after, an odd bounce in the LaSalle zone gave them a breakaway goal by Zane Dalpe at 5:22. However, just over a minute later Noah Tooke of the Nationals deked around multiple players in the LaSalle zone ending with a beautiful shot for the go-ahead goal. With just under two and a half minutes left in the period, Cal Davis scored London’s third goal of the period from behind the net hitting off the back of the goalie’s pads. A tripping penalty by the Nationals’ Colin Wilson put them on the penalty kill going into the second.
The second period saw lots of action in the penalty box as both teams received a total of five 2 minute minors and the National’s Wes Dobbin received a game misconduct for checking from behind. There were lots of back and forth action and both teams put on significant pressure while on the power play however, neither team was able to capitalize in the period keeping the score at 3-1.
Two and a half minutes into the third period, Austin Jeffers sent a beautiful cross-ice pass at the top of the Nationals circle to Max Vinogradov at the blue line for a breakaway goal. Another odd bounce in LaSalle’s zone allowed Brett Vorshuk to score a breakaway goal at 12:23 to make the score 4-2. On a late London power play, Max Vinogradov scored his second goal of the night at 15:27. To seal the first win of the series, James Turner scored the sixth and final goal of the game for the Nationals with three minutes remaining in the third period. The final score was 6-2.
The next home game, game three of the series will be this Saturday, March 16th at 7 pm.
