Otters go two for two in first weekend of playoffs

Last weekend, the Huntsville Otters fought hard to take a 2-0 lead in the first round of the playoffs against the Midland Flyers.

Their first game took place in Midland on Saturday, February 4, 2017. The game had the Otters leading the score board 2-0 with goals scored by #9 Josh Zantingh and #28 Curtis Ballantyne in the first period. In the second period, both Midland and Huntsville scored bringing the score to 3-1 with the Otters sill leading by two – Huntsville’s goal was scored by #23 Matt Smith. The Otters entered the third period with a confident lead when #8 Jesse Houlton secured the lead 4-1 in the first five minutes of the period. But, in hockey, it’s never over until the end of the third period at the final buzzer! Midland knew that and fought hard to make a comeback. Their tactics worked and the Flyers were able to press the Otters defense and add three goals in under five minutes closing the gap to 4-3. In the end, the Otters managed to pull ahead with goalie #54 Connor Christanson blocking a penalty shot and #28 Curtis Ballantyne scoring on Midland in the last minute of play to secure the win 5-3.

The second game of the series was played at home in Huntsville on Sunday, February 5. Huntsville welcomed many hometown fans as well as visiting fans from Midland. The crowd was rowdy to start as the refs were making calls that the crowds disapproved of or were unsure why they were called. In the first period, the teams were getting used to the refs and their expectations of the game as the Otters earned three penalties for high sticking and head contact. Huntsville Otter #15 Jake McIntyre scored the first goal of game in the first two minutes, assisted by #9 Josh Zantingh and #29 Bobby Logan.

The Otters held off Midland from scoring for half of the period and then the Flyers managed to deke around the defense and shoot to tie the game. With 9.9 seconds left in the first period and the crowd cheering and the benches banging their sticks, Midland was in a power play and out-skated the Otters to take the lead 2-1.

The second period opened with #9 Josh Zantingh receiving a penalty for interference which the crowd did not approve of. Not too long after, #13 Chris Goodfellow got a penalty for spearing and #26 Kyle Burns got a penalty for slashing. The Otters seemed to be on edge with three on five due to the penalties and Midland took control of the puck by keeping it in the Otters’ end but goalie #54 Connor Christanson was a moving machine: he was up, he was down, he was at the side and blocked any shot taken. The Otters defense continued to defend their net, taking slap shots to the legs, losing their sticks and then sharing sticks while in front of the net. By halfway through the second period, Midland was able to squeeze by and shoot to score to take a two-goal lead but also earned a penalty which put the Otters in power play. Within a minute, Huntsville returned with a goal by #11 Dalton McEachran, assisted by #24 Jack Armstrong and #19 Nathan Delarosbil, to bring the score to 2-3.

In the third period, both teams were fighting for the win, with Huntsville at the disadvantage. In the first three minutes, the Otters set it up and scored to tie up the game at 3-3. Goal by #9 Josh Zantingh, assisted by #15 Jake McIntyre and #29 Bobby Logan. Both Midland and Huntsville defended their nets to the end of the period without obtaining any penalties. Well done, teams!

The playoff series is best of seven games, so a winner must be declared in overtime if necessary. There were no goals or penalties in the first overtime period, sending the game into double overtime. There was only one penalty per team and the Huntsville Otters prevailed for the win 4-3 with a shot by #15 Jake McIntyre, assisted by #9 Josh Zantingh.

This win has the Otters leading the series against the Midland Flyers 2-0. The next game will be in Midland on Saturday, February 11 and then the Otters return to home ice on Sunday, February 12 at 2:30. Come and cheer the Otters on – if they win on Saturday, they could sweep the series with a win at home. Good luck, team!

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