Tuesday, May 8, 2012

5/7 Recap: Dogs downed; Oil Kings in unfamiliar hole

Steven Shipley recorded an assist Tuesday as Niagara was defeated by London 3-2 in game #3 of the OHL Championship. The 6'3 center's work around the net while on an second period power play gives him eight points in 18 playoff games. Shipley was also called for tripping with less than two minutes to play as the Dogs looked to tie the game.

Shortly before the Shipley call, a pair of London's 2012 draft eligibles combined for the game winning goal with 3:28 left in regulation as Chris Tierney won a faceoff draw back to Olli Maatta, who in turn rifled a heavy slapper that was tipped in the slot by Tierney for his fourth of the postseason. Maatta, a surefire first-round pick next month, has accumulated an impressive six goals and 21 points in 17 playoff games for the Knights. Niagara heads home for Wednesday's game #4 trailing the series 2-1.



In Sunday action, Mark Pysyk finished with an even rating as Edmonton's three-goal third period rally fell short in a 4-3 loss to Portland. Brendan Leipsic ('12) interrupted the Oil Kings' charge by scoring his second consecutive game winner at 4:37 of the third. Trailing the best-of-seven championship 2-1, the Oil Kings are now behind in a series for the first time this postseason heading into Wednesday's game #4.

With Shipley's IceDogs amd Pysyk's Oil Kings trailing their series 2-1, and Jerome Gauthier-Leduc's Rimouski Oceanic in a 2-0 hole against Saint John in the QMJHL final, the Sabres are in danger of not having a drafted prospect participate in the Memorial Cup for the first time since 2007. Tyler Ennis played for Medicine Hat in the '07 tourney but wasn't draft eligible until 2008.