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Excelsior's
dominate weekend
After a big win Thursday night in
Kitchener the Excelsior's found themselves back
in sole possession of first place in the MSL standings,
but they knew they still had a lot of work to do.
Saturday nights game in Brampton was against the
then second place St. Regis Indians who continue
to add to an already fearsome line-up in a game
that would have major implications on the standings,
and then they would play Barrie the very next night
in Orillia.
Brampton was missing some key individuals
against St. Regis. The Dawson brothers, Colin Doyle,
Mike Hominuck, Brodie Merrill, and Sandy Chapman
were all unavailable for the big match-up, so the
depth of the team was going to be showcased. St.
Regis scored first. Brampton answered with Ryan
Campbell scoring his first of the season in his
first appearance with the Excelsior's this year.
The teams traded goals once again, but after St.
Regis made it 3-2 with 5 minutes to go in the first,
Brampton unleashed a 4 goal run to give them a 6-3
first period lead.
St. Regis fought back, but Brampton
continued to answer. Josh Sanderson (2g, 5a) was
back to his old form finding the likes of Dan Teat
(3g, 3a) and Aaron Wilson (3g, 3a) throughout the
game. The entire team seemed to be putting on a
passing clinic that saw the ball moving with speed
and accuracy. Blaine Manning netted his 200th goal
for his career, with other singles going to Phil
Sanderson, John McClure, and Jeff Shattler. The
Brampton defense held strong as always, and Anthony
Cosmo was able to see the ball and make some incredible
stops. The 13-10 final gave the Excelsior's a 4
point lead in the MSL standings.
With many of the players that were
absent Saturday night returning to action on Sunday,
the Excelsior's were able to add some fresh legs
to their line-up against Barrie, and were hungry
to capitalize on the momentum they had built. Less
than 30 seconds into the game Josh Sanderson banked
in a goal off of the goal keeper from behind the
net. Mike Hominuck would then add a natural hat-trick
before Barrie's Chad Culp would get the home side
on the board with a power-play marker. Brampton
would add 3 more before the period was over and
take a 7-1 lead into the break.
Barrie would only add 2 more goals
by the end of the contest (both by Chad Culp) as
net-minder Brandon Miller played phenomenal. Rookie
Ryan Campbell also had an incredible game as he
netted 4 goals and an assist in his second appearance.
Josh Sanderson had a duplicate night on the score
sheet with 2 goals and 5 assists, and both Colin
Doyle and Blaine Manning added singles to finish
the game at 11-3 Brampton.
With St. Regis losing again on Sunday,
Peterborough has jumped into second place. With
4 games remaining, the Excelsior's need 2 victories
to secure top spot and have home floor throughout
the playoffs as well as a bye through the first
round. If the Brampton squad can pull off a victory
in Peterborough on Thursday night, that alone will
seal the deal, but Brampton knows that this Lakers
team is looking for some pay-back of their own after
Brampton's last minute victory last time in Peterborough.
Brampton hosts St. Regis again this
Saturday at the Powerade Centre at 7:00, and then
finish off the regular season with a game in Brooklin
on Wednesday July 16th followed up the next night
at home against the visiting Barrie Lakeshores at
8:00.
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