It’s playoff-time in the Power Play Senior Hockey League (PPSHL), and while the league is still young, it’s never too soon for rivalries to form. Last season the number one seed at regular season’s end was the Salem Sasquatch. And when the semi-final results were in, and Salem and the Boston Gold Kings had earned a trip to the Finals, Salem was the favorite. But the Gold Kings won Game 1 on the road and blitzed the Sasquatch in Game 2 on home ice to win the title.
This year a new kid in town, the Hudson Valley Reapers, has steam-rolled the league with a 14-2 regular season record and they just swept the fourth-seed Holyoke Papermen to earn a trip to the Finals. In the meantime, the Gold Kings, seeded second, and Salem, seeded third, met this weekend in a best of three to earn the right to face Hudson Valley. The teams split the season series 2-2, with each winning once on the road. And so…
We are heading to a Game 3 on Saturday night March 28 at 7:20 at the John A. Ryan Arena after Salem beat the Gold Kings Saturday night at the JAR in an overtime thriller, and the following afternoon the Gold Kings, with their backs against the wall, returned the favor with a 5-3 win at the ICenter in Salem, New Hampshire.
GAME 1
Saturday night both goaltenders stood tall, Gold Kings goalie Mike Cowell and Salem goalie Keegan McLaughlin, and in the case of McLaughlin, he stood on his head as well, robbing the Gold Kings over and over and keeping the Sasquatch in the game. The Sasquatch scored first 5:08 into the game, off a Gold Kings turnover in their defensive zone. The Gold Kings are a good hockey team, probably better and deeper than last season, but the two biggest issues for them this season from the games I’ve seen have been own-zone play and taking too many penalties. Both came into play on this night.
That said, what turned out to be a back-and-forth affair with skating and forechecking and hitting and an intensity that you’d expect from a Game 1 in a best-of-three, the Gold Kins tied the game at 16:02 as defensive stud Ernie Isamatov, who was seemingly on the ice the entire game, sniped a wrister from the point that McGlaughlin might have been screened on. Two minutes, 38 seconds later first-line forward Cam Cordio, who assisted on the Isamatov’s goal, scored a pretty goal to give the Gold Knights the lead after one. Defenseman Shawn Savela sent a great pass from his own zone, off the boards, that Christian Baldino handled with flair. He attacked the zone, drew the defender, and fed Cordio who potted the go-ahead goal with a top-shelf wrister.
The second period was a wild one. The Gold Kings came out flat. How flat were they? So flat that when they went on the power play at 1:22 of the period, they gave up not one, but two shorthanded goals to fall behind 3-2 in a blink of the eye. By the five-minute mark, Boston found their game, and Joey O’Leary tied the game at 3 after he tipped a Drew Carney slapper past McGlaughlin. The third period was what you’d expect from a such an important game tied at 3. Both teams had scoring chances, and one power play. But, when the buzzer sounded it was still 3-3 at the end of regulation.
Overtime started with the Salem outskating Boston, and Gold Kings goaltender Cowell was tested early, and fortunately for the Gold Kings, Cowell was as sharp as he was all night long. But at 6:52, the house began to fall. Team President /first line defenseman Russ Childers was called for tripping. The Gold Kings killed off 38 seconds of the penalty when captain Ryan Drizen was called for cross checking. Facing a 5-on-3 in sudden death overtime is not an overly-desirable scenario for any hockey team. Odds will always favor the team with the advantage, but the Gold Kings gave it their all. With seconds remaining before they were to get back Childers, Salem’s puck-movement was too much for the Gold Kings as Brendan Young not only scored the game-winner, but completed the hat trick as well as Salem won Game 1, 4-3, at 8:52. Excellent hockey game, but not the result the Gold Kings were looking for …
GAME 2
Seventeen hours later, the two teams were back at it, a 3:20 p.m. puck-drop at Salem’s home rink. The Gold Kings made a strong statement, taking a 2-0 lead, before the Sasquatch scored late in the period.
But, the Gold Kings built the lead to 4-1 in the second period before Salem scored with :41 seconds left in the period. It was also a penalty-filled second period (see below) as both teams emotions rose to boil!
In the third, Salem closed to 4-3 at 2:56, but the Gold Kings answered right back, not 10 seconds later as Joey O’Leary completed the hat trick and gave the Gold Kings a 5-3 lead, one they would not relinquish.
Final score, Gold Kings 5, Sasquatch 3, Series tied at 1, deciding game Saturday March 28 at 7:20 at the John A. Ryan arena!