March 5,
2025
Two days after their hard-fought road victory, your Millbrook Stars
squared up once more against the Durham Crusaders for the second game of their
best-of-three game series. To state the obvious, Durham was hoping to prolong
their season, while the Stars were looking to send the Crusaders packing.
From the moment the puck dropped in this evening affair at the Cavan-Monaghan
Community Centre, both teams kicked it into high gear. The pace was fast, and
the open ice was limited. As the period wore on, it appeared as though the
Crusaders were dictating the play – winning battles and looking to be the more
dangerous team. With 5:44 left in the frame, the Crusaders did indeed draw
first blood with a short-sided marker off the rush. Nothing further was
settled, and Durham took this 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
The second period began much the same as how the first period ended –
with pressure being applied from Durham. It took one minute into the frame for
the Crusaders to hit the scoresheet again, increasing their lead to 2-0. At
this moment, your Stars seemed down… but certainly not out. They kept scratching
and clawing, and gradually they began to get their quality chances. The Durham
keeper was very much on his game tonight, however, and he stymied the
Green-and-White time and time again.
Finally, with under four minutes left in the second, the Stars found the
net after a dominant offensive zone, high pressure shift. It was forward
Lochlan Pherrill who faked going around the net, only to arrive back at the
near side to tap the puck in past the surprised keeper. Liam Carney and Emery
Warrick drew the assists on the play.
This marker by Pherrill proved to be the TSN turning point, as it lit a
fire under his teammates. It took only a minute and a half for Millbrook to
strike again – this time it was defenceman Liam Brown with the point shot, and
Carter Rose - creating havoc in tight - banged in the rebound on another high-octane
Millbrook shift. The tidal wave of momentum was pouring in the Stars’ favour
now. A mere minute later, Gillespie found the twine, this time taking a
gorgeous back pass from Pherrill, and making no mistake on his snap shot from 10
feet out. Yes, in the span of three minutes, the Stars turned a 2-0 deficit
into a 3-2 lead, which they carried into the second intermission.
The Stars kept their intensity up in the third. Early in the frame,
defenceman Colton Harris chipped the puck to forward Elijah Dunlop, who carried
the puck deep into the offensive zone before spotting Harris crashing towards
the net. Dunlop sent a crisp cross-crease pass to Harris who whacked it home
for the ever-important two goal cushion.
With their season now on the line, the Crusaders attempted to mount a
counterattack, but Millbrook was equal to the challenge and largely neutralized
any semblance of high danger opportunities.
Make the final: Millbrook Stars - 4, Durham Crusaders - 2.
The Crusaders, who put up quite a fight in this series, saw the clock
strike midnight on their season, while the Stars earned their way in the
Championship series against the Newcastle Stars.
For this writer, the most impressive part of watching this Millbrook
Stars team tonight was the fact that they did not panic when they were down by
two goals. Instead, they stuck to their plan and kept ratcheting up the
intensity of play until they found their breakthrough moments.
Patience, perseverance, tenacity, and a character win.
Next up, your Millbrook Stars will pause for the March break before
beginning their series with the Newcastle Stars. Dates and times to be
announced.
Go Stars Go.
M. Carney