TORONTO - The Parkdale Porcupines mounted another big 3rd period comeback for their second straight win (this time over the Gas Station Islanders) while the formerly-struggling Beau's Beer Hack also found the win column for a second consecutive game, bettering a depleted Parkdale Hockey Lads lineup by a score of 3-1. Meanwhile, the Jokers made up for their previous game's late collapse in a big way, potting four unanswered 3rd frame markers to down the Brockton Rockets 7-3.
Veteran Hack forward Aaron Foster posted his league-leading third hat-trick of the season this past Saturday night at Upper Canada College, as the Beau's Boys skated to a 3-1 win over a spare-studded Lads lineup. Beau's backup goaltender Ben Foster turned aside all but one of the 19 shots he faced, while his cross-ice counterpart, Luis Freitas, stopped 19 of 23 attempts. And though he didn't get the win, Freitas was credited with a rare goalie assist on Mike Frolick's 2nd-period tally (Fabian Ruzic also assisted). Chris Barkley, Chris Cacciotti, Gavin Patterson and spare Marc Hickox each earned assists on the Hack's goals, the second of which was scored by team captain Joe McGinty.
For the Parkdale Porcupines, it must've seemed like deja vu all over again, as the team shook off a late deficit to mount a 3rd-period comeback for their second straight win. Islanders forward Nick Purdon opened the scoring just two minutes into the game, combining with Richard Switzer to solve goaltender Daniel Moriarity. Quills sophomore Daniel Tremblay erased that lead five minutes later, though, beating first-time Isles keeper Nathaniel Basen unassisted. Subsequent goals by Brian Nevin and Stephen Boyd put the Gassers up 3-1 heading into the 3rd, setting up a repeat of last week's Porcupines/Jokers game, which saw the Porcs erase a 4-1 deficit with four unanswered goals in the last 10 minutes of the game. This time it would be three unanswered tallies inside of 11 minutes, as Adam Thrasher, Tremblay and Chris Valente found the twine en route to the win column.
As if still haunted by memories of the previous weekend's monumental 3rd-period collapse, the Jokers coalesced to find a whole new late-game gear as they headed into the final frame tied 3-3 with the Brockton Rockets. Perhaps inspired by the performance of Oliver Sutherns, who had just scored all three of the Rockets goals, Jokers forward Gary Rideout Jr. made good on a Steve Levine setup to pot his third tally of the game, giving the Funniest Team on Ice the lead with just over eight minutes remaining on the clock. Captain Ted Bisaillion then made it a two-goal lead, before Steve Chamberlain added an additional insurance marker just over two minutes later. Levine capped off the scoring with his 9th of the season (assisted by Rideout) as the Jokers finished the otherwise close game on a decidedly dominant note. The penalty-free win catopaulted the Jokers into 2nd place in the overall league standings with 12.5 points, just a half point back of the Wheatfield Souldiers.
The Jokers (5-4-0) will have an opportunity to claim 1st place this coming Saturday when they face off against the Gas Station Islanders (4-5-0) at 7:00 pm at UCC. The Lads (4-3-2) could also claim a piece of the top spot with a win over the Rockets (3-4-1) whom they'll go up against at 8:00 pm. The 9:00 pm game will see the Hack (2-5-1) go for their third straight win, this time vs. the Souldiers (6-1-1) who gutted out a narrow 5-4 victory over the Beau's Boys when the two teams met in early November. And a rare 10:00 pm contest will see the Humiliation (4-2-2) return to action, this time against emerging late-game specialists the Porcupines (2-6-1) who will be looking to string a third consecutive win together, as well.
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