Cubs vs. OMR

It was a full card of ERHL  playoff headliners Thursday night at the MAC where the AA barn action was at its best. The third seed Cubs Painting faced off against fourth seed Odd Man Rush Brewing, playing them to a 2-2 stalemate which ultimately ended with a handshake at center ice.  The AA tournament points method will ultimately determine who makes it through the gauntlet and onto the championship game. Rob Baril lit the lamp first for OMR, putting a deflection in the dustbin at 6:21 in the opening period for the 1-0 unassisted goal.  Some smooth operating by Alfonzo Guzman and Stanley Shepard on the assist game, set David Roch up nicely for his 2-0 OMR goal at 4:23 in the first. Second period play saw both sides go scoreless in the post season pursuit. Midway into the final frame, Cub’s Garret Staudinger launched a laser from the right boards, just outside the neutral zone, going unassisted for the 2-1 goal.  With just over two minutes remaining in regulation, Nate Curnow answered the Cub’s call for more cow-bell, going unassisted on the goal-of-the-game and putting the Cub’s back in action with the 2-2 equalizer. As time ran out with no golden goal moment to speak of, Cub’s stopper Patrick Zmuda recorded 32 saves on the night while Jon Maroney had 20 saves in the net for OMR. In the face off battle, OMR had the slight edge, 16-14.