Thanks to Neil Hughes (an Eagles fan) for this report....
Second leg of the B+H Qarter Finals and the Eagles welcomed the Bees from Bracknell to the nest defending a slender six goal advantage from the first leg. Not surprisingly, the big lead along with the game being played on that popular night for hockey, Thursday, had an adverse effect on the attendence. Well, it wasn't going to be much of a game, was it??
Ayr were still without Hoffman, St Pierre and Biette although the first two were spotted in the stands exaggerating their limps. Bracknell were without Schulte and LaScala, Basillio and Greer were the starting goalies. Hanson blew the whistle and before you all write in with sarcastic coments, this is not a comment on his relationship with the Bee's coach. Pirry and Craig were on the lines.
1st Period
The Bees started fast, in fact they kept fast for the whole game. Kelman and AN Other went close in the first minute before Steer got the first save out of Greer at the other end and Hoad shot over the top. Ayr started to apply some pressure with a couple of good stops by Greer from a Burgess slapshot and a Dino effort that clattered into the goalie's genitals. Made me wince,
that did. However, it was the Bees that broke out of defence to score at 6-17. Dezainde collected the dumped puck before the Ayr D could react, waltzed into the slot to shoot low past Basilio, unassisted. Bracknell did it again at 7-47. An Ayr attack broke down and Brant broke clear with Ferraccioli in support on a 2 on 1. Ferraccioli received the puck just inside the blue line, took his time and beat the comitted Basilio. Once again, Ayr tried to hit back with a Hoad effort almost trickling over the line but, amazingly, the Bees halved their deficit at 9-25. It was another breakout, the fast Bees forwards catching out a sluggish defence but the goal was cotroversial. Hitting the boards, the puck deflected high in the air, looped over Basilio and ricocheted in off Drouin who was standing in the crease. Hanson appeared to wipe the goal out but after discussion, he gave it and, rarther unfortunately, Basilio was pulled for Riendeau. 0-3 down but playing well, strange game sometimes. Ayr continued to create pressure without much luck - the puck either hit Greer, went narrowly wide or went across the crease before Ayr had a PP oportunity, Burke getting 2 mins for holding the stick at 14-59. Groleau and Montanari both went close but Bracknell survived, as they did when Ferraccioli sat for 2 mins, tripping at 17-19. As the clock counted down, Greer made a good stop but the puck fell invitingly for Parco but the buzzer went before he could get the rebound away, typical of Ayr's luck in the period.
SoG 12-11
2nd Period
Bracknell were on top for the first five minutes of the second, Ferraccioli forcing a save from Riendeau before limping off at 22-11, never to be seen again. Manganaro was also close, going coast to coast but Riendeau saved well. Drouin (what does PC stand for?) got 2 mins for tripping at 23-26 but still the Bees caused problems. Ayr were all over the place despite the man
advantage so, it came as a surprise when they scored after Drouin returned. Timed at 26-10, Hoad stole the puck from a complacent D man in the Bracknell zone, went for the wraparound and had his shot blocked by Greer. He picked up the rebound and fed Steer out front to shoot home. The goal calmed Ayr down a bit and they started to put together some good moves. Greer saved from Byram and Young, following good skating by Parco and then the save of the night, snatching the top corner bound puck out of thin air to deny Woolf who could hardly believe it. Not to be outdone, Riendeau caught a Junkin effort shortly afterwards but it was Greer who was by far the busier keeper. Inevitably, Ayr scored at 33-46. Groleau skated rings round the Bracknell D
before setting up Woolf. The shot was blocked by a D man but before Greer could cover it up, Montanari nicked it and took it round the keeper to score. Bracknell countered quickly. Brant released Dezainde down the left wing and although the shot was blocked by Riendeau, Dezainde collected the rebound, went round the back of the net and fired home from a narrow angle
before Riendeau could recover. (35-12)
SoG 15-8
3rd Period
Bauba was the first to make his impression in the final period, going coast to coast before passing. Unfortunately, his linemates hadn't been able to keep up. Bracknell then had the puck in the net. A long range effort was saved by Riendeau, the puck deflecting into the air where a Bracknell forward hit it baseball fashion into the net. The goal was washed out for the high stick, much to the relief of the Ayr faithful. Ayr came close on several occaisions, the best of which fell to Purdie but the shot was
blocked. Dezainde had a slash that caused Parco some distress at 44-01 and had to sit with Ronnie for two minutes but once again, the Bees defended tha PP, coming close themselves as it ended.In fact, the Bees had a couple of minutes of good pressure before Ayr broke out with Montanari feeding Woolf who shot wide. Woolf made up for this miss at 50-29. Boe and Burgess cleared the zone by finding Woolf on the center spot and the Ayr number 8 rushed through the gap , faked a shot before steering the puck past the comitted Greer. This set up a fast, frantic and entertaining last ten minutes. Bracknell, unable now to win over two legs, were desperate to hang on to this game whilst Ayr pushed for the equaliser. Both goalies made impressive saves, Riendeau making a particularly good double stop on a Bee's breakaway. Brant got 2 mins for roughing at 55-03 having twonked Kummu off the puck. Burgess came closest to scoring on the PP but Greer pulled off a spectacular pad save to deny him and the Bee's survived. Greer was finally beaten at 58-51 after denying Hoad. At the resulting face off, Montanari won the draw finding Schuler on point. Schules passed to Woolf in the middle who hit a
rocket slapshot that Greer didn't see until he fished the puck out of the net. Despite there being only 1-09 left, both teams created chances, Riendeau impressively denying the Bees before Ayr broke out with Byram unable to collect a rebound off Greer when Junkin knocked the net away. The resulting face off came with one second left. Riendeau went off for the extra skater and amazingly, Ayr got a shot away as the buzzer went but it hit the side netting.
SoG 9-8
FINAL SCORE AYR 4 BRACKNELL 4 Agg 11-5
Total SoG 36-27
PiM 0-8
MoM - Ayr - Montanari
- Bracknell - Burke
Well, it was a good game, after all. It is an old cliche, but Bracknell had nothing to lose and looked very impressive going forward with speed and accuracy. However, being three up at the end of the first did not give a true reflection on the proceedings as Ayr, whilst still not as fluent as last season, played some good hockey and in the end they were probably unfortunate not to win on the night. Of course, the real reason is down to Phil's pink tee shirt. He left it in the car for the first period, immediately changing into it during the break. 0-3 without it over twenty minutes. 4-1 with it over forty. Spooky! About time Monty got a MoM award though Woolf and Steer must have been in the running. And a question for all you stattos out there. Have Ayr ever gone through a game without a single minute in penalties before?