YARMOUTH – There was no flash, no finesse and no highlight-reel goals.
But for the Yarmouth Clippers, there was no need.
Pat Delaney, Tony Tocci and Gary Duggas all scored goals on rebounds in front of prone Win-Dale goaltender Tavis Hasenfus. But Kevin Santillo made 23 saves to lead the Clippers to a 3-1 Western Class B hockey quarterfinal win over the Ice Dogs in front of a packed house at Travis Roy Arena.
“We are not a finesse team,” admitted Yarmouth coach Scott Matusovich following the game. “The goals we get, we’ll outwork teams out of the corner and in front of the net.”
The difference was apparent in each period.
With a 1-0 lead headed to the second period, Tocci fired a goal past Hasenfus 54 seconds into the middle frame on a feed across the crease from Delaney. The fact that Tocci was open at all was a testament to his quick steps and shifty movement among the Win-Dale defense.
“Right now, those are the kinds of goals you have to get in the playoffs,” said Win-Dale coach Dave St. Hilaire. “You’re not going to see the breakaway goals, the flashy shots. You’re going to see the rebound goals, the deflections off of skates, those by determined skaters.”
The Ice Dogs did dominate in time of possession and in zone control for the remainder of the second frame, and even got a goal back on a Nate Frechette slap shot from the point on a power play at 3:24, but for the most part could not penetrate the tough Yarmouth defense – or Santillo.
“The teams are so similar,” said Matusovich. “Both teams have big, strong defensemen, and I think (Sam) Frost and Frechette are as tough for them as Tocci and Delaney are for us. We matched up lines our first against their second and their first against our second. It was really an evenly-matched game.”
To open the final period, with a one-goal lead, the Clippers knew they had to score early.
Delaney took care of that after taking advantage of a collision of Win-Dale teammates at the blue line. Delaney skated up the right side, slid left and fired a wrister in on Hasenfus. After the netminder made the initial stop, Delaney reached over and poked the puck past the goalie for a 3-1 lead just 39 seconds into the period.
“The guys collided a bit,” said St. Hilaire. “You have to take advantage of those chances in the playoffs, and they did that.”
Win-Dale enjoyed three power plays in the third period, but were shorthanded in a way for two of those.
“Nate (Frechette) broke his skate at the end of the second period,” said St. Hilaire. “In the third, we kept trying to change skates with other players and with other people, but he missed a good portion of the shifts on the power play trying to get skates that felt right. We lost our power-play quarterback.”
Win-Dale finished the season at 7-8-1, while Yarmouth (8-8-2) will face Cape Elizabeth in the Western Class B semifinals at Portland Ice Arena on Saturday.
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