St. Patrick's Day Luck Goes to Erin in Game 1
Prior to Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day game in Erin, the
Avalanche were told that their powerplay would be one of the keys to their
success. Moving the puck, setting up
and getting shots with the man advantage was one of the strategic focuses for
Sunday.
Ancaster had 5 opportunities on the powerplay and Sunday and the results were less than expected. Two first period Ancaster powerplays went for not with barely a shot being fired towards the Erin net. These missed opportunities would later prove fatal for Ancaster.
Despite the missed opportunities, the game was tied 0-0 after 1 period. Ancaster had a third powerplay early in period 2 but took an interference call of their own during the powerplay. Erin took a second penalty shortly after killing the first penalty. Erin used the extra ice space of the 4 on 4 to their advantage, crashing the net hard and creating the first goal of the game.
Erin would take another penalty late in period 2 and would make the most of it. The forechecking Erin forward took advantage of a poor pinch by the Ancaster D and had an easy time making the score 2-0. It took 12 seconds for the score to go from 0-0 to 2-0. Andrew cut the score in half on the same powerplay with a slap shot through the goalies five hole. The shot gave Ancaster life heading into the third period.
Erin would get some third period insurance with a goal off the goal post and Ancaster, despite some scoring chances could not make up the 2-goal deficit.
The Avalanche head into game 2 on Friday, looking to even the series at home.