TRURO – This is a scenario not many predicted.
Three games into their best-of-seven Bent Division semifinal, the Truro Bearcats are trailing the Bridgewater Lumberjacks 2-1 thanks to a 5-2 Bridgewater victory Wednesday in front of 672 fans at Colchester Legion Stadium. Game 4 is Friday at 7 p.m. in Bridgewater.
“Nobody wants to be behind in a series but we can only deal with reality and that’s what it is after Game 3,” said Bearcats coach Shawn Evans after the game.
But something the Bearcats did expect has come to fruition.
“We knew they were going to come hard,” said Truro forward Travis Moore, who picked up an assist Wednesday.
That they have. After No. 1 seeded Truro opened with a 7-2 win in Game 1 the No. 4 Lumberjacks have turned the tide with successive victories on back-to-back nights. Bridgewater did so Wednesday by jumping on the Bearcats early.
“They got that early goal on us and put us on our heels and it put them on their toes,” Evans said.
It started when Mickey MacDonald gave his team a 1-0 lead 6:56 into the game, followed by a Matt Snow marker at 10:40.
It didn’t stop there. In the second period, Matt Doudelet (3:14) and Shawn Frank (3:38) scored to give the Lumberjacks a 4-0 cushion on the first four shots of the frame, chasing Truro starter Richard Gagnon from the net after 10 saves. Evans said he made the move in an effort to shake up his players.
“We win and lose as a team,” the coach said. “Richard is a good kid and a good goaltender but he had had enough.”
Kirk Rafuse came on in relief and stopped all 11 shots he faced – the other Bridgewater goal was an empty-net tally at 19:44 of the third – as the Bearcats went about the task of climbing out of the deficit in the third period.
Chris Ivanko and Doug Burns scored just 38 seconds apart five minutes into the third to make it 4-2, but that was as close as Truro would come.
“When you spot a team four goals, that’s a tough uphill climb,” Evans said.
But the bench boss was happy to see his team fight back.
“This organization has never been about negatives,” he said. “We haven’t faced a lot of adversity this year and now it’s staring us in the face and we’re looking forward to Friday.”
Philip Wright made 40 saves for the win.
Although the team is putting pressure on itself to succeed, Evans said the players need to clear their heads and start fresh Friday.
“Hockey is 90 per cent mental and we need to clear that mental hurdle. It’s just a game,” he said.
Moore said he feels the Bearcats now have a golden opportunity to show what they are made of and added players from last year’s squad are drawing on their experience of a see-saw battle with Amherst in the playoffs a year ago.
sports@trurodaily.com
