A thrilling 3-3 match between the Leaside Wildcats and the Toronto Aeros was robbed of 20 seconds of overtime play Wednesday night by the league ice-time curfew. All games in the Provincial Women’s Hockey League must end before or precisely at the 120 minute mark. It’s about money and the cost of ice. In this case the teams were engaged in a furious contest to bag a full two-point victory for their rankings. But with 20 seconds left in the five-minute sudden death period, the curfew buzzer ended things. One issue was a bruising collision between Leaside’s Mariah Hinds and Toronto’s Erin Near midway through the OT period. Both women were badly shaken and lay on the ice for as much as 90 seconds before gamely climbing back onto their blades to the cheers of their friends
LEASIDE’S CATCH UP GAME
After a scoreless first period, Leaside’s Sarah Brooks got her team going with a goal at 5.11 of the second. It was a good start but the Midtown ladies had to employ their catch up game to the very end to get a tie. Toronto’s Blair Allison and Sabrina Repaci both scored in the second to give the Aeros a 2-1 lead as the ice was flooded for the third. The teams came back full of fight for an enjoyable third period with Emma Pye scoring at 12.32, Emma Low-A-Chee scoring for Toronto at 14.31 and Cynthia Cavanagh tying the game at 19.35 of the third as Leaside launched six attackers at the Aeros. Pye and Low-A-Chee both scored on power plays. Birch, Pye and Hinds had assists, Pye twice. An exciting game and interesting to note that a win here would have tied the Wildcats with the second place Whitby Wolves. All of which is might-have-beens.