Muskoka Bears tackled the Orillia Terriers in yet another Hwy 11 Corridor matchup over Jan 24th, they’re only action over the weekend. In a very tight checking affair, Orillia jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with Easton Aldebert notching his 14th of the season, and Terriers led by the lone tally after 1 period.
Tyler Lasitz ripped his 12th goal of the season past a surprised Orillia goaltender to even things at 1 apiece, with assists going to Isaac Oakes and Reid Lessard. Terriers took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Jake Norman, before setting the stage for a dramatic last few minutes of the third period.
A defensive break down on a bad line change by Orillia was costly as Kevin Demeules took a feed from Nicholas Cooper, and ripped a shot home with just .25 seconds on the clock. The Overtime period is always a time for drama, as 3 on 3 play leaves a lot of open ice, and Terriers took advantage of a lucky bounce to have two wingers bear down alone 2 on none to Bears goalie Kyle Downey, who came up with the save of the game as overtime ended.
Forcing a shootout, Orillia’s first 2 shooters were stopped, and the Bears had a chance to snatch the game, as Jack Seney was Bears next skater and he buried his chance and put the Bears ahead. With 1 remaining Orillia skater left to even it up, Downey came up big again and stopped the chance, giving the Bears their 2nd shootout victory of the year. Downey was solid between the pipes and made 46 saves in the win.