NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA ATOM AE TERRIERS
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After ending the season on a strong note, the Orillia Starport Landing atom AE Terriers found themselves playing King Rebellion in the first round of the playoffs. Game 1 was a sign of things to come, ending in a 1-1 tie after overtime. The Rebellion opened the scoring at 14:13 of the third period and Orillia's Cole Balkwill answered the call, scoring for Orillia with 5:42 left in the final frame; assists went to Jasper Holenski and Daniel Slemin. Neither team was willing to give in during the overtime period with both teams coming away with a single point to start the series. Sebastien Soczka played a strong game in net for Orillia
Game 2 proved to be another tough contest between the two teams. In what was a penalty-filled game, the Rebellion were able to get things started with a goal in the second period. Orillia didn’t respond until the beginning of the third period with Balkwill scoring his second goal of the series. Owen Parro was strong on defence throughout the game. With the game going into overtime for the second game in a row Orillia was able to take control of the play. Evan King took a shot from the corner that made its way through traffic and found the back of the net, giving Orillia the 2-1 win. Ben Brodie made some timely saves throughout the game to aid in Orillia’s victory.
Orillia carried their momentum into Game 3, coming out with a one-sided victory, winning 5-1 at home. Slemin opened the scoring in the second period with assists coming from Lukas Palero and Holenski. Andrew Billinger’s forechecking helped create many offensive opportunities for Orillia. Passing the puck well, Orillia’s Balkwill opened the scoring in the third with his first of two goals in the period, with assists from Ryley Black and Layton Assance. The third period proved to be Orillia's strongest with another two goals coming from Gordon Allen. Assists in in the third period came from Assance, Balkwill (2), Caleb Sawyer, and Cole Eckstein (2).
Sunday's wintry weather postponed the weekend game and the Terriers found themselves travelling to King City on Tuesday night, for a game they hoped would end the series. Throughout the game Peyton Hopkins created some great scoring chances. After regulation play, and a game-tying goal by Slemin (with assists to Danika Tindale and King) in the second, the Terriers and Rebellion once again needed overtime. After a strategic timeout called by Orillia head coach Jeff Hopkins, Orillia was determined to finish off the series. With 3:24 left in overtime, Allen came off the bench to score the series-winning goal.
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