The Millionaires arrived at the Thistles' arena with a chance to sweep the series and win the Creighton Cup in just their second year of existence. Did they pull it off? Boy howdy, they did not.
The first period started slowly, and over five minutes of play elapsed before either team recorded a shot on goal. By the middle of the frame, however, the Thistles were starting to pick up the pace and get the puck on net. They capitalized when Moose Goheen scored for the second consecutive game after being a healthy scratch in Game 1.
It was 1-0 in favor of the Thistles to start the second period. The Millionaires' offense continued to struggle, and a rash of penalties certainly didn't help. They killed off every Thistles power play, but elite players like Barney Stanley and Graham Drinkwater languished on the bench while the penalty-killing unit was on the ice. Later, a goal from sniping winger Alf Smith gave the Thistles a 2-0 lead, and then defenseman Hod Stuart scored near the end of the frame. As the second period came to a close with the Thistles on top 3-0, it was obvious that the Millies would not sweep their way to a championship.
Tommy Phillips scored early in the third to increase the lead to 4-0. The visitors could muster very little offense against Riley Hern and remained off the scoresheet until a late penalty to Fred Whitcroft gave them their first and only power play of the game. Jimmy Gardner scored to spoil Hern's shutout bid, but the game ended 4-1 for the Thistles, allowing Hern to secure his first-ever postseason victory. The series is now 2-1 in favor of the Millies, who will get a second chance to close things out at home in Game 4.
No comments:
Post a Comment