Home ice proved to be anything but an advantage for the Richmond Sockeyes in the Pacific Junior Hockey League playoffs.
Cale Dolan made 44 saves to lead the No. 6 seed Grandview Steelers to a series-clinching 3-1 game five win over the No. 3 seed Sockeyes on Thursday night at Minoru Arenas. Grandview won all three games in Richmond during the best-of-seven quarter-final affair.
Dolan made 41 stops in Grandview’s 3-2 game three overtime win on Monday at Minoru which proved to be the turning point of the series. The Steelers then produced a 5-4 triumph at the Burnaby Winter Club on Wednesday to set the stage for game five.
The frustrated Sockeyes outshot Grandview by a combined 88-48 margin in those games at Minoru and came away empty handed.
A pair of goals from Tomislav Zlomislic gave the Steelers a 2-0 second period lead in game five before Isaac Embree replied for the Sockeyes with the power play goal. The 20-year-old bravely made his playoff debut on an injured knee that was expected to keep him out of the line-up for an extended period.
Ethan Reilly then scored a huge man advantage goal for the visitors with just four seconds remaining in the middle frame. Richmond enjoyed a 15-5 advantage in shots over the final 20 minutes but could not score again.
Although the teams finished 15 points apart in the regular season, they split the four league meetings.
Grandview has also proven to be pain to the Sockeyes in the playoffs. This marks the fourth time in five years the Steelers have bounced them from the post-season in the opening round.
The loss means the final game for a number of graduating players including captain Matthew Brown, assistant Jake Keremidschieff and Devon Vorster — the three remaining members from last season’s Cyclone Taylor Cup winning team.
