Stay the course.
That’s about all the Richmond Sockeyes coaching staff can suggest after watching their team outplay the Grandview Steelers Monday night yet still find themselves trailing in the quarter-final playoff series.
Captain Mateo Coltellaro’s overtime goal off a weird bounce lifted the Steelers to a 3-2 game three win at Minoru Arenas. It gives Grandview a 2-1 lead in the Pacific Junior Hockey League best-of-seven affair with game four on Wednesday at the Burnaby Winter Club.
The Sockeyes dominated the final 40 minutes of regulation — outshooting the visitors by a 29-12 margin — but could only manage a second period equalizer from standout rookie Craig Schouten. They generated several glorious chances in the third as Grandview goaltender Cale Dolan came up with some key saves and got some luck with the goalpost too, setting the stage for Coltellaro’s heroics.
Dolan is the son of former Canadian national team soccer goalkeeper and Whitecaps analyst Paul Dolan.
It was the Steelers’ second straight overtime triumph at Minoru after ruining a Richmond comeback effort in the series opener with a 5-4 win. The Sockeyes then stormed back on Sunday night to even the series with a 5-2 victory at the BWC — scoring four times in the final six minutes to erase a 2-1 deficit.
It was a momentum changing result that somewhat carried over into game three yet Grandview found a way to win.
“They are an opportunistic team. You let them hang around and don’t capitalize on your scoring chances it can bite you,” said Sockeyes head coach Brett Reusch.
“We just got to keep sticking to the game plan. We are just trying get pucks deep and using our speed to force some turnovers. It’s tough to really change much when you outshoot them by a 2-to-1 margin. We need to bear down and get some secondary scoring.”
The Sockeyes impressive rookie trio of Marcus Pantazis, Brady Sprague and Schouten was the best line on the ice.
Schouten also netted his team’s opening goal and there easily could have been two or three more.
The teams are in the midst of playing four games in five nights with the hectic stretch concluding on Thursday at Minoru (7 p.m.) with game five. Game six is slated for next Sunday at BWC.
“We worked hard for all this and this is what we play for all season. We are prepared and we will see what we are made of,” added Reusch. “A little adversity doesn’t hurt especially the longer you go but we have to bounce back for sure.”
