Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Corbin Gibson scored with just 1.6 seconds to spare in regulation, prolonging the game long enough for the NDSS Golden Hawks hockey team to steal a 6-5 shootout victory over the Regiopolis-Notre Dame Panthers in Monday’s KASSAA league action in Napanee.
“We’ve played them three previous times in a row, they’ve all gone to overtime,” Hawks head coach Jeff Birchard said of facing the Panthers. “That’s the first one we’ve won (in four tries). That’s not bad to finally get one on them. It’s been awhile.”
NDSS looked to be in control of the game midway through the second, building a 3-1 advantage on a pair of goals from Connor Brooks and one from Marshall McFarland.
The game’s momentum seemed to turn on a dime however, as Regi responded mere seconds after Napanee’s third goal, igniting a string of four unanswered goals to go up 5-3 early in the third.
Brooks completed the hat trick with 4:41 left in the game to shave the deficit to 5-4 and the Hawks pulled their goalie in the final seconds in favour of an extra skater, which allowed Gibson to score the crucial game tying goal just ahead of the buzzer.
“We were waiting for someone to actually shoot on net there,” said Birchard. “Just 1.6 seconds, holy man. But that’s what you (pull the goalie) for. They could have very well scored down here, that was close.”
In the shootout McFarland, Gibson and Ben White were all successful while Nolan Hatch stopped two of three shooters to secure the win.
NDSS moved to 2-0 on the season with the win. They’ll next face Sydenham at the SPC on Monday at 2:30 p.m.
NDSS’ girls hockey team opened their KASSAA season with a 7-0 victory over Ernestown on Dec. 5. They took on La Salle yesterday afternoon. Results weren’t known at press time. They face Frontenac on the road this afternoon in their final KASSAA game of 2017.