The Hamilton Kilty B’s beat the buzzer in the second period, scoring the go-ahead goal with just two seconds remaining in the middle frame to take a 3-2 over the Niagara Falls Canucks, which would be the final score in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series.
It looked as though we were in for a repeat of Game 1, which so the teams head into the third period tied at two, before Dylan Abbamont smacked home a juicy rebound to put Hamilton up for good.
The Kilty B’s came out of the gates fast, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes and nullifying any home-ice advantage Niagara Falls had early.
Justin Monteith broke through first, winning a one-on-one battle with a Canucks defender in front of the net and jamming home the rebound for his first of the playoffs. A couple of minutes later, Nathan Phillips continued his hot start to the postseason with a shot off the rush that fooled the Niagara Falls goalie up high, giving Hamilton a 2-0 advantage.
But just after the midway point of the period, Canucks leading scorer Matthew Riva cut that lead in half with his second goal in as many games.
Six minutes after the first intermission Xavier Moura evened the game at two, and things looked like they would hold that way going into the third.
But just before the break, Matthew Duarte found himself on a two-on-one rush with Abbamont across the ice on his left. He took a perfectly placed shot off low and off the pad of the Niagara Falls goalie, Stephen Giansante, and ricocheting right onto the stick of the waiting Abbamont for the game-winning goal.
Braedyn McIntosh continued his solid play in the Hamilton crease, stopping 25 of the 27 shots he faced on the night – and most importantly, all eight the Canucks sent his way in the third period, holding the fort and sealing the victory.
