Tisdale Trojans center Trenton Curtis (right) battles for a puck during his team's 6-4 loss to the Calgary Buffaloes. (Twitter/@HC_TELUSCup)

By Aaron Schulze

Must Win Situation

Trojans’ Telus Cup dreams hanging in the balance on Friday

Apr 25, 2019 | 6:12 PM

The Tisdale Trojans were optimistic before being brought back with the rest of the pack in Thunder Bay for the Telus Cup national midget hockey championship.

After a 2-0 shutout over the Halifax Macs where goaltender Tanner Martin stopped 18 shots and centre Jayden Wiens scored twice, the Trojans entered their game on April 25 against the dynamic Calgary Buffaloes with one goal: Win and they’re in the Telus Cup semifinals.

Thirty-three seconds into the game, it appeared win and in wasn’t going to be easy. Buffaloes’ forward Heath Armstrong intercepted a pass in the Trojans’ zone and rifled the puck in to make it 1-0.

The first period and the game itself seemed to be snowballing enough for Trojans Head Coach Darrell Mann to use his timeout eight minutes in.

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“Just to get us refocused, back to working hard, realizing what the task at hand is,” Mann told northeastNOW. “You get into a game like this and Calgary’s a skilled hockey team; they kind of lured us into that. We’re a team that’s not going to be able to run and gun with some of the big boys here.”

The Trojans appeared to get back to their game until they surrendered a shorthanded to Buffaloes’ forward Carter King with over a minute remaining.

However, two blasts from defencemen as the points 16 seconds apart – one from Zac Robins and another from Landon Kosior that was tipped by Dawson Schaff – and the Trojans suddenly tied the game.

Early in the second, signs showed the Trojans were turning the game into their favour with Kalen Ukrainetz giving Tisdale the lead with a backhand shot nearly two minutes in. Even when the Buffaloes tied it quickly 3-3, MacKenzie Carson poked home a loose puck after a Luke Arndt wrist shot from the point, and the Trojans led 4-3 after two.

Nearly halfway through the third period, it looked as if the Trojans would hold on to a one-goal lead, just like they did the previous night against Halifax.

However, the issues which surrounded the Trojans earlier in the game came back for the end.

Buffaloes defenceman Sam Witt wristed a shot through Trojans goaltender Bryson Garton from the blue line, and the game was tied 4-4.

The Trojans had a glorious chance to respond right after on the powerplay, but the Buffaloes stunned them with a shorthanded goal just 18 seconds into the man advantage. Robins had an opportunity to exit his zone behind the net, although King stripped him of the puck and centred for Justin Ross.

Buffaloes’ forward Dylan James scored an insurance goal with under two minutes to play as the Trojans fell 6-4.

Mann said postgame it looked as if thing were going to be okay in the third period.

“For whatever reason, we weren’t sharp,” Mann said. “You could tell from the get-go that it was going to be a struggle right from the finish. We had struggled with keeping a third man high and keeping them out of the neutral zone. They came at us with speed and finally tied it up, then they get the shorthanded goal to beat us on a play where we had an opportunity to move the puck and we didn’t.

“We talk about it lots, [this game] should hurt for about an hour and then we need to get ourselves refocused.”

Day Four Standings (as of publication time)

1. Magog Cantonniers (Quebec) 4-0-0 8 points +12 GD (16 GF 4 GA)

T-2. Calgary Buffaloes (Pacific) 2-2-0 4 points +2 GD (16 GF 14 GA)

T-2. Toronto Young Nationals (Central) 2-2-0 -1 GD (8 GF 9 GA)

T-2. Tisdale Trojans (West) 2-2-0 4 points -4 GD (10 GF 14 GA)

5. Halifax Macs (Atlantic) 1-2-0 2 points -3 GD (3 GF 6 GA)

6. Thunder Bay Kings (Host) 0-3-0 0 points -6 GD (8 GF 14 GA)

Five teams will fight for the three remaining Telus Cup semi-final spots.

The Magog Cantonniers and their perfect 4-0 record clinched their spot with a 4-1 win over the Toronto Young Nationals, the same team the Trojans will play in their final round robin game.

Friday’s situation is just like Thursday’s. If the Trojans win, they’re in.

A win against Toronto would give the Trojans three wins in round robin play, a number the Young Nationals wouldn’t be able to reach after, a number the Thunder Bay Kings cannot reach, and a number the Halifax Macs may not reach if they lose to the Kings later on April 25 or against the Buffaloes on Friday.

Mann expects the fight of their team’s life against the Toronto Young Nationals in their final round robin game.

“They’re a team that works really hard,” he said. “They’ve got some skill up front and have two good goaltenders. It’s going to be a game again where we’re going to have to control what’s being done out there and hopefully get into our kind of rhythm.”

If the Trojans fall to the Young Nationals their record will be 2-3-0 and would most likely depend on other teams to help them advance to the semifinals. The Telus Cup tiebreaking procedure between two teams with an identical is whoever won the head-to-head match up in round robin play.

However, between three or more teams would go to the greatest goal differential, which the Trojans sit second worst in round robin play.

The Trojans play their final round robin game against the Toronto Young Nationals on Friday, April 26 at 9 a.m. SCT.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow