LATE SURGE LEADS ST CATHARINES ATHLETICS OVER BURLINGTON BLAZE

Both the St Catharines Athletics and Burlington Blaze closed out their regular season schedules inside ‘The Oven’ on Monday night. In what could be a preview of the first-round playoff matchup, the game was tight until a late third period run from the A’s, who win 11-9.

The usual suspects all scored in the early going – Will MacLeod and Alex Marinier for Burlington and Keaton Zavitz and Zackary Toll for St Catharines. To close out the period, however, it was all Blaze. The defending Minto Cup champions scored four times, from four different players in the final five minutes of the first to lead 6-2.

The run chased Oliver Vanyo, although just for the final 51 seconds of the first. He returned at the start of the second and allowed just three goals the rest of the way (from 27 shots). Five minutes into the third, the Athletics scored three times in 3:30 to pull within one. Thunder Hill started the stretch on the power play, followed by Tye Steenhuis and Keaton Kavitz shorthanded. Zavitz would score twice more before the end of the second, to one from Xander Derkatz, ending the second tied 7-7.

When Burlington took a lead thanks to Sawyer English with just under eight minutes to play, the A’s closed it out with three goals in the final four minutes. Colton Armitage, Thunder Hill and Steenhuis all scored capping an 11-9 win for St Catharines.

Keaton Zavitz five goals set a new career high, part of eight points. Thunder Hill (2+3) and Tye Steenhuis (2+3) each had five points, while Christian Lefeuvre added four assists.

Will MacLeod (1+5) and Chuck Rawson (1+5) each had six points for Burlington. MacLeod’s total was enough to put him atop the OJLL points leaderboard, one ahead of Orangeville’s Joey Spallina (110 in 15 games), with one still to play. Alex Marinier (2+3) and Xander Derkatz (2+0) were the only two Blaze players with multiple goals.