Toronto Power Wheelchair Hockey League – M.D. Cup Playoff Championship Finals Week 1 Recap

Finals (Week 1) hosted one exciting Championship game – Kings (9-8-3) vs. Bulldogs (9-9-2).

Game 1 (Kings vs. Bulldogs)  With the Kings taking the Season series (2-1-1) the Bulldogs knew it wasn’t going to be easy.  We were hoping for a hotly contested  affair, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Period One began with a flurry of chances from both sides, the crowd was already on their feet and as expected the Keepers were standing on their heads.  It took until the 3:30 mark for someone to break the ice and it was the King’s Isaac Vescio (unassisted) who picked up a loose ball, at the top of the hash marks, in the Bulldog’s zone and bing bang boom it beat Bulldog’s Keeper Mohit Sharma 1-0 Kings.  With a lot of back and forth opportunities, it wasn’t until 10:35 when the Bulldogs used some tick tack toe (Jerry Mariano from Franco Paonessa and Meghan Hines) to negate the Bulldogs bing bang boom as they buried one behind the King’s Leo Xu and things were all tied up a 1-1.  The tie would hold to the end of the first frame.

Period Two saw the fever pace continue and at 2:40 it was the Bulldogs’ time to take the lead.  Franco Paonessa took a Jerry Mariano pass and slid it behind the King’s Leo Xu 2-1 Bulldogs.  At 7:25 the King’s drew back even (2-2) when David Donnelly  (unassisted) was the first to find the ball in a net-front scrum and tapped it past the Bulldog’s  Mohit Sharma.  Just shy of three minutes later (10:10) the King’s Isaac Vescio (unassisted) found another loose ball in the Bulldog’s zone and he made no mistake putting the Kings up 3-2.  The remaining five minutes of the second frame saw no changes to the scoreboard.

Period Three was going to tell the tale, and though it was not for lack of effort, the Bulldogs could not find an answer to the King’s offensive success. Some outstanding saves from the King’s Leo Xu seem to suck the wind from the Bulldog’s sails.  The King’s were to take advantage of their offensive momentum and another two goals (Isaac Vescio from Donnelly and Iacovone at 3:05 & an unassisted effort from David Donnelly at 10:49) sealed the win and the series lead for the Mighty Monarchs.  Final 5-2 Kings over Bulldogs.  Kings lead the Series 1-0.

On May 7th 2016, the  Playoffs continue with Finals Week 2 as the Bulldogs battle to stay alive and take on the Kings who could win it all in the Championship Finals! at Sunnyview Public School. Come watch the TPWHL next Saturday from 12:30 to 3:30 PM.