Andy Mitchell scored twice, including the game winner as the Saugeen Shores Winterhawks drew even in their WOAA Sr. AA semifinal series with the Mapleton-Minto 81's.
Mitchell struck shorthanded with just over five minutes remaining to give the Winterhawks a 3-2 win in Game 2 on Saturday night at The Plex.
It appeared the Winterhawks would jump out to an early lead when they found themselves on a 5-on-3 powerplay two minutes into the game, but Jason Hamilton shut the door in the 81's net to keep things scoreless.
Blake Sinclair was equal to the task, looking sharp early on in the Winterhawks net.
The Winterhawks did eventually find the back of the net at 16:11 of the 1st, as Josh Jackson fed a pass over to Mitchell at the side of the net, beating Hamilton to put the home side on the board.
Greg Wardell extended the lead to 2-0 at 3:55 of the 2nd, when a strange bounce off the back boards eventually found its way to Wardell's stick, with assists to Chris King and Justin Ainslie.
Jake Pleon got the 81's on the board just shy of two minutes later, when he slid the puck under Sinclair on an odd-man rush, cutting the Winterhawks lead to 2-1.
Mapleton-Minto pressed hard for the equalizer throughout the 2nd period, but Sinclair was excellent, holding the 81's at bay.
Scott Tregunna eventually knotted the game at 2-2 when he picked up a rebound in the slot and beat Sinclair at 11:43 of the 3rd period.
Wardell was called for a elbowing late in the period, but rather than sit back on the penalty kill, the Winterhawks took it to the 81's.
Mitchell crashed into the 81's defender as they attempted to break out of their own zone and Blake Underwood managed to dig the puck free from along the boards, feeding Mitchell in front of the net, beating Hamilton with a wrist shot to send the fans home happy, making it a 3-2 final for the Winterhawks.
Mitchell was named The Wismer House Player of the Game for his two goal effort, while Sinclair made 33 saves for the win.
The best-of-seven series is now tied 1-1 and will resume next Friday night, March 4th, for Game 3 in Palmerston at 8:30 p.m., followed by Game 4 at The Plex on Saturday March 5th at 7:30 p.m.
with files from winterhawks.net.
