The Saugeen Shores Winterhawks found out the hard way how quickly the Clinton Radars can strike.
Clinton flexed their muscles early in Game 1, scoring four times before the game was eight minutes old.
Tyler Doig scored at 1:06, followed by Davis Brown scoring two goals 15-seconds apart at 5:15 and 5:30, and then Kurtis Bartliff unassisted at 7:42 to give Clinton a 4-0 lead.
Zach Graham extended the Clinton lead to 5-0 early in the 2nd period.
There was some reason for optimism, as Miles MacLean got the Winterhawks on the board with one second left in the 2nd period, scoring a shorthanded goal, assisted by Jay Thomson.
Things got a little heated in the 3rd period, as Connor Patton scored unassisted at 7:28, with Clinton goalie Greg Dodds ejected after receiving a match penalty in an ensuing scuffle.
Clinton picked up a minor penalty a few seconds later, but despite the full two-minute 5-on-3 advantage, the Winterhawks couldn’t find a way to get any closer, making it a 5-2 final for Clinton.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series comes to The Plex tonight [Saturday] at 6:00 p.m.
with files from winterhawks.net
