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Crushers ready for regular season
Friday September 5 2008
By MIKE RAWN Banner Staff Writer
 
After tearing through their exhibition schedule, the Orangeville Crushers are ready to play some games that mean something.
The Crushers won their first seven Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League pre-season games, including a 5-3 win over Bramalea on Tuesday at the Alder
Street recreation centre. The Crushers concluded their exhibition schedule with a game against Whitby last night (Thursday). Results were unavailable at press time.
“We played sluggish all night, but we found a way to win,” Crushers coach Dale Hawerchuk said after the Bramalea game. “We played just hungry and smart enough. I’m hoping we’ll get a better effort this weekend, which I’m sure we will. I think they’re anxious to get going. They want to play a real game.”
The Crushers opened the scoring against Bramalea with Tyler Turcotte’s power play goal 46 seconds into the game. Orangeville’s strong special teams play continued in the middle frame, when Steven Beyers scored on a breakaway while shorthanded to give the home side a 2-0 lead.
“I got lucky on a shorthanded break,” Beyers explained about the goal.
“Their defence lost control of the puck … the goalie was too far out of the net and I decided to deke.”
In a wild sequence late in the second period, the Crushers moved the puck out of their zone after a scramble in front of the Orangeville net. Robert Visca sent Nicholas Vassos in alone on a breakaway, and Vassos didn’t make any mistakes burying the puck. Except the referee ruled that Bramalea had scored prior to the Vassos goal, and instead of a 3-0 lead Orangeville led 2-1.
“[The referee] said it went in the net,” Hawerchuk said about the controversial play. “Everybody down there said it didn’t go in … It was a bit of a wake-up call.”
The Crushers responded quickly, when Jarred Martin’s slap shot from the point found the back of the net to restore the two-goal lead with 25 seconds left in the period. After Bramalea’s Mike Hawkrigg scored to make it 4-3, Vassos would get his goal three minutes later. Justin Cormack put the game away with an empty net
goal late in the period. Bramalea added a goal in the dying seconds of the game.
The Crushers open the regular season at home tonight (Friday) against division rival Seguin. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at the Alder Street recreation centre, and Hawerchuk is hoping for a large crowd at the home opener.
“As a team there’s not much more we can do. We went undefeated in the pre-season. This will be an exciting year to become a Crusher fan, that’s for sure.”