Mar 07, 2020 | Julie Gorman | 507 views
Hardman's Hatrick Leads Rebels to Incredible Comeback
In a pivotal playoff game Friday night the Power Worker's Union Midget Boys Local League Rebels staged an amazing come from behind 3-2 win over the visiting Bruce Peninsula Northstars.
The boys had their work cut out for them as they faced the Northstars for the fourth and final time this year. It was simple they needed to win to keep their chances alive to win the group and move on to the WOAA final series.
The boys did not get off to the best of starts again and the Northstars scored on a point shot at 9:18 of the first period. It was a back and forth game after that with neither team able to push the puck into the net. The first period ended with the score 1-0 and the second period saw no one score as DJ Gambe and the Bruce Pen goalie were both on their games. After the break the boys came out with their work cut out for them as early in the third the Northstars were able to beat Gamble to go up by two. In spite of many chances and power play opportunities the boys were having trouble beating the Northstar's net minder.
With 1:25 left in the game the Northstars took a tripping penalty and with the man advantage the Rebels pulled Gamble and with 52 seconds left Chris Hardman blasted a beauty one-timer into the net. Great setup from Landon Heathers and Daniel Mustard. There was a glimmer of hope and the Rebels got the boost they needed. They won the draw and manged to get the puck in deep only to have the Northstars clear it from their zone. The Rebels regrouped for another push into the Bruce Pen zone and again Gamble was pulled for the extra attacker. Hardman gave an awe inspiring effort and muscled his way through to tie the game with just 15 seconds left. We were headed to overtime for the second straight game.
The extra period was very tense and both teams were playing well. The Rebels took a tripping penalty in the first minute and were short early in OT. It did not look good, but DJ Gamble came up big and the penalty was killed successfully. The effort on the PK gave the boys another boost and they began to take control of the play. At 5:45 of overtime Hardman completed the amazing comeback and his hat trick as he deflected a shot from Wes Houston into the back of the net. What an incredible finish to the game. We are so proud of the boys for staying with it and giving such a great effort. Way to go Rebels!!.
The boys look to keep the momentum going into Sunday as they take on Hanover in Markdale at 12:30.