Eldo train rolling through the playoffs

Championship Thursday night at 9 p.m.

It is go time in town league hockey people. Well at least for six teams. The regular season wrapped up last week and due to playoff structuring, six teams qualified for a shot at the 2013 title while the bottom four teams were relegated to the battle for the Toilet Bowl.

The Brick Oven tore the league a new one in the final weeks of the regular season rattling off six wins in a row to enter the post season the number one seed. But it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the defending town league champions playing with a target on their jerseys in the playoffs.
They suffered a hiccup in the first round of pool play when Mikey’s Pizza tied them 1-1 and then dodged a bullet Tuesday night when they slipped past the Last Steep 3-2.
Meanwhile in the other pool, Dragon Sheet Metal, who finished the regular season in second place, barely edged out a 5-4 win over the Talk of the Town scoring on a face off in the finals 20 seconds only to lose to the Eldo 5-4 in their second game of pool play.
That win by the Eldo set them up for a shot at the title as they took the ice against the Talk of the Town in a classic Barmuda Triangle bar brawl Tuesday, March 5.
A win for the Eldo would seal their spot in the championship; a loss could throw the entire pool into flux.
Meanwhile, if the Talk were to win, they could keep their title hopes alive.
It was anyone’s game before the puck dropped with both teams missing key players in their line up. Guy Ciulla was still recovering from a spinal injury scare four weeks ago and Kevin Bramwell was unable to suit up for the Talk.
The two teams played through some sloppy hockey in the first period with both squads skating noticeably directionless.
But as the second period progressed, both teams stepped up the pace bringing the game to a whole new level.
Three minutes into the second period the Eldo started pressing hard pinning the Talk in their defensive zone. With the entire Talk of the Town team collapsed in front of their net, the Eldo pushed the puck out to Gesa Michel at the point. Michel took her time to find a seam through the flesh mass in front of the net and fired a shot. Matt Nilson made the initial save but Howard Tuthill was there to stuff the rebound and give the Eldo a 1-0 lead.
The Talk responded with inspired play as Jake Sunter and Rob Bramwell started pushing the puck up ice with solo efforts and Pete Sowar charging hard in the offensive zone.
With two minutes left in the second period, the effort finally paid off when Tyler Hammer skated inside the blue line to fire a shot. The puck hit off the stick of an Eldo defenseman and dropped just over Brad Bodell’s shoulder to careen off the crossbar and into the net tying the game 1-1 heading into the third period.
Not sure what was said and by whom on the Eldo bench between periods but the team came out firing. Nilson pulled off a couple big saves and when the Talk countered, Bodell did the same.
The teams remained in a 1-1 tie until the seventh minute when the Eldo erupted for two goals. Tuthill fed Milo Wynne charging in off the point and Wynne blasted a wrist shot just inside the post for a 2-1 lead. Fourteen seconds later Tuthill tipped a shot by Chris Thompson for his second goal of the game and a 3-1 Eldo lead.
The third goal broke the back of the Talk of the Town as they played the final three minutes relatively uninspired while the Eldo skated to the win and earn a birth to the town league finals on Thursday, March 7 at Big Mine Ice Arena at 9 p.m.