DAN CEARNS The Standard
SCUGOG: The Port Perry Lumberjacks fell harder than a tree in a game against the Clarington Eagles at Scugog Arena on Sunday, September 24th.
It didn’t take long for the Eagles to get the first lead of the game. Less than a minute and a half into the first period, the Lumberjacks were unable to clear the puck from the net and the Eagles banged in a rebound. About two minutes later, former Lumberjack Brayden Roberts scored to extend the deficit to 2-0. The Eagles would add a goal later in the period, and Port Perry trailed 3-0 after 20 minutes of play.
After allowing three goals on 14 shots, the Lumberjacks decided to take goaltender Gavin Bradt out of the net in the second period and replace him with Vann Kulba. The change seemed to give the team an early spark, as Zach Caron shot a puck through the legs of the Clarington goaltender and into the net. But two goals shortly afterwards, a bit over a minute apart, gave Clarington a commanding 5-1 lead. Past the halfway mark of the period, the Eagles would strike again, extending the deficit to 6-1. Using another of the tools in his toolbox, coach Ryan Connolly utilized a timeout to try to get some more life into his roster following this goal. Nearly two minutes after that goal was scored, Andrew Naccarato-Soule capitalized on a Lumberjacks power play to score his first goal as a Lumberjack. 56 seconds later, the Eagles would score their own power play goal, and it was a 7-2 game after 40 minutes of play.
Two and a half minutes into the third period, the Eagles would put another puck past Kulba, making it an 8-2 game. About three and a half minutes later, another Clarington goal was scored, and the deficit was at a mountainous 9-2 mark. Eight and a half minutes into the period, tensions reached a breaking point. Multiple fights broke out, with penalties for inciting or fighting being delivered to Lumberjacks Aaron Dawson, David Durbano, Dale Faubert and Cameron Marshall. The Eagles were forced to change goaltenders as their goaltender was one of the players who joined one of the fights. The Eagles would add one more goal later in the period, and Port Perry lost 10-2.
One Timers:
- The Lumberjacks will look for some redemption when they face the Uxbridge Bruins in Uxbridge on Friday, September 29th. That game will start at 7:45 p.m.
- The Lumberjacks open the month of October hosting the North Kawartha Knights at Scugog Arena on Sunday, October 1st. The game will get underway at 2:25 p.m.