BUZZERS ARE OJHL CHAMPIONS!

Press Release

Game seven, winner-take-all, one game for all the marbles....no matter what you call it, it's one of the most exciting games in sports.  Sunday afternoon at one of the most historic buildings in Canada, St. Michael's College School Arena, the hometown St. Michael's Buzzers squared off against the Newmarket Hurricanes to decide who would hoist the Buckland Cup as OJHL champions in 2012-13.

Playing the heroes role would be players at opposite ends of their junior careers.  OJHL playoff leading scorer Shane Conacher would score the third period, championship-winning goal, while 15-year old Mitch Marner notched a pair of goals en route to the Buzzers 3-1 victory.

The final two teams standing in the OJHL battled right down to the final buzzer before a champion was

decided.  The Buzzers got the early jump as midget-phenom and London Knights first round pick Mitch

Marner buried his third of the playoffs with Matt Buckles and Michael Neville recording the assists just 1:10 into the game.  With the two clubs trading end-to-end opportunities, Newmarket got on the board just over 10 minutes later as Ryan Johnson notched his fourth with rookie defenceman and OJHL Fan Favourite Award winner Travis Dermott earning the assist.  The penalty-free period saw the Hurricanes outshoot the Buzzers 19-14 in front of a capacity, jam-packed crowd of 1,473 spectators.

The two stars of the series, Adrian Ignagni of the St. Michael's Buzzers and Matthew Wintjes of the Newmarket Hurricanes, continued their impressive play in the second and no matter the outcome of the series, both have extremely bright futures in the game.  The only two penalties of the game would be called in the second, including a costly Checking from Behind penalty to OJHL Top Prospect Matt Buckles that saw him also receive a game misconduct.  The scoreless frame saw the Buzzers outshoot the Hurricanes 17-12.

Nervous apprehension and tension filled the air the Barn on Bathurst as the two clubs returned for the start of the third period knotted at one, but it was the home side, spurred on by their faithful, that got the early jump.  Just two and a half minutes into the period, Conacher snapped home his 14th of the post-season high over Wintjes for the eventual game winner and a 2-1 lead.  Fifty-nine seconds later, Marner was at it again, burying his second of the game to give the double-blue a commanding two goal lead and send the crowd into hysterics.  With their season on the line, the 'Canes continued their never-say-die effort right up until the final seconds ticked down, outshooting the Buzzers 13-10 in the third and 44-41 overall.

The Buzzers mobbed Ignagni as the clock counted down the final seconds with a scrum in the corner to his right.  St. Michael's becomes OJHL champion and winners of the Frank L. Buckland Trophy (Buckland Cup) for the first time since 2005-06 and third time in franchise history (also won in 2004-05).

Shane Conacher proved to be a valuable trade acquisition as he was named the first-ever recipient of the newly-minted Brent Ladds Trophy as the Playoff's Most Valuable Player, after leading all scorers with 35 points and factoring in on eight of the club's 16 game-winning goals during the post-season, scoring the championship-winner himself.

Ignagni with another masterful performance between the pipes, stopping 43 shots was named the game's first star with Conacher named star number two and Marner star number three.

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)