In their most complete game yet, the Heartland Red Liners stood their ground and grinded out a 1-0 victory against the always tough Jokerit. Coming into this game, the Liners decisively beat the Polar Vortex in their first playoff game. Jokerit had a bye because of their 13-3-1 record. They also had a 46 goal scoring differential.The Liners’ only real previous matchup against Jokerit was a 4-0 loss. But Captain Seck used an aggressive forechecking with quick line changes while using the defense as another forward player to keep the pressure on the Jokerit goalie, arguably their best player.
The first period started and ended with both teams scoreless. ThomThom did beat the Jokerit netminder but hit the post. Rocket was playing solid in front of his net and sucking up all nearby pucks. The second period was a bit more back and forth. The Liners did successfully kill a penalty but they could not capitalize on their power play. But Whammy Sammy would get the game’s only goal midway through the period. Javi-Bulin fired a slapshot from the blueline. The rebounded puck went wide but Sammy quickly slid it back just behind the goalie.
The third period had the Liners still attacking Jokerit. But as the minutes ticked off, the forwards began to play in a more defensive mode. The tension peaked on back to back powerplays that resulted in a 6-3 (pulling their goalie) for one minute. Stengy, Javi, Morty, and Rocket beautifully blocked shots and dumped pucks to kill the penalty. The guys in red would break out in a cheer as the final seconds ticked off.
With this stunning victory, they finally displayed a full team effort. The players have come a long way from their first practices 2 years ago. They now move onto the championship game (Tuesday, Aug 25 at 9:50pm) against the Whalers who upset the Ice Hawks.