Ice hockey wide open after upsets

Press, 2 July 1986, Page 43

Ice hockey wide open after upsets

The Canterbury Ice Hockey competition became wide open at the week-end after the top teams lost to the two bottom teams in closely fought games. Redwings beat Bruins, 5-2, on the Friday night game, while Rangers just shaded the Islanders, 6-5, on Saturday. The Bruins, with its first-string goaltender absent,/ held the AWA Hitachi Redwings to a 1-0 lead until the third period, when they tied up the game 1-1. The Redwings, led by Steve Bowden and bolstered by solid goaltending from Frank Bari Well, applied consistent pressure to build up a threegoal lead, only to have the Bruins respond with an-

other goal. However, Redwings did not let up and scored another goal before the end. Scorers:— Redwings: S. Bowden 2, A. Berke, R. Keenan, R. O’Reilly. Bruins: S. Dowman, D. Banks. In the Saturday evening encounter, the Islanders and the Rangers played one of the most exciting matches of the year. The Rangers were led by Drew Britz, who scored five outstanding goals, while Gerard Bouwman replied with three goals for the Islanders. At the end of the first period, the Islanders enjoyed a 3-1 lead, but their opponents scored two unanswered goals in the second period to tie.

The Islanders scored again in the first minute of the third period, and held on to the 4-3 lead until late in the game when Britz turned the match around with three quick goals to give the Rangers a 6-4 lead. The Islanders fought back with another goal, and replaced their goaltender with another attacker in an attempt to tie the score. However, a penalty put paid to the side’s chances. For the Islanders the goalie, Rob Wilson, stopped 21 shots, while his opposite number, Greg Whitlow, only had to contend with 13 shots. Scorers:— Rangers: D. Britz 5, C. Roberts. Islanders: G. Bouwman 3, N. Kurbatoff 2.