THUNDER BAY – Coming off two losses, the Northwest Explorers had every reason to hang their heads.
Instead, they came out firing on Monday morning, scoring three goals in a three-minute span in the second period and cruised to a 6-2 win over Ottawa Myers Automotive to capture the bronze medal in hockey at the Ontario Winter Games at Fort William Gardens.
Mason Glousher, who scored on the Explorers' first shot of the second period, nearly nine minutes in to make it 3-1 for the hometown squad, said it’s an amazing feeling capturing bronze, despite the disappointment of Sunday’s semifinal loss to the Credit City Capitals.
“It feels great. All our teammates were working hard and we couldn’t do it without the goalie,” said Glousher, the younger brother of Thunder Bay North Stars forward Easton Glousher.
“Our goalie stood on his head the whole time and everyone was just doing the right thing.”
The goaltender, Kainaan Macgillivray, stopped all but two of the 25 shots he faced, helped out by a couple of Ottawa shots that rang off the iron.
He was a rock all weekend, said Explorers coach Ed Atwill, who had all of three practices with the squad before the Games began on Saturday.
“All weekend he’s been great,” Atwill said.
"Coach Walt (Keating) did a great job with (the goalies), just on focusing and things like that. They responded very well.”
Atwill said the message to the team was short and sweet after Sunday night’s 3-2 loss.
“I just said to them, it’s a home crowd, we need to come out and put that game aside, come tomorrow and play with some pride. Being 13-year-olds, they have short memories, so they came out and we had another quick start,” Atwill said.
Forward Owen Trevisanutto, who finished the tournament with four goals, will remember this one for quite some time, however.
“It feels amazing. All the boys worked hard to get this. We just made our team last week, or whatever. We had a couple of practices and we just all worked hard to get these medals.”
Defenceman Gavin Godick opened the scoring for the Explorers, his shot along the ice appearing to be redirected past Ottawa goaltender Everitt Marin at 8:47 of the first.
Ottawa tied it up with 5:08 to play in the opening period, Logan Prud’homme lifting a backhand from the crease past Macgillivray, after teammate Brady Latreille kept the play alive at the blue line.
Northwest took the lead for good in the final two minutes of the period as Sullivan Bowen went top corner on Marin.
The Explorers struggled to produce any offence in the first half of the second, but opened the floodgates with their first shot of the period, Glousher finishing a 2-on-1 with Tory Velhuisen, who slipped him the puck and caught Marin going the wrong way.
Thirty-four seconds later Bodnar’s shot was tipped into the net by an Ottawa defender and a minute-and-a-half later, Williamson put the game out of reach, tucking home a Glousher pass from the side boards.
Trevisanutto and Ottawa’s Kyson McMillan traded goals in the third.
“It feels great, after the disappointing loss yesterday with a one-goal lead with about six minutes left. I thought the kids came out and played a really solid game today. I think it was one of our better games of the tournament,” Atwill said.
“I’m very happy for them, I thought they did a wonderful job today.”
The Credit River Capitals won gold on Monday, edging Team NOHA 3-2. Noah Janeiro, who scored the semfinal winner against the Explorers, did it again in the final, breaking a 2-2 tie early in the third.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Northwest, Godick (unassisted) 7:10. 2. Myers Auto, Goodfellow (Latreille) 9:52. 3. Northwest, Bowen (Veldhuisen) 13:05. Penalties: Schulz MYA (interference) 7:10,
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Northwest, Glousher (Veldhuisen, Pucci) 8:49. 5. Northwest, Bodnar (unassisted) 9:23. 6. Northwest, Williamson (Glousher, Maxwell) 11:48. Penalties:
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 7. Northwest, Trevisanutto 4 (Voortman, Disher) 6:44. 8. Myers Auto, Marshall (Goodfellow), 8:55. Penalties: Disher NWE (head contact), Nichele MYA (slashing) 12:49,
GAME DATA – SOG – Ottawa 8-6-11-25, Northwest 7-7-6-20; Power plays (goals-chances) – Ottawa (0-1), Northwest (0-2); Goaltenders – Ottawa: Everett Marin, Northwest: Kainaan Macgillivray
