Chill in first

The playoff recipe is simple: win four times and the Thunder Bay Chill are guaranteed in.

They took their first step toward that goal on Tuesday night, riding a pair of Brandon Swartzendruber goals to a relatively easy 3-0 win over the visiting WSA Winnipeg, taking over top spot in the Heartland Division in the process.

The Chill (10-2-1) also got a late goal from Anthony Putrus, a beautiful header off a cross from substitute Cody Shelton.

Swartzendruber, despite the margin of victory, said the team needs a better effort on Wednesday when the two teams hook up for a final time in 2011.

“We had trouble tonight in the attacking third connecting passes and finding each other. I think that really limited our chances. We still found the net three times, but we’re a little disappointed in our performance,” he said, having upped his goal total to eight this summer, well off his league-leading pace of a year ago.

“Tomorrow is another day, and hopefully we’ll come back and play a little better.”
The Chill have every right to feel a little fatigued. The game, their first at home since June 18, was their seventh in 11 days.

They went 4-1-1 on their recent road trip, but it took its toll, he said.

“Guys aren’t 100 per cent. But it’s games like this you’ve got to fight through to prepare for playoffs. It’s just big games. We need to fight through the injuries and play hard and finish our chances when we get them.”

It didn’t help that striker Gustavo Oliveira was on the sidelines, serving the first game of a two-game suspension, accrued against Colorado when he smacked an opponent after a particularly hard tackle.

But Chill coach Tony Colistro wasn’t making excuses, acknowledging the sluggishness, but nonetheless happy knowing the team controls its own destiny from here on in.

“Obviously it’s a tight race, so every game is important for us,” Colistro said. “Our biggest concern right now is managing through this next game tomorrow with the legs we have.”

As always, he’s not stressed at the lack of finish, despite numerous chances to put the game away early, including a first-half missed by Swartzendruber, Putrus and Skandar Babay.

“When you’re fatigued sometimes you’re not as sharp with your shots and things and it’s difficult. You can definitely see there is a bit of fatigue in the striker’s legs, with the way they’re hitting the ball. So we were glad we got the one goal up very early.

“These guys are very dangerous with the counterattacks and their set plays. That’s what got us in Winnipeg (a 3-0 loss earlier this season). So we had to be aware of that in the second half. It was nice to get the two insurance goals.”

Swartzendruber tallied first, heading a cross-crease pass from Nolan Intermoia in the 12th minute. Winnipeg (3-11-1) had its best chance to score in the 36th, when Kenny Sacramento headed a Jonathan Hernandez cross just over the net and the outstretched arms of Chill keeper Stephen Paterson, who recorded his sixth shutout.  

Swartzendruber was stuffed by Winnipeg goalie Alexander Gladstone in the 75th minute, but three minutes later the Chill’s leading scorer tapped in a pass from Putrus to double the Thunder Bay lead and put the game away.

Putrus’s tally came in the 90th minute.