Scott Todd scores so rarely, he said he didn't even know how to celebrate his overtime winner Saturday night.
Todd, in his fifth and final season with the Windsor Lancers, fired a one-timer past a stunned Alex Dupuis in the Lakehead nets, delivering the series-winning goal with 26.5 seconds left in the first extra frame.
"I was just waiting for somebody else to start it," said Todd, a Kingston native and one-time teammate of departing Thunderwolves blueliner Mitch Maunu.
It was just his third goal all season, the seventh of his career.
"It felt amazing. I just saw the guys working it down low and all the Lakehead players had their backs turned and were looking at the puck. I just found a hole and (Brett Vendehogen) made a great pass to me out front and I just closed my eyes and hit it."
Todd, 25, never would have had the chance had it not been for the man guarding the Windsor net, Parker Van Buskirk.
The former CHLer was at his best in the 3-2 win, stopping 48 of 50 shots directed his way, including Matt Caria in alone in overtime, followed shortly afterward by Mike Hammond, who fired a shot the squeaked through Van Buskirk's pads and nearly found its way into the Lancers net.
But those weren't the kinds of breaks the Wolves were getting on this historic night, the first time a team has come into Fort William Gardens and won two playoff games to oust the Wolves from postseason play.
Van Buskirk said he was pretty busy, but for a second straight night the Windsor defence kept most of the shots from long-distance land.
"I got to see a lot of pucks, and when you give up 50 (shots) and you get to see most of them, it's huge and it just shows how well my defence played. That's a great team down that hall. You almost feel bad that they have to go home with how well they played."
For Maunu, the loss was the end of the line, at least for this chapter of his hockey career.
"I'm pretty disappointed – not in our effort, that's for sure," said Maunu, a one-time draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks.
"Every guy in that room gave it all they had and I'm really proud of everybody in there. Obviously there's a lot of sadness here, my five years here in my hometown. My career is done and I'm going to let it settle in for a few weeks and see where we go from here."
Once again it was the Lancers who took control of the do-or-die Game 3, just like they did 24 hours earlier in evening the series at a game apiece with a 4-1 triumph.
Spencer Pommels beat Dupuis midway through the first, the only goal of the period. Andrew Wilkins, however, got the shorthanded equalizer early in the second, taking advantage of a bad giveaway to give the Thunderwolves life after out-shooting the Lancers 14-8 in the opening period.
But two minutes later Brett Oliphant had Windsor back on top, a lead they'd keep until the third, when LU's seldom-used Luke Maw, subbing for the suspended Mike Quesnele, rifled a shot from the point that dribbled through Van Buskirk's pads and was dashed home by Trevor Gamache, tying the game 2-2 at the 7:09 mark.
It was the Wolves who dominated overtime and had the best chances to score, but the Lancers, out-shot 9-3 in the extra period, who capitalized.
"I thought two teams gave it everything they had and unfortunately we didn't finish off on top. But I give a ton of credit to Windsor. They played phenomenal. I give a lot of credit to our players too. I told them they can definitely be proud of the performance they put in, not only tonight, but for the whole season and with a few bounces we'd be moving on," Scherban said. "Unfortunately we're not."
Windsor, who poured 19 shots on the Wolves in a dominant second period, will take on Western in the OUA West final.
FIRST PERIOD
Scoring: 1. Windsor, Pommels 2 (Makaric, Vandehogen) 10:19. Penalties: Palmer WSR (slashing) 17:08, Steingraber WSR (cross checking) 18:51.
SECOND PERIOD
Scoring: 2. Lakehead, Wilkins 2 (unassisted) 3:25 sh. 3. Windsor, Oliphant 2 (Craig) 5:23. Penalties: Ferry (hooking) 0:37, Gamache LAK (high sticking) 2:38, Palmer WSR, Menard LAK (roughing) 7:20, McCready WSR (high sticking), Wilkins LAK (roughing after the whistle) 19:26.
THIRD PERIOD
Scoring: 4. Lakehead, Gamache 1 (Maw, Hammond) 7:09. Penalties: Vandehogen WSR (slashing) 18:50.
OVERTIME
Scoring: 5. Windsor, Todd 1 (Makaric, Vandehogen) 9:33. Penalties: None.
GAME DATA – SOG – Windsor 8-19-10-3, Lakehead 14-10-18-9; Power plays (goals-chances) – Windsor (0-1), Lakehead (0-4); Goaltenders – Windsor: Parker Van Buskirk, Lakehead: Alex Dupuis; A: 2,226.
