Hanover Barons sweep Wingham Ironmen out of the playoffs
BY DENNY SCOTT
The Wingham Ironmen’s postseason drive has come to an end after four straight losses to the first-place Hanover Barons.
The Ironmen were downed by the Barons 4-1 on Wednesday, March 30, marking the end of the Wingham team’s semifinal series, as they were swept in the best-of-seven contest.
The Ironmen had entered the series on a high note with a two-game winning streak that saw them defeat the third-place Kincardine Bulldogs four games to two.
The Barons edged out the Ironmen in game one of the semifinal series 2-1 on March 22. On March 25, the Ironmen were on the wrong side of a 3-1 decision. On March 26, the Barons earned an overtime win against Wingham before finishing the series with a 4-1 win on March 30.
While the Ironmen had fought to stay in the top three through most of the season, behind Hanover and the Mitchell Hawks, an administrative decision by the league saw the Ironmen forfeit several wins due to a COVID-19 issue in December. The decision led to the Ironmen competing against the fourth-place Kincardine Bulldogs in the quarterfinals instead of a lower-seeded team.
HANOVER 4 WINGHAM 1
After a scoreless first period, the Barons scored three back-to-back goals to gain the lead and insurance over the Ironmen in the second period, then scored a final goal in the third, cementing the win.
Trent Verbeek of Hanover scored the first marker of the game, assisted by Dylan Richardson and Bryan Richardson. Carter Moran netted Hanover’s second goal, with assists going to Ryan Colquhoun and Kyle Detweiler. Bryan Richardson scored Hanover’s third goal, assisted by Dylan Richardson.
Coleson Fischer scored Wingham’s only marker of the game. Fischer’s powerplay effort was assisted by Kyle Stanbury and Dawson Fahrer.
Alex McGillivray scored Hanover’s final goal of the series. He was assisted by Ryan Goetz and Jonah White.
Riley McCabe earned the win for the Barons in net, stopping 21 of 22 shots while Wingham’s Devon Carson stopped 24 of 28 shots.
The Barons served 18 penalty minutes on five infractions while the Ironmen served 40 on 10 infractions.
The first period was relatively uneventful, with Nigel Kreager of Wingham serving the only penalty in a two-minute interference call.
Ben Wyatt of Wingham racked up a total of 12 minutes and a gross misconduct just over six-and-a-half minutes into the second period. Wyatt was assessed a two-minute roughing penalty, a 10-minute inciting-an-opponent penalty and a gross misconduct penalty for removing a helmet and/or chin strap.
Wingham’s Dawson Fahrer then served a two-minute roughing penalty.
Bryan Richardson took the first trip to the penalty box for Hanover at nearly 13 minutes into the second period with a two-minute slashing penalty.
Carter Moran served the first penalty of the third period. The Hanover player served two minutes for too many men on the ice. Teammate Austin Griffin then served a two-minute roughing penalty.
Wingham’s Kyle Stanbury then took a two-minute slashing penalty.
At the 17-minute mark an incident saw Wingham’s Tanner Reid and Hanover’s Dylan Richardson both face 10-minute inciting penalties. Richardson was also assessed a two-minute interference penalty, which was served by Goetz, while Reid was assessed a game misconduct for removing a helmet and/or chinstrap.
The final penalties of the game went to Wingham’s Dana Smith, who was assessed a two-minute slashing penalty and a 10-minute inciting-an-opponent penalty.
The Hanover Barons added to their four-game winning streak on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Mitchell in the first game of the North Pollock Division championship. The teams will next take to the ice on April 7 in Mitchell, then return to Hanover on April 8. What may be the last game of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for April 10 in Mitchell with additional games, if necessary, set for Hanover on April 14, Mitchell on April 15 and Hanover on April 16.
For more information, pjhlon.hockeytech.com.