LANTZ: The East Hants Ryson Construction Penguins are headed to the championship final after a 5–2 win over the Eastern Shore Thunder in Game 5 of their best-of-seven semifinal series.
Captain Sam Rogers led the way with two goals, including a shorthanded marker, as the Penguins clinched the series and advanced to face the Admirals in the league final.
The schedule for the championship series is expected to be announced soon.
Rogers said the team delivered the effort it needed to close out the series.
“It’s a big one. There’s a lot more to be done,” Rogers said after the game. “Game two wasn’t the best of us, and we’ve been getting off to a slow start.
“But tonight was a big one and we just have to continue on from there.”
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The Penguins came out strong early before a chippy middle stretch of the game.
“First period was great,” Rogers said.
“We kind of went down to their level in the second and then brought it back in the third and got the job done.”
Also scoring for East Hants were Jacob Edwards, Nathan Langille, and Ethan Hines. Langille and Hines both struck on the power play as the Penguins capitalized on key opportunities.
Garrett MacLean and Connor Lloyd each had two assists, while Hines, Edwards, Rogers, and Dylan Rafuse chipped in with one helper apiece.
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A turning point came early in the third period when the Thunder were assessed two major penalties on the same play.
Cruz Thompson received a major for head contact while Brady Stone was handed a match penalty at 1:16 of the period after Rogers was knocked down and cross-checked while players were piled on top of him.
East Hants made the Thunder pay, scoring two power-play goals during the extended man advantage.
Rogers said the penalties helped the Penguins build momentum.
“Them going in the box definitely helped us in the aspect of scoring and getting a little bit of a lead there and getting comfortable,” he said.
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In goal, Gabe Rendell turned aside 25 of 27 shots to earn the win for the Penguins. East Hants directed 33 shots at Thunder netminder Logan Wall, who stopped 28.
The game featured plenty of physical play, finishing with 46 penalty minutes—24 to East Hants and 22 to Eastern Shore.
Penguins forward Rylan Hiltz was also assessed a gross misconduct while serving a slashing penalty late in the game.
With the series-clinching victory secured, the Penguins now turn their attention to the championship series against the Admirals as they look to capture the league title.
