Oakville once again finds third period magic to rally past Parkway West

MANCHESTER — The Oakville hockey team is showing a flair for late game drama this postseason.

For the second time in three games, the Tigers mounted a third period rally for a 5-3 win over Parkway West in Pool B in the Mid States Club Hockey Association Challenge Cup round robin playoff.

Charles Lewis had two goals and an assist, Brady Cook and Anthony Thomas Maroon each had a goal and an assist and Dewey Rodgers also scored for Oakville (13-9-1 overall, 2-1 in the playoffs). Jack Rogers made 39 saves for the Tigers.

Cook said the team’s previous comeback in its postseason opener against Kirkwood gave the Tigers confidence after falling behind 3-2 early in the third.

“We’ve done it once, why can’t we do it again?” Cook said. “You know, that was our mindset. We put our heads down and went to work.”

Cook got the rally started by forcing a turnover behind the Longhorns net and banking the puck off a skate and into the net to even it at 3-all with 5:50 left in the third.

Rodgers followed with the eventual game-winner, scoring all of a Ryan Cook feed, with 4:07 left.

“We knew all along we were in this game,” Rodgers said. “We never thought we were down and out.”

Maroon sealed it with an empty netter with 43 seconds left.

Oakville scored twice late, including the game-winner with just 19 seconds left, to stun Kirkwood in the postseason opener. Oakville coach Phil Jacquot said the two wins showed the character of the team.

“That’s playoff hockey at its finest,” Jacquot said. “I mean we had to do it last Thursday and did it again tonight. You know it just comes down to sticking together and keep fighting and you never know what’s going to happen.”

Caden Lindley had two goals and an assist and Tyler Watts had a goal and an assist for Parkway West (11-8-4, 0-3). Spencer Usry made 18 saves.

Lewis gave Oakville the lead with a wraparound just 56 seconds into the game.

Lewis made it 2-0 Oakville with a power play goal just 54 seconds into the second period with a laser from the right circle.

“Our captains and our coaches, they do really well, even the non captains, they encourage us,” Rodgers said. “They’re always bringing us up and never down on us.”

Lindley got Parkway West on the board at 1:30 of the second, scoring on a rebound off an Adam Zerega shot.

Usry kept it a one-goal game by stopping Ryan Cook on a penalty shot midway through the middle frame.

Watts tied the game at 2-all for Parkway West at 3:56 of the third period from a Lindley feed and Lindley gave the Longhorns the lead just 86 seconds later.

Parkway West coach Brian Waddell is proud of the progress his program had made in making the Challenge Cup for the first time in nearly two decades.

“We started coaching six years ago with six players who were homegrown Parkway West players, and now we have over 36 kids in the program,” Waddell said. “And that’s just a testament to not only the staff and the guys that helped me every day, but the kids that want to stay play hockey.”

Playoff picture

Oakville’s win means it still has its destiny in its own hands heading into a matchup with De Smet, the No. 2 overall seed, at Queeny on Feb. 12 at the Maryville University Hockey Center.

The round robin consists of 10 teams in two groups of five, with only the top two from each group advancing to the semifinals. De Smet is currently 2-0 in pool play, but a win over the Spartans would give the Tigers a potential head-to-head tiebreaker.

De Smet beat Oakville 4-2 in the regular season on Dec. 23.

“We got to bring our best,” Jacquot said. “I mean, De Smet is a great hockey team. It’s going to be fast, so we’ll be ready to go for them, but it’s going to take execution and our very best.”

Finishing strong

Parkway West will wrap up its season against Kirkwood on Feb. 12 at Queeny. Even though the Longhorns are eliminated from advancing, Waddell said there’s plenty to play for.

“Let’s end with a win,” Waddell said. “We don’t want to end our season on a loss.”