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om a 28 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, March 7, 1989 2 GE ------ - a Team grabs three games to none stranglehold MolJacks let the axe fall on Ajax in series The Port Perry MoJacks have taken a 3-0 lead in their best of seven playoff with Ajax, and the team is poised to wrap things up to-night (March 7) The MoJacks opened the ser- ies, last week in Ajax with a 5-3 win, followed that with a 7-4 vic- tory on home ice Thursday, and doubled the Axemen 6-3 at the Scugog Arena Sunday evening in front of a large crowd. Faceoff for game four tonight March 7) in Ajax is set for 8:00 PM. Should the Axemen win the game and extend the series, game five goes in Port Perry on Wed. March 8 at 8:00 PM. In their 6-3 victory Sunday night to give them a stranglehold on the series, the MoJacks were in control for pretty well the entire game. : For the second game in a row, the team got a big effort from Steve Foutain, who had four as- sists to go with a five-point out- ing Thursday evening. The MoJacks opened a 3-0 lead in the first period on markers by Dean Smethurst, Steve Con- nors and Troy Foster. All three were on the power play and Fos- ter's came with just one second left in the period. He circled the Ajax cage and drilled a shot to the corner. Fountain had assists on all three goals. At 1:31 of the second, Jeff Fitchett made it 4-0, again on the power play, with Smethurst get- ting the assist. But three goals by the Axe- men in under eight minutes made it 4-3 as the MoJacks seemed to go into a defensive "shell." Late in the period, it was Jeff Fitchett who lifted the team out of that shell with a great effort while killing a penalty. He blocked a shot at his own blue line, raced the length of the ice and beat Tom Gosleigh to the corner. The third period was owned by the MoJacks as they held the Axe- men to just five shots on Jeff Lynch. And Fitchett completed his' hat trick at 2:31. Bill Lawrenson directed a pass to Fountain at the Ajax line, He moved in for what looked like a clear shot on the cage, but Fountain neatly slid a pass along the ice and Fitchett was able to tip it into the cage. It is heads-up plays like this one by "Fountain that gave him the nine points in two games. The series has been a chippy one to date and with the MoJacks leading 6-3, tempers erupted sever- al times jn the third period of Sunday's game. Four players on each team were ejected for scuffles on the ice late in the period. MoJacks out-shot the Axemen 32-24 in this match. For Ajax, Ed Oulds, Mike Coulson and Steve Smith got the goals, two on the power power play. Penalties have been a big fac- tor in the series with four of the MolJacks goals coming with a man advantage. Last Tuesday night (Feb. 28) in Ajax, the MoJacks opened the series with a 5-3 victory, thanks in large part to a stellar goaltend- ing performance from Jeff Lynch. After a bit of a shakey start in the first period in which the Mo- Jacks fell behind 3-1, Lynch settled into fine form and was out- standing the rest of the way. In all, he faced 43 Axemen shots and made numerous tough stops, espe- cially in the third period when the r MoJacks were nursing their 5-3 lead. John Harman from Warren Geer and Jeff Fitchett counted the lone MoJack goal in the first peri- i MoJack netminder Jeff Lynch keeps a close eye on the proceedings while defensemen Chris Edmondson and Chris Arsenault keep a close eye on Ajax at- tackers during Junior C playoff action Sunday In Port Perry. Lynch has been great in the net, the defense has been stingy as the MoJacks have opened a three games to none lead In this best of seven series. They could wrap things up tonight with a victory In Ajax. (see story for all the details) od on the power play. Axemen sniper Mike Rawn had two. The MoJacks narrowed the margin to 3-2 early in the second eriod as Dean Smethurst from hind the cage banked a shot in off the skate of Ajax keeper Tom Gosleigh. Steve Connors, with help from Brad Menzies and Geer clicked for the equalizer at the mid-point. The third period was just three For 25 years, spiel, Club. emerged as the winner. Not present for photo Is Bill Tredway. At left, Paul Griffen skip Don. and the most recent edition was Lake Scugog Lumber has been sponsoring a Mens Open Bon- held March 4 at the Port Perry Curling When all the points were added up, the rink skipped by Don Beaton With Don are Murray Empringham and Keith Sweetman. presents the trophy to Nice work on winning this 25th anniversary splel. minutes old when Troy Foster scored what proved to be the win- ner on a clear breakaway. He col- lected passes from Smethurst and Connors and scooted in home free to beat Gosleigh on the glove side. And just over two minutes later, Foster pulled the trigger again. After crossing the Ajax line, he made a slight cut to his right and fired a bullet from 25 feet out. Fitchett and Arsenault had the assists. While Lynch was brilliant in "the nets, the MoJacks got some fine work from their penalty kill- ing units late in the game when they took three minors in a row. Steve Fountain, Chris Arse- nault, Greg Warriner, Dean Sme- thurst, Jeff Fitchett and Chris Ed- mondson worked very hard to keep the Axemen from scoring. Each team took 11 minors in what was a chippy game at times. Sparked by a five-point perfor- mance from defenseman Steve Fountain, the MoJacks took a 2-0 series lead last Thursday night on home ice as the clipped the Axe- men 7-4. Fountain has been playing fine hockey in a MoJack uniform for the past couple of months, and he was at his best in this game at both ends of the rink. He logged a lot of ice time with his regular shift, killing pen- alties and on the power play. The big guy snapped home two power play goals and assisted on three others i. a game that was chippy and scrappy from start to finish. Although the MoJacks were never behind in this one, the game was fairly even over the first two periods. Jeff Fitchett got things going carly in the first on a short-handed breakaway. With an Ajax defender draped over his back, Fitchett somchow managed to get lumber on a shot that caught the corner behind Tony Stabile. After the Axemen tied things up on a power play, Fitchett, Fountain and Dean Smethurst played tic-tac-toe decp in the Ajax zone with "Dino" rapping the puck into the cage. The Axemen tied it again at deuces on a screened shot, and with one second left in the first period, Fountain controlled a bouncing puck and fired a perfect strike. Brad Menzies and Troy Foster drew the assists. At 2:30 of the sccond Chris Edmondson gave the MoJacks a 4- 2 lead with a goal from 30 feet, but three minutes later, the Axe- men took advantage of MoJack penalties for a goal to make the score 4-3. Fountain got his second of the night late in the period on the power play with assists from Smethurst and Chris Arsenault. Moving in from the right point, he was fed a perfect pass and "one- timed" the puck past Stabile. But the Axemen fought back with another of their own in the final minute to send the teams into the third period with the Mo- Jacks up 5-4. Hard working Todd Taylor, who skated miles all evening gave the MoJacks a crucial two-goal bulge at 3:52 with assists to Fountain and lincmate Steve Dur- ham. Taylor just kept pluggin away in front of the Ajax cage finally batted a loose puck up un- der the cross bar. ~ «The final goal came at 14:47 (Turn to page 29)