Otters Eliminated From Memorial Cup With OT Loss
Guelph – Pierre Luc Sleigher scored 11:18 into overtime to lift the Victoriaville Tigres to a 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Erie Otters in the MasterCard Memorial Cup semi-final on Saturday.
The Otters jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals by Brad Boyes, Mike Rice and Cory Pecker before Danny Groulx and Carl Mallette replied for the Tigres.
Pecker scored his second of the game and fourth of the tournament to give the Otters a two-goal lead with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
Mikhael Deev brought the Tigres to within one goal and Groux, with his second of the game, tied it with five seconds remaining in regulation and goaltender Daniel Boisclair on the bench for an extra attacker.
Sleigher broke a check in the neutral zone and broke in alone and beat Otters’ goalie T.J. Aceti with a backhand in the extra frame.
The Tigres will face the Kootenay Ice in the final game of the 2002 MasterCard Memorial Cup on Sunday at 12:00 noon (CTV).
Victoriaville were on the verge of elimination after a 5-1 loss to Guelph to open the tournament, followed by a 5-1 loss to the Otters on Tuesday. They edged Kootenay 3-2 with a last minute goal by Guillaume Fournier on Wednesday and knocked the host Guelph Storm out of the tournament with a 4-3 win in the tie-breaker on Friday.
The Tigres are the first team in Memorial Cup history to advance to the final game after winning the tie-breaker.
– Aaron Bell
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