A bad call and good acting was the story for game three of the PJHL’s Easton Conference Finals in Clarington on Sunday, April 23, 2023.
Port Hope Panthers will have a struggle to come back against the Clarington Eagles with the next game on Wednesday in Port Hope.
Clarington won game three on Sunday scoring three goals after Port Hope player Kieran Flynn received a five-minute major for checking from behind.
A similar incident took place earlier on in the game when Clarington player Jordan Shaw took Cole Kimble from Port Hope into the boards. The difference was the Shaw only received a two-minute penalty.
“It was the same hit they did on Cole Kimble, but Cole Kimble didn’t lay on the ice,” said Port Hope Panthers head coach John Foley after the game.
Supporters for the Eagles in the stands were worried the Clarington player was unconscious as he lay motionless for nearly a minute.
But when play resumed the injured player who lay motionless scored less than a minute later.
“I thought it was a very poor call from the referees.”
“I thought that they did the exact same thing to us, but we didn’t get the five-minute major that they got.”
Outside of the five-minute power play be Clarington, Foley said it was a very tight game.
“We were right there. We were up 2-1 playing great. We were holding the zone well, doing everything we wanted to do to win the game.”
But Foley added, the “bad call” is a blow to the Panthers.
“It’s non-stop with these referees down here. We are constantly getting screwed like this.”
Clarington scored two power play goals and an empty netter in the third period to get the win.
After the game Foley told his team to take it one game at a time.
“What we have to do now is be perfect, day in and day out.”
“We worry about Wednesday, on Wednesday, then we go Friday.”
“We are playing enough to win hockey games, we’re just not getting the breaks that we need.”
The final score was 4-2 for Clarington.
The next game is Wednesday night in Port Hope at 7:30.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
