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Riverkings comeback effort falls short in shootout

Oshawa Riverkings Tomi Georgiev pushes his way down the ice during Oshawa's 5-4 loss to the London Lakers on Sept. 19. (Photos by Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express).

Oshawa Riverkings Tomi Georgiev pushes his way down the ice during Oshawa’s 5-4 loss to the London Lakers on Sept. 19. (Photos by Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express).

By Joel Wittnebel/ The Oshawa Express

It was a tough pill to swallow for the Oshawa Riverkings on Monday night after they battled back from a three-goal deficit with the London Lakers, only to fall one goal short in the shootout.

The first period was a back and forth affair between the two junior A clubs. Yet, it was a single minute that made all the difference when the Lakers scored twice in a matter of 30 seconds, one of those goals coming on the powerplay following a Riverkings turnover.

In the second period, the Lakers would add two more goals to their lead, one of those coming shorthanded.

However, the Riverkings did show some life. Following a short scrap and a few penalties, the club was able to get one back as Chris Gerhardt one-timed the puck past the Lakers goalie. The score would sit at 4-1 after two periods.

In the third period, it was all Riverkings as the team were able to cut the deficit to two goals off the stick of Elijah Morris. And they didn’t stop there.

With less than two minutes to go, the Riverkings took a leaf from the Lakers playbook and scored twice in less than a minute.

When overtime solved nothing, it was off to the shootout where two of the London shooters were able to beat goaltender Andrew Slawiak to give their team the extra point.

For headcoach Kahlil Thomas, while disappointed with his team’s play for the first two periods, it’s hard to criticize the heart that was shown in the comeback effort.

“We came back from a three-goal deficit, and that shows that my team does have what it takes,” he says.

In his second year coaching the team, Thomas has a fresh set of rookies after losing a bench of veterans last year. Early in the season, with a 2-1-1 record, he says the group are showing some promising signs.

“It’s a different team for me this year, we’re younger,” he says. “(But) our back-end and goalies are pretty strong this year.”

In the loss, Slawviak faced 60 shots through three periods of play.

“He’s a veteran goalie and he’s playing really well,” Thomas says.

Regardles of the outcome, the coach says the game was a lesson he’s glad his team learned sooner in the season rather than later.

“I’m glad we went through this. It was more of a morale building for us.”

The Riverkings are back in action on Sept. 26 at the Legends Centre, where they host the St. George Ravens. Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m.

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