The Waxers opened the 2003 Playoffs on the road as they travelled to Thornhill for Game 1.  After struggling through most of January, the Waxers recaptured the form that saw them hold on to first place for the majority of the year, at least for one night, and they took a one game series lead on the strength of a 7-0 blanking of the Rattlers.

The Waxers pretty much blew the game open in the opening 20 minutes as they scored three times in less than eight minutes during the second half of the period.  Midway through the period, Liam Bowen chased down a loose puck in the Rattler end on the forecheck, causing a turnover which landed on the stick of Ryan Steane along the boards.  Steane's centering pass was then pounded through the legs of the Rattler goalie by Kevin Cribari for the first Waxer playoff goal of 2003.  The same line combined almost 3 minutes later to make it 2-0 Markham.  Bowen took the outlet pass in the Waxer zone and head manned the puck to Cribari.  He skated down the ice and after stepping over the blueline, dropped the puck to Steane who snapped a beautiful shot through the screen and past the unsuspecting goaltender.  Then, with 2:29 on the clock, the Waxers bagged their third goal of the period.  Mark Menonte and Pat Porretta did a great job of cycling the puck and after creating an opening in the slot, Menonte threw the puck out to Tony Rossi.  His one timer beat the goalie high on the glove side and the period would end 3-0.

The lead was upped to 4-0 early in the second when the Waxers would strike for their first of three power play goals on the evening.  Catching the Rattlers on a slow change, Markham goalie Scott Gray shot the puck up the ice to Jamie Wright who sent the puck forward to Rossi at the Rattler blueline. Rossi and Menonte then stormed in on a 2-on-0 break, and after freezing the goalie, Rossi slid the puck to Menonte who redirected it in to the open side for the goal.

The Waxers entered the third with that 4-0 lead and padded it with three more goals. Just 5 minutes in to the period, with the Waxers on their second power play of the night, Porretta converted to make it 5-0.  After Cribari and Ben Cottreau had moved the puck around, Cribari fed Porretta at the half boards.  Stepping in to the middle of the box, Porretta whiffed on his first shot and then regained the handle and snapped it on net.  The Waxers were then recipients of a favourable bounce as the rebound hit a Rattler defensemen and went in to the net for the 5-0 lead.  Then, 10 minutes later, while on the power play, another favourable bounce resulted in the Waxers 6th goal on the night.  The puck moved  around the box from Cottreau to Joe Rothwell to Ryan Olidis stationed on the right side of the zone.  Olidis' pass through the box only made it halfway where it hit a Rattler skate and bounced right back to Olidis who then had the open cage to fire the puck in to as the Rattler goalie had committed on the pass attempt.  The Waxers wrapped up the scoring with their 7th goal with 3:13 left in the game.  Regrouping the puck in the neutral zone, Porretta moved it across the ice to Bowen and he found Wright all alone at the far blueline.  Wright streaked in on the breakaway and rifled a wrist shot below the goalie's out strecthed glove.

Gray recorded his first shutout as a Waxer and the first playoff shutout for the Waxers in  many years stopping 34 shots sent his way.  A solid, and some times spectacular, outing by Gray as the Waxers took the all-important first game of the series.

G A M E   S T A T I S T I C S

No.

 G

A

PTS

PIM

PPG

SHG

GWG

TOTALS