Markham got back to business in game 6, after St Michael's valiantly fought back to make it a series with wins in games 4 and 5, and skated away with a 5-2 victory to take the series in six games.  Much like the other games in the series, this was a high paced, rough and tumble game that featured   hockey played the way the game was meant to be played.

St Mike's jumped on the board first when they capitalized on a power play opportunity just 5:43 in to the game.  Markham would then tie the game with a power play goal of their own less than 3 minutes later.  Moving the puck around the box, all 5 players touched the puck before the Waxers scored.  The puck moved from Pat Porretta to Mike Diamond across the line to Joe Rothwell who fed Ryan Olidis at the half boards.  Olidis sent a quick pass down low to Ben Cottreau and he stepped out and fired the puck home between the Buzzers' goalie's legs to make it 1-1.  St Mike's would take the lead again briefly when they scored on a breakaway 1:19 later but that would be the final lead for the Buzzers this series.  Markham tied the game with 8:34 left in the first period and sent the game tied at 2-2 in to the intermission.  Jeff Weiss carried the puck up the ice out of the Waxers end and made a great cross corner dump in to the Buzzers end.  Jason Duffy chased down the puck and fed a pass across to Nathaniel Brooks in front.  Brooks' shot was stopped and the rebound went out to the side where Jamie Wright streaked in from the point and one-timed a low slapshot that found its way through a maze of legs and feet and in to the back of the net.

Markham scored the only goal of the second period to take a 3-2 lead in to the third period.  Generating a strong forecheck, Cottreau and Andrew Dias cycled the puck until Cottreau had a chance to shoot on the net.  The rebound came out in to the slot and laid there for what seemed like an eternity before Olidis pounced on it and roofed his shot for the eventual game and series winning goal.  St Mike's came close to tying the game late in the second period during a shift that saw the Waxers battling in their own end with three of their players having broken their sticks (and thus, were playing without any).  Scott Gray made a couple of key saves during this sequence and Albert Ferrante made a terrific block with the yawning cage staring at the Buzzers to ensure the lead was intact.

Markham played a textbook third period, allowing a number of shots but no quality chances for the Buzzers while hemming St Mike's in to their own end with a strong forecheck.  The Waxers got the only goals of the period to salt away the victory.  The first was scored by Mark Menonte just 6:05 in to the period and seemed to seal the fate of the Buzzers.  Tony Rossi harrassed the Buzzers defencemen and they eventually turned the puck over to Porretta near the blueline.  Porretta threw the puck down low to Menonte and Menonte turned and fired a quick snapshot high blocker to make it 4-2.  Then, in the dying minutes, Liam Bowen scored the final goal of the series when he scored on a breakaway with assists to Mike Standon and Gray.

One of the best parts of the evening did not even involve the players but the Markham Head Coach Russ Herrington.  In a "Funniest Home Videos" moment, Herrington stepped out on to the ice after the flood to start the third period and wiped out completely at centre ice in front of the packed arena.  Captain Menonte was heard stating prior to the faceoff, "That was the funniest thing I've seen in my three years here".  

This was a fantastic series of hockey and fans certainly got their money's worth as 5 of the 6 games were excellent hockey games. The playoffs will continue to get more exciting as the next round approaches.  This marks the first time in over 20 years that the Waxers will compete for the Division Championship, and Markham now awaits the winner of the Oshawa-Wexford series.

G A M E   S T A T I S T I C S

No.

 G

A

PTS

PIM

PPG

SHG

GWG

TOTALS