RATTLERS CLINCH REGULAR SEASON TITLE
(Bradford, ON; February 11, 2013)
Sean Werth
The Bradford Rattlers continued their dominate play through three games this weekend. Opening the weekend with a 5-1 victory in Toronto against the Attack, followed by 8-2 and 5-2 wins over Bobcaygeon and Rama respectively. Now sitting a perfect 39-0-0, the Rattlers have clinched first overall in the GMHL regular season.
Aaron Scott led the way with a goal and an assist as Bradford downed the Attack 5-1. LoParco stood tall in goal, turning away 24 shots and being named first star of the game. Other goal scorers for the Rattlers included: Bateman, Bergman, A. Virtanen and Andreas Norrby with a empty netter. Lukas Sundberg also dropped the gloves in the third period.
Despite pulling out a 8-2 victory, the Rattlers were in tough against the Bucks. Heading into the third period, the score was 2-2. In the third however, Bobcaygeon fell apart allowing the Rattlers to slide six goals in 20 minutes past their keeper. Bradford outshot Bobcaygeon 67-23. Bergman continued his hot streak with another five point performance and Aaron Scott scored for the second straight game. Metz got the start in goal for Bradford.
In the Sunday home game, Bradford defeated the Rama Aces 5-2. The Aces kept things close, only down 2-1 with eighteen minutes remaining in the third period. However, the Rattlers wok up to score three unanswered goals to secure the victory. LoParco earned his league leading 19th victory on the season and Forslund had two goals on the evening. The game was also streamed online through Livestream.com.
As mentioned earlier, the Rattlers have clinched the Regular Season Champions title with 39-0-0 a record for 78 points. Bradford will be playing the Lefroy Wave in the first round of the playoffs. The Wave clinched last place quite some time ago and currently hold a record of 4-30-4 for 12 points. The best of five tentative schedule has been released below:*
Monday, Feb. 18: Home vs Lefroy 7.30PM
Friday, Feb. 22: Away vs Lefroy 7.30PM
Sunday, Feb. 24: Home vs Lefroy 7.30PM
Tuesday, Feb. 26: Away vs Lefroy 3.30PM (If Necessary)
Wednesday, Feb. 27: Home vs Lefroy TBA (If Necessary)
*Subject to Change
But before looking ahead of ourselves, the Rattlers still have three games remaining on the regular season. Wednesday night RattNation will play the Bulls at Bob Fallis Arena, followed by an away game in Mattawa and concluding the season with a home game against the Orangeville Americans. Fans are encouraged to show your support in any way possible as Bradford tries to remain perfect in their final three games.
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