Canton's Sean Murphy advances the puck up the ice against Livonia Franklin Tuesday night. (John Kemski photo)

Great Escape

Canton icers narrowly stave off Livonia Franklin's upset bid, 2-1

BY ED WRIGHT
March 2, 2010, 11:35 p.m.

  All the talk Canton hockey coach Jeremy Majszak heard leading up to Tuesday night's Division 2 pre-Regional game against Livonia Franklin suggested the Chiefs would breeze into Thursday's pre-Regional final against Farmington.

  No doubt, no sweat, Majszak was told repeatedly.

  The Chiefs advanced, but for 44 minutes and 59 seconds, there was at least a little bit of of doubt and plenty of sweat.

  Fueled by a pair of goals from junior defenseman Garrett Bryden and a solid night from its corps of defensemen, Canton prevailed, 2-1.

  The victory wasn't sealed until Canton sophomore goalie Spencer Craig speared Adam Michael's rising laser with 0:01 on the clock.

  The Chiefs will take a 13-10-2 mark into Thursday's showdown against the host Falcons, who drew a first-round bye. The opening face-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Farmington Hills Ice Arena.

  "The past couple of days, all I've heard around school and around the hockey world was talk like, 'You're going to be playing Thursday against Farmington,'" Majszak said. "But in the playoffs, you have to show up and be ready to play every single game or it's going to be your last game. We didn't come out and do that in the first period, which is why the game was tied at 1-1.

  "Livonia Franklin had nothing to lose and they played like it. They threw everything at us in the first period and had us back on our heels. We were fortunate to be tied."

  Early indicators pointed toward a potential rout as Canton scored on its third shot just 2:55 into the first period when Bryden re-directed a shot in front past Patriot goalie Anthony Crechiolo. Jordan Smith notched an assist on the goal.

  Thirty-seven seconds later, however, Franklin answered when Kevin Webb beat Craig with a shot from the doorstep to knot the game at 1-all. Tyler Dewhirst assisted.

  Crechiolo, who finished with 34 saves, and Craig (12 stops), were nearly flawless during the second period, which was scoreless until Canton's Riley Hoernschmeyer won a battle for the puck in the corner and slid a pass to Bryden, who tipped home what would prove to be the game-winner with three-tenths of a second left in the frame.

  "On the first goal, I just called for the puck, went to the net, put my stick on the ice and -- bang! -- it went in," said Bryden. "The same thing happened on the second one. I knew the clock was running down so I was trying to get everything on the net and hoped it went in.

  "We could have played a lot better tonight, but we came out with the win and we're moving on to the next round. We came out a little flat, but once we saw it was going to be a close game, we picked it up."

  Franklin finished 2-21-1, but a string of strong late-season showings like the one against Canton coupled with the return of the bulk of his roster gives Patriots coach Scott Wirgau reason for optimism.

  "I was very proud of my team tonight -- they just never let up," said Wirgau. "The best player on the ice tonight was our goalie. He played great.

  "Canton was just a little bit better than we were tonight. When they scored the game winner, it was a lot like the Russians in the 'Miracle on Ice' game. They stopped playing with 30 seconds left; we stopped playing with two seconds left in the second period, and it cost us.

  "I'm very proud of the way the team developed this season. Late in the season we doubled our scoring chances per game compared to early in the year."

  The Chiefs came within inches of putting the game on ice with 25 seconds left when Phil Baciak's mid-ice shot slid just wide of an empty net.

  "It was like the net had a force field around it," Majszak said, smiling. "We pretty much dominated most of the second period and the third, but at that point, when you're not scoring, you give the goalie a lot of confidence; you give their whole team confidence. Then you start fighting against the puck to get it to go in the net.

  "We're a young team, so you live and learn. We know we have to come ready to play Thursday or it will be too late."