It was a wild game from start to finish as the Ottawa Black Bears swept their two-game season series with the Toronto Rock. The two teams traded goals back and forth and combined for a total of 23 goals as the Black Bears emerged victorious by a score of 12-11. The win didn’t come easy, as the Black Bears scored four straight to complete the comeback. Things came down to the final seconds as the Rock nearly tied the game on a goal that was disallowed.
Game breakdown
Toronto opened the scoring 1:05 into the first quarter when Chris Boushy scored his fifth of the season to put the Rock up 1-0 early.
The Black Bears tied the game just two minutes later when who else, but Jacob Dunbar scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season. For the third straight game, Dunbar scored the Black Bears’ first goal of the game. Jeff Teat and Reilly O’Connor both picked up assists on Dunbar’s goal.
Less than a minute later, the Rock regained their lead at 2-1 when Mark Matthews scored his first goal of the season.
The Rock doubled their lead to 3-1 with 6:51 left in the quarter when Chris Boushy scored his second of the game for Toronto.
With 2:14 left in the quarter, a strong play to strip the Rock of the ball saw Callum Jones earn himself a breakaway that he made no mistake finishing on. The goal, Jones’ first of the season, cut the Rock’s lead to 3-2.
Less than 20 seconds later, captain Jeff Teat scored his fifth goal of the season when he rifled the ball near-side past goalie Nick Rose to tie the game 3-3 late in the quarter. Brent Noseworthy and Jay Thorimbert each picked up an assist on the goal.
With just over a minute remaining in the quarter, Jacob Dunbar buried his second goal of the game to give the Black Bears their first lead of the game at 4-3. Ron John and Luc Magnan both received assists on Dunbar’s goal.
The Rock struck back with just seven seconds remaining in the quarter when Dan Craig scored his second of the season to tie the game 4-4.
Opening the scoring in the second quarter was none other than Jacob Dunbar who completed the hat trick with his third of the game to give the Black Bears a 5-4 lead.
Almost immediately, the Rock tied things once more just 18 seconds later. It was John Jubenville who scored his first goal of the season to put the score at 5-5.
The Rock regained their lead at 6-5 when Josh Dawick scored his first goal of the game on the power play with 7:24 left in the quarter.
Jacob Dunbar continued his red-hot night when he scored his fourth of the game with 4:31 remaining in the quarter to tie the game at 6-6. Coming on the power play, Dunbar’s goal was assisted by Kiel Matisz and Jeff Teat.
The back and forth play continued as the Rock took the lead back with Chris Boushy’s third goal of the game. The goal came on the power play with 3:27 remaining in the quarter.
The Black Bears got their second breakaway of the game and for the second time buried the opportunity. It was John LaFontaine scoring his first of the season unassisted with 2:07 remaining in the half to tie the game once more.
The Rock opened up scoring in the third quarter less than 30 seconds in to give them an 8-7 lead off Phil Mazzuca’s first of the season.
Extending their lead, Josh Dawick scored his second of the game with 9:36 remaining in the third quarter to put the Rock up 9-7.
It was Luc Magnan with his first of the season coming short-handed to cut the Rock’s lead to 9-8. Matt Marinier picked up the lone assist on Magnan’s goal.
Josh Dawick completed his hat trick on the power play with 8:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, putting the Rock up 10-8.
Dawick scored once more to give the Rock a three-goal lead with 8:07 remaining in the game.
Captain Jeff Teat struck back two minutes later with his second goal of the game to cut the Rock’s lead to 11-9. Callum Jones picked up his second point of the night with the lone assist on Teat’s goal.
Completing the hat trick, Jeff Teat made it a one-goal game at 11-10 with 4:51 remaining in the game as he scored his third of the night. Connor Kearnan and Luc Magnan both earned assists on Teat’s goal.
Kiel Matisz scored his first of the game with 2:35 remaining in the game to tie the game at 11-11. Toronto challenged the goal, but their challenge was unsuccessful and the goal stood. Jeff Teat and Jacob Dunbar both continued their strong showings on the night as they each picked up an assist on Matisz’s goal.
Completing the comeback was Taggart Clark who buried his first goal of the game to give the Black Bears a 12-11 lead. Larson Sundown and Jacob Dunbar both received credit for assists on Clark’s go-ahead goal.
With just four seconds left on the clock, the Rock scored to tie the game. A crease violation saw the goal waved off and the Black Bears kept their 12-11 lead.
Able to kill off the dying seconds, the Black Bears emerged victorious over the Rock for the second time this season as they swept the two-game season series.
The Black Bears will return to play next week on Saturday, January 4 at 10:00 p.m. ET when they travel to San Diego to take on the San Diego Seals. Ottawa will return home next on January 17 when they take on the Vancouver Warriors for the first time. Grab your tickets to the game HERE!
