Ezra Habert ( Despite illness) led the way with 4 goals as Barkai snowed their way past MDY 7-2 in round 1 of the MYJHHL playoffs on Tuesday night (2/12), at the Blizzards arena.
Coming into tonight’s game, both teams knew that they needed to out-hustle the other, as both of these teams have multiple speedsters.
Well when the game started, Barkai did just that, outrunning the Warriors to the puck, and taking advantage of their home court in front of a rabid fan base full of non-stop cheering and shouting, willing Barkai to victory.
However, the Warriors hung in there, as with the help of goalie Joseph Farca, they killed off multiple penalties before the Blizzards blasted one home, as Jack Alhadeff snowballed one into the net that gave Barkai a 1-0 lead, and put MDY on their toes after 1 period of play.
Barkai wasn’t done scoring yet, as they opened the period by putting more pressure, and once again socked one home, as Ezra Habert found paydirt to give the Blizzards a 2-0 lead and send their crowd into an absolute frenzy
However, MDY would not back down as captain Isaac Dweck scored on a pass from Bobby Shomer, that cut the Blizzards lead in half, at 2-1.
But Barkai responded, as a home court bounce came back to Habert, who tapped it in to stop the MDY momentum, and give Barkai a 3-1 lead.
Smelling blood, Barkai continued to rack up the goals, as Abie Shaoul, sent one home before Ezra Habert completed the hat trick lead with 2 more goals ( One-off MDY backup goalie Albert Zetunie), giving Barkai a 6-1 lead after 2, and MDY needing a miracle to save their season.
Right before the third period, a blackout in the gym occurred, forcing the teams to sit through a minor blackout delay.
But any signs of the blackout changing the course of the game, and allowing MDY to get back into it was quickly squashed, as Barkai continued to keep MDY off the score sheet with the help of their goaltender Albert Mizrahi, who made some impressive saves to keep Barkai comfortably ahead.
The teams played out the 3rd period and traded garbage time goals, as Abie Shaoul racked up his second of the night, before Isaac Dweck ( From Bobb Shomer) sent home his second goal of the game ,( And his last as an MDY Warrior) to make the final score 7-2 Barkai Blizzards, to the delight of their vocal fan base!
As the 3 seed, Barkai (9-2) will travel to HALB (9-1) for the Semifinal round. The Blizzards fell to the Lions 5-1 earlier on the season, and will look to exact revenge at the Lion's den, in what should also be a battle of the fan bases, as the roof should surely come down in that contest!
4 stars
Ezra Habert
Abie Shaoul
Jack Alhadeff
Abie Mizrahi
Fun facts:
This was Barkais first-ever playoff victory, as they were 0-2 all time coming into this contest, after losing to MDY in 2016, and 2018.
This Blizzards team, continues to set the bar for the Barkai teams to follow, as they have now surpassed the 2018 Barkai squad, by 4 wins.
For the first time in 4 years, MDY isn’t one of the final 4 teams left standing.
In other news...
The 5 seed, Flatbush Falcons stunned the 4 seed HAFTR Hawks 4-3 in overtime, on Monday night (2/11), at the Hawks Nest.
Flatbush got down 1-0, and 2-1, before battling back to take a 3-2 lead.
HAFTR, would however and tie the game up forcing overtime.
But in overtime, it was Flatbush who emerged victorious, as Jake Bibi sent home the winner, that sent the Falcons faithful into a frenzy!
The Falcons win , was also due in large part to the outstanding goaltending of All
- Star goalie Morris Hanon and the superb all-around play by Joe D Gindi, who had two goals on the night.
The Falcons cinderella story continues when they take on the undefeated HANC Hurricanes in the Semifinals on a date TBA.
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