Tonawanda 10 – Onondaga 7
Onondaga 12 – Tonawanda 9
Tonawanda 2 – Onondaga 11
Tonawanda fresh off a series win over Pinewoods, traveled to Onondaga to prove that they were ready to make some noise in the 2006 playoffs. And the Braves did not disappoint the car loads of fans that made the trip. The Tonawanda goaltender was ready as he stopped many scoring opportunities from the Redhawks. Onondaga’s Huck Hill was also steady in the nets only allowing a single tally in the first period as Onondaga took a 2-1 first period lead.
The second story was a big momentum swing for Tonawanda. The hustling Braves scooped up the loose balls and second chance scoring opportunities and pressured the Redhawk defense. While holding the home town Redhawks to a single goal in the second period, the Braves tallied 7.
As the clock wound down on game one, the Braves celebrated a historic win. As longtime Onondaga player/coach/fan Irving Powless Jr said, “They’ve (Tonawanda) always played hard. But this is the first time in 59 years that they have beat Onondaga.”
Onondaga found itself in a must win situation as they traveled out to Tonawanda for game 2. Onondaga jumped out to a quick 4-2 first period lead. But the Braves trying to eliminate the first place Redhawks kept it close. They again scored 2 tallies while Onondaga scored 3 bringing the second period to a close with the Redhawks winning 7-4.
Knowing that the Braves needed to outscore Onondaga by three, the defending champs kept the upstart Braves at bay by trading goals in the final period for a 12-9 win and forcing a deciding game 3 back at Onondaga.
Sunday’s game three saw the Redhawks take control early. With the entry into the Can-Am finals on the line, goaltender Jeff Powless shut down the Braves shooter holding them to 2 tallies for the 60 minute of action. Meanwhile, the Redhawks were able to solve the Tonawanda goalie and tally 11 goals to gain entry into the finals against the Six Nations Sting.