Corner Brook -
This lucky bounce was a lethal dagger.
Brad Hillier's goal with 3:13 remaining in the game lifted Newfoundland Fasteners (2-1-0) to a hard-fought victory over The Tin Man (1-1-1) in Monday night action from the Corner Brook Molson Men's Broomball League at the Pepsi Centre.
"We shot it down in their zone and the ball bounced off the post and came right back out ... a lucky bounce or whatever," Hillier said of the game-winning play. "I just turned and took the shot and it found its way into the back of the net."
Clarence Bennett and Johnny Pelley also scored for the Fasteners in the triumph.
Eric (Sticky) Young Sr. and Gary Park responded for the metal heads.
"It was back and forth, back and forth the whole game," said Hillier. "Both teams had a lot of shots on net, both teams had a lot of chances ... it was pretty close.
"They played a good game," he added of his opposition. "Definitely one of the best teams we've played so far."
Projected by many to be the best team on paper after the league's pre-season draft, Hillier believes the Fasteners are just beginnHing to realize their tremendous potential.
"We have a lot of young guys on the team and we're really fast because of that," he said. "We have good control of the ball, there are a lot of good passes and everyone on the team is getting along."
For broomball veteran Young Sr. it was easy to take positives out of a last-minute loss.
"They're probably the top team and they have a lot of young legs so they can run really well, plus they have experience besides that," he said. "The first period they really took it to us and I figured we were in for a little bit of a beating, but we stayed with them and held our own.
"We played a lot of good defence, our forwards helped out with that too and Keith (Simmonds) played really well in net for us, no doubt about it," he added.
The man they call "Sticky" said the Fasteners are a great team to use as a measuring stick.
"We said they'd be the top team in the league this year and we held our own with them," he said. "It should only get better for us now too because we just got Gary Park back, he scored a goal for us and when he really gets going he'll make a big difference."
The following is a summary of the other league game on Monday night:
Western Building Products 2, West Side Monarchs 1
Cory Rideout scored both goals for the building crew (2-1-0) as they moved into a tie for first place with the Fasteners.
Joe Hayes contributed the lone marker for the Monarchs (0-2-1) who are still searching for their first taste of victory this season.
