MAY 2 – There was certainly no shortage of dramatics last night Picton’s Prince Edward Community Centre when the home town Pirates managed to win two games in one evening.

After a decision made by an OHA Committee to replay 19:47 of the third period of game one due to an illegal player participating from the Pirates, the visiting Essex 73’s rolled into town with hopes of extending their series back to their home rink.

In the third period of the first game the 73’s seemed to be the better team, netting a big goal four minutes after the opening faceoff. Chad Hedrick managed to slide the disk through Pirates goaltender Andrew Pearson to tie the game at 2-2. It took the Pirates just six minutes for their talented sniper Cole Bolton to wire a shot through the 73’s goalie Trevor Wheaton, regaining the lead for the home team. 73’s forward Aaron Thibert netted what turned out to be the tying goal at 13:05 in the final frame to put the game into overtime.

With the clock winding down there was a sense in the building amongst the fans that this game could go on forever.

A little less than six minutes was all it took for Pirates forward Eric Hayes to become a town hero when he took a pass from teammate Mitchell Smith and scored the game winning goal. The score of the long anticipated game one ended 4-3 in overtime.

Fans headed to concession stand while the players took to their respective dressing rooms as game five would start momentarily.

The first period of game five got underway without any delay. Both teams came out with a new sense of importance. For the 73’s this was a do-or-die situation and they certainly showed in the first period that they wanted a win. Jordan Ryan scored the opening goal for his 73’s with assists going to Marco Canzoneri and Matthew Hebert. The 1-0 Essex lead proved to be the final of the first period.

Scott Bromley netted the second goal of the evening for the 73’s when he beat Pearson with a sneaky goal which made its way into the net through a pile of bodies. The 2-0 lead seemed to quickly deteriorate as the 73’s ran into penalty trouble. A power play goal by Pirates Captain Brandon Peever cut the lead in half for the visiting squad. With the second period winding down the entire building was buzzing with the thought of seeing the Schmalz Cup presented for the first time to the Pirates in there 23 years in the OHA.

With just a little under eight minutes left in the third period Mitchell Smith would score the equalizer for the Pirates and thus lit up the spirits of the home town crowd of 723 screaming Picton fans who had never seen an OHA Championship in their community. The comeback was completed when Pirates forward Levi George scored the game winner with just a little under six minutes left in the series. George’s name will no doubt go down in history for the town and community of Picton as the player who won the Pirates the Schmalz Cup.

As time on the clock hit zero the entire community it seemed, stormed onto the ice in excitement. Many fans were seen with tears in their eyes for their beloved Pirates.

OHA Chief Executive Officer Scott Farley presented the coveted Schmalz Cup Trophy to the teams Captain Peever and the Assistant Captains Brad Jacklin, Jack Davidson and Evan Greer.

On behalf of the OHA we wish to congratulate the Essex 73’s on a fantastic season and a hard fought and well played finals.

Congratulations to the players, staff, volunteers and community of Picton for winning the historic Schmalz Cup for the first time in 23 years. You’re hard work and dedication this season proved to be excellent and certainly paid off. The 2013 Schmalz Cup Champions are the Picton Pirates of the Empire B Junior C Hockey League!