The Windsor Lancers men's hockey team got off to a rough start in the playoffs Wednesday night, dropping game one 6-3 to the Brock Badgers on home ice.
 
The Lancers had a start to forget, giving up the game's first four goals. Down 4-0, the Lancers managed to rattle off three unanswered markers but it proved to be too little, too late, putting the Lancers one game from elimination.
 
GAME STATS
Goalie Jonathan Reinhart made 25 saves on 30 shots, while Brock's Mario Culina made 29 saves on 32 shots.
 
Brennen Feasey picked up his first two goals of the playoffs after leading the Lancers in the regular season.
 
The Blue and Gold out-shot the Badgers 22-17 over the final two periods.
 
GAME FLOW
In the first, the Badgers mostly controlled the pace of play but the Lancers were getting some chances keeping up the pressure. However, with 6:20 to go in the frame Windsor gave up the puck in the neutral zone that set up the game's first goal when Jordan Malletta beat Reinhart, putting his Badgers up 1-0. Just 12 seconds later, Brock's Adam Berg was the beneficiary of a defensive zone turnover, doubling the Badgers lead and forcing Lancer coach Kevin Hamlin to burn his timeout. Unfortunately, at the 3:57 mark, Malletta beat Reinhart again, this time on a power-play, for a 3-0 lead at intermission.
 
The second period got off to a rough start for the blue and gold when just 48 seconds into the period, Adam Berg capitalized on another turnover by the Lancers, making it 4-0 for the visitors. Trailing 4-0 the Lancers earned a power play soon after but failed to capitalize. Finally, Feasey broke through beating Culina and putting a dent in the lead, 4-1. The Lancers got another power-play but couldn't convert, settling for a 4-1 margin after two periods.    
 
The third period was an exhilarating one, capturing all that's best about playoff hockey. The blue and gold struck first when Feasey potted his second goal of the game, injecting some life into the Lancers. Late in the period, with under four minutes to go, Ryan Barbosa beat Culina for the Lancers' third unanswered, making it a 4-3 game. The Badgers showed some mettle though, and answered the Windsor run when Marino beat Reinhart with a stunning move, restoring a multi goal lead. Adam MacDonald sealed the game with an empty netter, making it a 6-3 final in favour of Brock.
 
UP NEXT
The Lancers head to Brock for game two of the best of three series on Friday February 14th in a 7:15 p.m. showdown live on www.OUA.tv.