The Listowel Cyclones dug as deep as they could but came up short in double-overtime, losing 3-2 to Stratford.
Listowel opened the scoring at the 3:40 mark of the first period. Trent Verbeek carried the puck in behind the Stratford net and was pushed to the ice. From his knees he was able to centre the puck and Jonah White was on the door step to bang it in. Listowel held the lead for the next nine minutes. Then on a power play, Evan Dowd snapped the puck past Evan Morrison to tie the game.
Stratford took the lead early in the second. Zac McCann found some quite ice and snapped home the go ahead goal on the high glove side. The Warriors would stifle any Listowel attack through the rest of the period and for half of the third.
In the third period, Tyler Healey raced up the left wing and forced his way across the middle of the ice to the front of the Stratford net. His first close quarters shot was stopped but he got his own rebound and tied the game. With renewed energy, the Cyclones kept Stratford at bay as the teams would move into overtime.
The first OT period settled nothing. Stratford out shot Listowel 10-4 and goalie Evan Morrison was up to the task keeping his team in the running.
Then early in the second OT period, a giveaway in the Listowel zone ended up on the stick of Drew Welsch. He found Evan Dowd alone in front of the slot and Dowd made no mistake, finding the back of the net for the winner at the 2:42 mark of double-OT.
Evan Morrison made 40 saves while Stratford goalie Rhett Kimmel made 22.
Stratford now leads the series 3-1 and will be on home ice for Game 5 Friday night at 7:30 p.m. That game will be featured on Cherrey Buslines OHA Hockey on CKNX.
Elsewhere in the GOJHL, Kitchener eliminated Brampton in five games with a 6-1 win. And in the Western Conference, St. Marys couldn't finish their series losing 2-0 to Strathroy but the Linconls are still up 3-1 in the best of 7.
