Saying that the Elora Mohawks are in familiar territory would be an understatement - saying that they have only themselves to blame would fall into the same category.
Elora lost the opening two games of the OLA Junior 'B' championship series to the Halton Hills Bulldogs last weekend - losing 14-11 in Game 1 at Georgetown last Friday night and then 9-8 in overtime in Game 2 at Elora two nights later.
Game 1 saw the Mohawks and Bulldogs fight to a 4-4 tie after the opening 20 minutes, but Elora forged ahead by two goals early in the second period. Halton then scored six straight goals to seize a four-goal lead at the second intermission.
The Tribe fought their way back into the game in the third period, scoring five of the first six goals in the period to tie the score at 11-11 with just under four minutes to play. But Halton got goals from Nic Grasby, Brendan MacDonald and Bradley Kri in a two minute span to finish the Elora rally and secure the first game of the series.
Shane MacDonald, Kyle Goss and Dan Keane each scored twice in the loss, while Matt Hummel, Mark Pfohl, Jordan Godin, Brady Heseltine and Kyle Dobbie picked up singles.
Ricky McGarr was pulled from the game after giving up 10 goals on 45 shots, replaced by Dan Humphrey (12 saves on 15 shots in 9:26 minutes). Ryan Kelly stopped 26 of 37 shots to earn the win.
Game 2 at Elora began much the same way - Elora scored first with Halton answering. After a 2-2 first period, Halton scored two goals in a 2:26 span halfway through the second to take a 4-2 lead. Goals from Dobbie, Godin (2) and Pfohl turned that into a 6-4 Elora lead late in the frame, giving the Tribe momentum heading into the intermission.
After trading goals early in the second, Elora watched as Halton took charge of the game. Michael MacDonald scored to tie the game with 4:46 to play, and then Jordan Dance put the Bulldogs in front with :57 left in regulation. Elora pulled McGarr for an extra attacker, and Godin ripped a shot past Kelly just 14 seconds after Dance's goal.
Halton wasn't deterred by the late heroics from Godin, as Grasby scored the only goal of overtime. The Bulldogs then turned the game over to their defence and loose ball teams, which stymied the Mohawks for the remaining time in the extra frame. Halton picked up seven loose balls late in overtime, denying the Mohawks a chance to get their offence on the floor to tie the game.
Godin scored three times for Elora, while Keane, MacDonald, Heseltine, Pfohl and Dobbie added one each. McGarr stopped 34 of 43 shots, but gave up a number of soft goals late in the game that contributed to Elora's demise. Kelly made 52 saves on 60 shots to earn the win.
Following the loss Sunday night, Mohawks head coach Dean George was furious with the effort his team had produced in both of the Finals games thus far, and he made no attempt at hiding his disgust with the result thus far.
"We didn't play well enough to win, either tonight or in Game 1," he said. "We played with ... effort in Georgetown and that really pisses me off. I can think of at least four or five goals tonight that shouldn't have gone in - it's my best players, veteran players, that are making the mistakes out there."
George went on to say that the more chances Elora gives Halton, the worse the outcome will be for the Mohawks. While the overall effort was better in Game 2 than in Game 1, George was still in disbelief that the Mohawks were playing without the same kind of passion and will they had shown in beating Six Nations in the conference finals.
"We haven't matched Halton's will or desire at any point in this series," he said. "It's been that simple."
When asked for his assessment of the series thus far, Mohawks captain Brady Heseltine had a similar sentiment as his coach.
"We're not working as hard as we should in this series, and all the mistakes we're making are mental," he said. "We wanted that series win over Six Nations, but this is the biggest part of the playoffs and we're treating it like a simple walk in the park ... I just don't know what's hit us."
Heseltine said that both the offence and defence are to blame for the Tribe's 0-2 hole, and shoring things up for Game 3 is not going to be easy.
"We have to do everything better," he said.
Game 3 is scheduled for Georgetown's Gordon Alcott Arena on Tuesday, Aug. 10, at 8 p.m. If necessary, Game 4 will be played in Elora on Friday, Aug. 13, at 8 p.m. and Game 5 would be back in Georgetown on Saturday, Aug. 14, at 7:30 p.m.