Ball drop was at noon on Sunday, February 27th, marking the last C division game of February and it did not disappoint. After a heartbreaking loss in overtime to the Labatt Blues the previous Sunday, the Mighty Viking Devils looked to reemerge in the conversation for the C division title. The Zombie, however, tried to make that increasingly difficult.

Coming in as the top team in C, the Zombie looked to their top scorer, Nick Veilleux, to provide some offense. On the flip side, MVD looked to their lead scorer, David Shaw, to keep any momentum going. Most of the first period showed that scoring was not going to come easy to either team. Much of the period was spent in the Zombies end, yet there were quality chances and bounces for either team. It took until 13:16 of the first period, just 44 seconds before the end of the period, for two-way forward Mark Williams to rip a hard wrister past Zombie goalie Thomas Gidlow. The goal came shorthanded after MVD defenseman Scott Ashby took a high-sticking penalty. Going into the second, MVD led 1-0.

The game saw quick scoring in the second with Nick Veilleux taking a speedy shot over the glove side of sub goalie Sean Mitton just 1:30 into the period. Much of the second saw more of the same with both teams going back and forth, having chances. The tension of a close game was building throughout the period. MVD threw all they could on net that period; still, they headed into the third tied with the top team in the division.

Stepping away from the game for a moment to look at the impact a game like this could have on the division. MVD loses? The standings stay relatively the same. Zombie on top, Storm Surge closely behind, and MVD and Labatt dueling for the bottom. MVD pulls out a win? Well, then things get interesting. Zombie would remain on top due to their strong start to the season. The resulting chaos would be the other three teams in the division being in a three-way tie for second. The game prior to MVD-Zombie saw Storm Surge end their small losing skid. With the win against the Labatt Blues, Storm Surge had 7 points in the division, the same as the Blues. If anything, there would be a two-way tie for second between Labatt and Storm Surge. But then we get to the third period.

At 5:20 of the third period, actual legend David Shaw took a pass from Dylan Simpson to break the tie. From there, MVD relied heavily on the coaching prowess of Chris Vallely and key teamwork to remain locked in and pull out the win. It was not easy by any means. MVD took two penalties in that final period, the first being a too many men penalty which resulted in Vallely yelling and banging on the bench. The second came in the last two minutes of play in the period which meant MVD were going to be shorthanded the remainder of the game. Zombie threw quality shots on net but could not seem to break through. The final score was 2-1 Mighty Viking Devils.

The C division will wrap up its regular season on March 27th and only time will tell how the standings will look in three games. One thing is for certain: absolutely no team in this division should be taken for granted. We’ve seen bursts of energy and scoring from each team at separate times and all it takes is for one of them to get hot at the right time. While C has the earlier games typically, they are sure not ones you want to miss the way these playoffs are stacking up.