Blues advance to Bloomfield Final

In front of a raucous crowd of well over 1,000 fans Sunday afternoon, the Dundas Blues punched their ticket to the South Bloomfield Division Finals with a hard-fought 5–3 victory over the Glanbrook Rangers, closing out the Bloomfield Division semi-final series on home ice.

With Dundas needing one more win to advance and Glanbrook fighting to keep its season alive, the atmosphere inside the arena had the feel of playoff hockey at its best — fast, physical and emotional from the opening face-off.

The Rangers came out flying in the first period and controlled much of the play early, capitalizing on several defensive miscues and turnovers by the Blues. Despite the pressure, Dundas goaltender Keegan Jackson stood tall, turning aside every chance that came his way to keep the game scoreless through the opening 20 minutes.

The Blues found their footing in the second period — and when they did, the momentum shifted quickly.

Dundas opened the scoring just 1:56 into the middle frame when Jack Restauri stormed down the wing on a rush. Restauri fanned on his initial shot, but the puck deflected off Owen McCambridge and around the net land on the stick of Brandon Scott in the corner. Scott quickly fed it back to Restauri, who made no mistake the second time, firing it past Rangers goaltender Gabriel Longo to ignite the crowd.

The Blues doubled their lead at 8:43 on the power play after a remarkable sequence that started deep in their own zone. An errant Dundas pass slid all the way back to Jackson, who quickly rifled a breakout pass up ice to McCambridge waiting at the offensive blue line. McCambridge moved it to Brody Roberts, who faked a shot before sliding the puck across to Spencer Gendall, and the Blues sniper wired a shot through Longo to make it 2–0.

Restauri electrified the crowd again late in the period with a pair of breakaway rushes. While he was unable to finish either chance, his persistence paid off during the second opportunity. After battling to regain possession behind the net, Restauri spun and found McCambridge wide open on the doorstep, and the Dundas forward hammered the puck home at 19:32 to give the Blues a commanding 3–0 lead.

Dundas completely controlled the second period, outshooting Glanbrook 21–11 and taking full momentum into the final frame.

But the Rangers refused to go quietly.

Glanbrook finally broke through just 1:35 into the third period after a Blues turnover at the blue line allowed the visitors to capitalize and cut the lead to 3–1.

The Blues answered quickly.

Just under two minutes later, Dundas’ high-energy line of Stevie George, Dante Dos Santos, and Martin Vandenheuvel created chaos on the forecheck. George battled along the boards to win the puck and spotted Scott jumping into the play after a line change. George slipped him a perfect pass and Scott blasted a shot through traffic at 3:14, restoring the three-goal cushion and sending the home crowd into another frenzy.

As the clock ticked down, frustration began to show for the Rangers, who struggled all afternoon to solve Jackson. The physical play escalated late in the period, including a questionable head shot on Roberts that went uncalled by officials. Roberts left the game but was able to return to the bench later.

Gendall quickly came to his teammate’s defence, dropping the gloves with the Rangers player responsible — a moment that further illustrated the tight-knit nature of this Dundas lineup.

With just over three minutes remaining, some fans began heading toward the exits believing the outcome was decided.

The Rangers had other ideas.

Glanbrook clawed back with a goal at 17:50, then struck again just 29 seconds later at 18:19, suddenly turning a comfortable Blues lead into a tense one-goal game with 1:41 remaining.

The Rangers pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker in a final attempt to extend their season.

Instead, the Blues delivered the final blow.

With the net empty, George sealed the victory at 18:38, burying the puck into the empty cage off a setup from Andrew Harris and Scott to secure the 5–3 win and the series-clinching moment.

Following the game, Restauri spoke about the electric environment inside the arena and the support the team feels from the community.

“It’s awesome to have the support here, it really drives us especially at home, it gives us a huge home ice advantage,” Restauri told 519 Sports Online. “We love playing in front of this crowd and this community.”

Defenceman Brody Scott also kept the team’s focus firmly on what comes next.

“Ya you know it’s huge, but the job’s not done,” Scott told 519 Sports Online when asked about advancing to the divisional finals. “The job is not finished yet so let’s go through a good week of practice and build off there.”

The victory sends the Blues to their second consecutive South Bloomfield Division Finals, where they will face the Niagara RiverHawks.

Dundas enters the series with unfinished business. Last season’s playoff run ended abruptly in the division finals against the Grimsby Peach Kings after the Blues swept their first two rounds.

This time, the team hopes to take the final step.

The series schedule is expected to be released early this week, with Game 1 anticipated to take place Saturday afternoon in Dundas — where another electric crowd will likely be waiting.