Dylan Greenwald’s memory failed him when he was asked about the last time he scored four goals in a game.
“It’s been a while, probably back in my really young days,” he smiled following a six-point night, which included four goals, to lead the Fort Erie Meteors past the Brantford Titans 9-2 Wednesday at home to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their Greater Ontario Hockey League, best-of-seven quarterfinal playoff series.
“That was a lot of fun. I’ve had chances all series, just have’t been going in and then tonight everything went in.”
Greenwald, a high-end offensive player who collected 31 points in 34 regular season games, appreciated having such a big night when it mattered the most.
“It feels really good. I mean, it was a good year, like regular season, but playoffs definitely feel different. And then contributing in a big win like this in front of a good crowd feels really good,” he said.
Meteors associate coach Anthony Passero feels Greenwald is one of the most naturally gifted offensive players ever to wear the orange and black.
“I think when it comes to puck touches and vision, he’s probably one of the best we’ve ever had here,” Passero said. “It just took him a while to get it figured out. Around the net and the vision he has, there’s some guys in that room that owe him a big hug because he was just looking all night and to see him get rewarded in a big game is huge and he came ready to play.”
So did the rest of the Meteors, who stormed out to a 6-0 lead in the first period.
“We weren’t very happy with our game Monday (8-2 win in Game 2),” Passero said. “Obviously, the score was in our favour by a lot, but we did some video and kind of had to look inside. We didn’t really love how we played Monday night on the road, so it was kind of a quick skate yesterday, and this is a playoffs, and tomorrow’s a new day. I think they came out, and it didn’t matter who was on the ice tonight. We were going, so that was good to see, and it just has to lead into Friday.”
Passero said the coaching staff felt the Mets were too nonchalant at times Monday.
“I just thought we were sloppy, really weak in the neutral zone and almost like some guys thought it was going to be an easy night, but in playoffs it just really never is,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, it’s a sixth-place team over there with a lot of skill. They have a ton of high-end skill and I think our compete throughout the lineup just kind of overshadowed them tonight.”
With such a dominating opening 20 minutes, Greenwald said the message was to keep the pressure on.
“It felt really good coming in the locker room. Not trying to take anything away from the other team, we knew we had that one, and then just stay smart and that’s what we did,” he said. “Just keep playing the same way we did in the first. Chances will keep coming and if we score, we score. It is what it is, but don’t cheat. Just keep playing this game right away.”
Passero would love to see the series end Friday.
“It’s always the key to get it done early, but at the same time, it’s just about doing things the right way,” he said. “It’s not a race. I think last year we won the first round in six and we were kind of frustrated that we didn’t sweep and at the end of the day that team over there doesn’t want their season to end so Friday is a new night. It’s not going to be a 6-0 first period. It’s going to be whoever comes ready to play and it’s got to be our guys on the road to try to end their season.”
Monday in Brantford, Tate Donald had two while Danny Adamo, Evan Nicholson, Owen Cressman, Eric Cunningham, Sam Tonelli and Aiden Zimmerman added singles.
