Game 7, Western Conference Semi-final
Stratford Warriors 1
Chatham Maroons 2
(CHA wins best-of-7 series 4-3)
The Chatham Maroons advanced to the Western Conference Championship series with a gutsy 2-1 win over the Stratford Warriors on Sunday in front of a crowd of 1845 at Chatham Memorial Arena on Sunday. The 2nd-seeded Maroons will face the top-seeded St. Marys Lincolns who clinched their semi-final with a Game 7 win over the London Nationals.
Ian Lachance and Sean Truby each scored their 7th goal of the playoffs in the second period and Gannon Hunter (W, 8-4) made 38 saves for the Maroons, who advanced to a conference/league final for the 19th time since 1979, and the first since 2022. Colin Slattery‘s goal in the first minute of the third period made the score 2-1, but the Warriors — who had won 2 straight to force a 7th game — could not score the equalizer.
The victory marked the first Game 7 home-ice win for the Maroons since the 2010 Western Conference quarter-final, when they downed the Sarnia Legionnaires 4-2. Chatham improved their record in Game 7’s to 3-1 since 2008, while the Warriors are now 0-3 in Game 7’s over the same period.
