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Sunday night‘s playoff game between Waterloo Siskins and Hespeler Shamrocks had all the possibilities of a feaâ€" ture length movie. Let‘s consider some catchy titles: The Game Nobody wanted. ‘ The Case of the Missing Stick. Measure for Measure. Close Encounters of the Eighth Kind. ‘‘That was a real barnburner, wasn‘t it," said Siskin coach Jack Egers after the teams tied 8â€"8 through 60 minâ€" utes plus a 10â€"minute overtime. The sawoff gives each team three points in the eight point Midwestern Ontario Junior B semiâ€"final. Waterloo won the first game easily in Waterloo last Wednesday 7â€"3 and Shamâ€" rocks came back to take a 3â€"2 squeaker Thursday. Game four in Waterioo tonight, game five in Hespeler Thursday and game six in Waterloo Friday. o â€" Siskins were leading 6â€"4 in the third period Sunday and appeared to take a 7â€"4 lead when Paul Dahmer fought his way into the Hespeler end and beat Shamrock goalie Ron Scott. But Hespeler coach Don McKee called for the rarely usâ€" ed stick measurement rule, claiming Dahmer‘s stick had more than the maximum %â€"inch curve allowed on the blade of his stick. Referee Cliff Gauthier went to the officials room, meaâ€" sured the stick and came back to say that it was illegal and that the goal was disallowed. Funny thing was he refused to bring the stick back with him to show Waterloo. Since both clubs had agreed to a 10â€"minute straight time overtime, they went right back at it, and Siskins took the lead on Mark Holbrook‘s goal which was knocked into the net by Hespeler defenceman Bert Leeder at 1:05. From that point the momentum shifted and Hespeler tied the regulation score 6â€"6 on goals by Grant Martin and Barkâ€" ley Haddad. â€" o Hespeler tied it for the fourth time at 7:11 when Fred Gregory picked up a loose rebound and deposited it behind Waterloo goalie Don Beaupre. o Only 21 seconds later Mark Harris restored Siskins lead when his backhand trickled past the screened Scott. But on a faceoff in the Waterloo end with 33 seconds reâ€" maining, Shamrocks got the draw, defenceman Mike Siâ€" curo shot and Bob Clayton standing in front tipped the puck in for his second goal of the night with 30 seconds remainâ€" ing. L By Rick Campbell ‘‘I‘m pleased with the tie,‘" said Hespeler coach Don Mcâ€" Kee. "Gees, there‘s nothing more attractive for the fans than 16 goals. â€" **‘We played great catchup hockey, I‘m proud of the way the guys came back. Waterloo scored on two fluke goals in overtime but we outplayed them and had the better scoring chances." Shots on goal for the entire game were 35â€"35. Commenting on the stick ruling, McKee said he has a habâ€" it of glancing at players sticks when his team is scored upon, and noticed Dahmer‘s stick on his breakaway goal in the first period. ‘‘It‘s not a rule that you want to call often because it can ruin a good hockey game. But we needed it to change the momentum tonight. You can usually get by the rule with a few extra wraps of tape, it‘s a disgression call just like hookâ€" ing or tripping.‘"‘ *‘*We deserved to win,‘" moaned Egers. ‘"There‘s no way the stick is illegal, we measured it ourselves. And why do they have to hide it on you? I know why, because it wasn‘t even close to being illegal. It‘s a darn shame to lose a vicâ€" tory like that."‘ The apparent discrepancy came about because referee Gauthier‘s measuring gauge has a plastic lever, while Sisâ€" kins‘, which is approved by the OHA, has a metal lever. â€" ‘‘But give them (Hespeler) credit, they had to come back with two goals to tie it," said Egers. When you score eight goals though you should never lose. Sure it was a weak deâ€" fensive effort but you have to blame everybody when that many goals are scored."‘ After missing an empty net earlier Clayton opened the scoring for Hespeler at 3:11 of the first on a shorthanded goal. s But Joe Young tied it, also on a shorthanded 55â€"foot blast two minutes later. Then after Fred Gregory gave Rocks a 2â€"1 lead, Waterloo stormed back with two goals by Dahmer and Holbrook on a pass from Harris to give Siskins a 3â€"2 edge heading into the second. They maintained a one goal lead after two periods when each team scored twice. Haddad, who played a strong game coming off a back injury tallied his first for Hespeler and Mike North also scored for Rocks. Dana Saunders scored Waterloo‘s fourth shorthanded and Kevin Konings restored Siskins one goal lead at 15: 35. In the third period Konings scored on a centering pass from Pete Nichol and soon after the measuring incident took place 886â€"2830 ' Warertoo Chronicle, Wednesday, February 22, 1978 â€" Page 11 ‘‘They (Hespeler) were the ones that were happy with the tie, they have to come back to Waterloo now," said Egers. "It boils down to the goaltending how the rest of ~the series will go. The Listowel Connection of Nichol, Konings and centre Dale Wilson played a strong third period for Waterloo, while Haddad, Clayton and North were constant threats for Rocks. "‘It‘ll be very interesting with three games in three nights with no practices in between,‘‘ said McKee. "It‘ll be a pureâ€" ly psychological thing, especially if one team gets the moâ€" mentum. McKee said Jean Filion will start in goal for Rocks toâ€" night. Beaupre was outstanding in Thursday‘s game but Clayton‘s goal at 15:50 of the third period proved to be the winner. _ Gerry Nugent scored the other two Hespeler goals while Gary Barden had both Waterloo markers. _ _ o _*‘*Donny played an excellent game, but we really missed Mark Holbrook," said Egers. Wednesday Siskins outshot Hespeler 62â€"27 and controlled the game throughout. Nichol had three goals, Bongo Price two and Holbrook and Gary Thiel one each. Steve Martin with two and Kevin Hinschberger were the Shamrock snipâ€" ers. Tonight‘s game begins at 8 p.m. Leading Scorers John Wilson, Str Mario Favaro, Hes Dan McPherson, Str Morley Bosomworth, Elm Mike North, Hes Kevin Hinschberger, Hes Mark Harris, Wat Waterioo Mark Harris Mark Holbrook Joe Young Murray Newman Brian Price Dale Wilson Dana Saunders Peter Liesemer Dean Oberle Peter Nichol Paul Dahmer Kevin Konings Goals Assists Points P.I.M. 38 _ 51 89 35 21 17 43 43 26 A PTS PIM 26 63 66 35 54 64 19 25 20 25 16 10 16 15 12 74 71 47 24 130 126 14 47 104 12