Game # 9 - Sunday, Feb. 5th in Haliburton
On Sunday, Feb. 5th, the team played the Highland Storm, at the A.J. LaRue arena in Haliburton. We were going in with 4 players down so we welcomed Noah G. to the team and knew it would be a tough game with each player getting lots of ice time. Hope they got a good night’s sleep!
Right off the bat, Mason W. stole the puck during the face-off and made a great backwards shot on net. Colton H. played well defensively stopping many pucks from permeating our end. As a result, Mason W. moving the puck near the net, made a great pass to Evan A., who had his first shot on goal. A couple of minutes later, Kallum G., our goalie for the first two periods, made a great save to stop the Storm from posting the first goal of the game.
A minute later, the puck was back down to their end, and Jack McG. made a solid pass to Phenix C. who made a direct shot on net, only to have the goalie drop to stop it from going in. Play was even for the next few minutes, each side battling to post that first goal. Then, at 4:22, Mason W. picked up a well placed pass from Grayden Z, and went in for the goal, penetrating the net and placing the first goal on the scoreboard. Then, 20 seconds later, a great series of plays were made. Colton H. bounced it off the boards to get it out of our end, Mason W. picked it up and made a solid shot on net, which deflected off the net and around the back. Jack G. played strong throughout this period and hustled to steal the puck on a number of occasions. Jack McG. picked it up from there and shot it in front of the net to Evan A. He then tipped it to Phenix C., who, at 3:47, slammed in his first goal of the night to extend the early lead to 2-0. The first period wound down with Wyatt G. charging down the ice and making a final shot on net. Kallum G. remained strong and quick throughout this period not allowing any goals to penetrate the net. He also made two final saves in the last minute of play, to protect our lead, ending the period up 2 – 0.
Second period play resumed, with both sides playing hard. Jack G. and Joshua D., along with Colton H. and Evan A., played well defensively during this period, thwarting the Storm offense at every turn. Finally, at 6:53, even though we were short handed because of a penalty, Phenix C., assisted by Jack McG., managed to slam one in from the side of the net, scoring his second goal of the night, which widened our lead to 3. Wyatt G. showed great hustle and fight, not giving up possession of the puck behind their net, even though he was against the boards with some tough opponents trying to wrestle it from him. Noah G. was a great addition to our team; he hustled for the puck, worked hard and made some great passes to his teammates. The Storm were not going quietly though, and at 3:15, they scored, reducing our lead to 3 – 1. Not to be outdone, less than a minute after that goal, Grayden Z. made a nice pass to Mason W, and then shortly thereafter, Mason W. stormed the net and potted his second goal of the night, to reclaim our lead by 3. In the last minutes of play, both Wyatt G. and Evan A. tried pelting the net to get another goal, with the second period ending with a score of 4 – 1.
The first half of the third period had both teams giving it their all. Neither was able to gain any ground and Ollie H. in net for the third period, made some great blocks and was solid in net. Joshua D. made a great deke near our net to lose some Storm players. Then, Mason W. made a solid shot on net, flipping the puck high, just hitting the top of the net. Evan A. and Wyatt G. again had well placed shots on net. Colton H. played well defensively and kept pelting the pucks back into their end, defending our net. Joshua D. got control of the puck in our end and carried it to their blue line, where he was bodychecked. A Husky’s player picked up a penalty for that, and at the penalty face off, Mason W. got control of the puck and at 5:35, careened it into the net, scoring his third goal of the game and our first goal of this period. Ollie H. remained strong in net, doing some great legwork to stop a goal from penetrating. Three minutes later, Evan A., passed the puck to Phenix C. right in the front of the net, and Phenix C.,slammed it right between the goalie’s legs, to score his third goal of the night (great hat trick Phenix!) cementing our lead, 6 – 1. Then, 9 seconds later, a great chain of passing, from Joshua D., to Phenix C. to Mason W. who torpedoed in his fourth goal of the night, to raise the score to 7 – 1. Great passing guys! However, the Storm kept on trying and with only two minutes to go in the game, scored their second goal of the night to make the final score 7 – 2.
This game was fast paced and exciting! The players are working together as a team and communicating well. They worked hard and had fun. The extra ice time certainly had our players working for this win, that’s for sure.