Game # 13 - Feb. 25th, 2017 - Terry's Independent vs. Highland Storm at Gravenhurst
Squaring off for the third and
final time of the 2016/17 campaign, the South Muskoka Bears were shooting for a
season sweep of the Haliburton Storm on Saturday, February 25th in
Tyke Select action at the Gravenhurst Arena.
The Bears had scored convincing victories of 7-1 and 7-2 in their two
previous encounters.
Early on though in the first period, the Storm
appeared determined to avoid a similar fate.
Less than 10 seconds into the game, Mason W. broke free on a breakaway
only to be thwarted by the Storm goalie, who turned aside several Bear scoring
opportunities in the first period. Could this be a harbinger of things to come?
Kallum G. was equally sharp in the Bears net too. The Storm’s top marksman nearly broke the scoreless tie midway through the first, but Grayson C. made a great defensive play to take away the angle, then Kallum made an outstanding save and smothered the puck to end the threat and leave the goose eggs on the board. Minutes later, after Colton H. and Jack McG. forced the Storm shooter on outside perimeter, Kallum made another great save on the Storm sniper.
Still in the first, Grayden Z. found himself on a clear breakaway but once again the Storm goaltender stood his ground and the game remained scoreless.
Despite out-chancing the Storm through the first six minutes, Haliburton notched the first goal of the game with 4:19 left in the first period.
Seconds later, South Muskoka nearly tied it when Grayson C. broke in on the Storm goalie, but couldn’t find the back of the net despite a determined effort. After one period of play, the Bears were in unfamiliar territory, down by one with no goals to show for it.
Evan A. and Jack G. proved to be an effective defensive pairing, preventing the Storm from extending the lead with a couple of solid manoeuvres to break up scoring chances and push the puck back up ice.
South Muskoka nearly went the entire first half of the game without a goal but Bears fans finally had a chance to exhale with just over 5 minutes to go in the second period. On a two on one with Phenix C., Mason W. cut past the Storm defenceman into the slot and lifted a backhand past the Storm goalie to knot the game at one goal each. While it took a while for the offence to find its mark, it was team defence that kept them in the game to that point, with outstanding efforts from both forwards and defence, including Colton H., Hudson W. and Oliver A. at different points throughout the game.
The line of Wyatt G., Jack McG., and Joshua D. turned up the heat in the middle frame. On one shift, all three players had excellent scoring opportunities in support of each other. The game still remained tied at one though.
Moments later, Hudson W. broke up a Haliburton threat by trapping the puck at the Storm blueline, then turned on the jets and skated in towards the net for an awesome scoring chance, but the goalie made another great save.
You could sense the dam was about to burst though. The Bears could have easily been up 5-1 with the number of high quality scoring opportunities they created.
As a matter of fact, the go-ahead, and what turned out to be the winning goal, came on the ensuing face-off. After taking the draw in the Storm’s end, Mason W. cut to the slot and picked up a loose puck and fired it to the back of the cage. Phenix C. drew the assist and the Bears finally had their first lead of the game with two-and-a-half minutes left in the second period.
That’s how the third period started, with the Bears clinging to a 2-1 lead. An undefeated season was just ten minutes away…could they do it?
Joshua D. gave them the breathing room they were looking for two minutes into the final frame. Right after a face-off in the Storm’s end, Joshua corralled the puck at the top of the circled, deked past a trio of Storm players and fired a laser from the high slot that bulged the twine. Bears up 3-1. Mason W. grabbed the assist.
A minute later, the Bear’s pressure paid off again. Oliver A. and Jack McG. were applying heavy pressure in front of the Storm goalie, and after a scramble in front, the puck found the stick of Jack McG. who made no mistake and went top shelf for a 4-1 advantage. There was still 12 minutes to go in the game but the Bears were playing with more and more confidence.
The lead grew to 5-1 just a minute after that when Hudson W., who was almost there on two similar opportunities earlier in the game, made the most of another turnover in the Storm zone, then skated in and scored on a nifty shot from the slot. Still 11 minutes to go.
The Storm knew they needed to get back in the game and they created some excellent offensive chances but just couldn’t get one past Oliver H., who took over for Kallum G. in the Bear’s goal. Oliver made one exceptional pad save with about 8 minutes still to go that could’ve given the Storm some hope.
The final dagger came with 5 minutes left in the game, and the Bears on a power play. Grayden Z. won the face-off in the Storm’s end, and pushed the puck over to Mason who bagged his hat trick goal to put the Bears on top 6-1. The final five minutes yielded no additional scoring, and the Bears skated away with their 6th straight win, and finished the regular season undefeated, with a record of 11 wins and two ties.
The team celebrated this rare feat with a locker room trophy presentation and team picture. It was great to see our players come together as a team and see what they were able to accomplish with lots of hard work and determination. Everyone involved in the team should be very proud. It was a great year!