ALLIANCE Hockey Bantam Showcase
Kitchener, Ontario
September 25-27th, 2009
Although not strictly speaking a tournament, this event sees all thirteen ALLIANCE Hockey Major Bantam teams playing four games over the weekend in Kitchener. These games were all considered regular season games and counted towards the season standings.
| Date |
Time |
Opponent |
Venue |
Result |
| Fri Sep 25 |
4:30 PM |
Chatham-Kent Cyclones |
Activa Sports Complex (Alumni Pad) |
4-0 W |
| Sat Sep 26 |
12:00 PM |
London (Gold) Jr Knights |
Activa Sports Complex (PJD Pad) |
3-5 L |
| Sat Sep 26 |
7:30 PM |
Hamilton Reps |
Activa Sports Complex (Alumni Pad) |
6-4 W |
| Sun Sep 27 |
2:30 PM |
Sun County Panthers |
Activa Sports Complex (Alumni Pad) |
5-2 W |
Friday, Sept. 25 vs Chatham-Kent Cyclones
The Lakers got off to a good start in this game with some excellent offensive pressure on the Cyclones through the first few minutes. This lead to the first Lakers' power play. The Lakers were unable to score on the power play and the Cyclones seemed to draw energy off their successful penalty kill as the momentum shifted in the Cyclones' favour over the next few minutes. This lead to the Cyclones having their first power play opportunity. It was short-lived, however, as a minute in they took a penalty to negate it. Shortly after the Lakers' penalty ended the Cyclones took another penalty to give the Lakers a 5 on 3 opportunity. Again, the Lakers were unable to come up with a goal although they did have a couple decent chances. Finally, with just a couple minutes left in the period and on the fourth Cyclones' penalty, the Lakers opened the scoring when
Mac MacSorley went end to end on a rush, fired the puck on net and
PJ Conlon banged in the rebound (2nd assist to
Braydon Blight). The Lakers were up 1-0 after the first period.
The second period saw the Cyclones go on the power play just 10 seconds into the frame. While killing off the penalty, Conlon backhanded the puck past the Cyclones' defenceman and out of the zone where MacSorley picked it up and, after streaking down the left wing, beat the other defenceman and put a backhand shot into the net for a short-handed goal and a two goal lead. The Lakers took another penalty three minutes later and sent their PK unit to work again. Again it was Conlon in the mix when he blocked a Cyclones' shot from the point and had it bounce out of the zone where he took off for the Cyclones' end on a 2 on 1 with MacSorley. Conlon took the shot and then followed it to the net and in the ensuing scrum eventually jammed in the rebound for the Lakers' second short-handed goal in a four minute stretch and a three goal lead (assists to
Mackinley O'Keefe and
Brett Stacey). Less than two minutes later, it was
Jared Zufelt battling to move the puck forward to
Devin Williams who fought off a Cyclones' defender to get the puck to Greg Williams who snapped home the Lakers' third goal of the period. The Lakers took this 4-0 lead into the dressing room between periods.
The third period saw the Lakers take a couple penalties but the Lakers' PK unit was up to the task with some excellent shot blocking (
Jayden Landry) and puck clearing. Through the final few minutes of the period it was all Lakers as the Cyclones were hemmed into their own end under the constant Lakers' pressure. With no scoring in the third period the Lakers skated away with a 4-0 win (shut-out:
Joe Metzger). The Lakers' play improved throughout this game and the overall shot totals reflected this as the Lakers outshot the Cyclones 20-14.
The Player of the Game (MVP) for the Lakers was PJ Conlon with his three point game of two goals and an assist.
Sat. Sept. 26 vs. London Jr. Knights (Gold) "The Let Down"
The day began with a game against the London Jr. Knights (Gold) at high noon. This was the Lakers first game against the London Gold team after having defeated the London Green team twice in pre-season action and they were eager to see how they matched up.
The first period saw the Lakers open the scoring five minutes in when
PJ Conlon fired the puck from face-off circle to the goalie's left and the puck just squeaked by on the short side (assists to
Brett Stacey and
Michael Siddall).
This one goal lead stood for most of the remainder of the period until just over a minute to go when the Knights would score the equalizer. There were no penalties in the first period and the Knights outshot the Lakers 10-8.
The second period saw the Knights take an interference penalty a few minutes in and on the ensuing power play the Lakers would retake the lead.
Braydon Blight fired a shot through the defenders' legs on net and
Riley McCabe sent the rebound again on net. The rebound from this second shot would go out to the other side where
Mac MacSorley was waiting to bang the puck in.
A few minutes later the Knights would get in penalty trouble again and the Lakers would get their second power play goal in as many opportunties. This time it would be Blight scoring on a shot from the point through traffic (assists to Conlon and McCabe).
The Lakers would kill off two penalties over the remainder of the period and take a 3-2 lead into the dressing room between periods. At this point the shots between the two teams were equal at 18 each.
With a 3-2 lead and the game seemingly under control the Lakers looked to be in a good spot. Appearances would prove deceiving however as the Lakers took a penalty within the first minute of the 3rd giving the Knights an opportunity to get things started. The Knights got the Lakers running around a bit on the penalty kill and, although the Lakers were able to kill it off, the Knights used their momentum to get the tying goal ten seconds after the power play ended. It was now a new game and the Lakers advantage in play over the first two periods now counted for nothing. The Lakers got a power play opportunity at the 10 minute mark but were unable to capitalize on it. A few minutes later they would get another opportunity but this one unfortunately lead to a short-handed goal against that gave the Knights the lead. Thirty seconds later and with only 4 minutes remaining in the game the Lakers took a penalty. The Knights used it to their advantage and scored a power play goal to go up 5-3. This 5-3 score would hold up as the Lakers suffered the loss and a sense of disappointment at letting a winnable game slip away.
The Player of the Game (MVP) for the Lakers was Riley McCabe with two assists.
Sat. Sept. 26 vs. Hamilton Reps "The Wild One"
After listening to an OHL representative present information on the OHL and what it has to offer, including both hockey and educational opportunities, and the various routes to reach the "O" other than their Priority Selection, little did the Lakers' coaches know that the players were going to immediately apply one of the pieces of advice the representative had shared - that when things don't go your way (whether that's not being selected in the draft or otherwise) how you respond says a lot about your character and whether you'll still be able to achieve your goal. Coming off a third period let down earlier in the day to lose the game, it was "character check" time for the Lakers.
That said, the first shift of the game didn't go well as the Lakers got off to a slow start and were very passive resulting in a Hamilton goal within the first minute. A minute or so later the Lakers took a penalty to go down a man. They had a good start to their penalty kill but took another penalty halfway through to give the Reps a 5 on 3. With just 6 seconds to go on the 5 on 3 the Reps scored to go up 2-0 in the first 5 minutes of the period. It was gut check time for the Lakers as they were in danger of letting this game get away from them and it had only just started. The Lakers got their feet moving and drew a Reps' penalty to negate the Reps' power play. After the 4 on 4 ended, the Lakers power play unit went to work. Ryley McCabe slid a pass out front to Mac MacSorley who was in close on the Reps' goalie and able to neatly put the puck 5 hole to get the Lakers within one (other assist to Braydon Blight). It proved to be the wake up call the Lakers needed as they ratcheted up their game. As a result, the Reps took two more penalties in the period, including giving the Lakers a brief 5 on 3, and the Lakers had a strong finish to this period.
The Lakers looked to have a better start to their second period than the had the first but it wasn't meant to be as the Lakers took a questionable tripping penalty two seconds into the period. The Lakers had a successful penalty kill but just three seconds after it ended the Reps were able to restore their 2 goal lead. It was proving to be tough sledding as the Lakers took another penalty in the next few minutes and went back on the penalty kill. Again the Lakers PK was up to the task. Finally, enough was enough, and the Lakers cranked it up when MacSorley stormed into the Reps' end and teed up a cannon of a shot that Reps' goalie was only able to get a piece of (assist to Iain Donnelly). The Lakers still trailed 2-3 but not for long. The renewed energy resulted in the Reps getting their first penalty of the period. It was short-lived power play as 8 seconds in, Blight fired a booming shot on net that Michael Siddall deftly tipped in for the tying goal (assist to MacSorley). The game was now half over and the Lakers, having battled back from their slow start, were ready to win the last half of the game. With 4 minutes remaining MacSorley made a great backhand shot only to see it matched with an equally good save by the Reps' goalie. The Lakers kept coming however and, with just 11 seconds to go in the period, MacSorley moved the puck to Siddall who fired a laser beam shot to give the Lakers a 4-3 lead at the end of the second.
It was clear, however, that this game was far from over and that the third period would see some exciting hockey. The third period started with the Lakers having a great scoring chance as PJ Conlon broke in on a breakaway only to lose the puck due to the wet ice from the flood between periods. The Reps swept right back to the Lakers' end but were denied by Lakers' goalie Cole Wardlaw. Wardlaw had settled down as the game progressed and he was determined to hold the lead. Wardlaw came up big again a couple minutes later on a great scoring chance in close. The Lakers came right back and had a great scoring chance of their own when a Donnelly slapshot was tipped just wide of the open net. Play went end to end with great scoring chances and even better goaltending. Finally, in the last half of the period the Lakers took a penalty and had to fall back on the penalty kill. The Reps took advantage of the opportunity to tie the game at 4-4. Seconds later, Jared Zufelt rang a shot off the post but no goal. Time ticked away and try as they might it looked like the Lakers weren't going to get the go ahead goal they were looking for. Then, with less than 3 minutes to go, it was MacSorley who shot from an incredibly sharp angle to put the puck in the far top corner to give the Lakers the lead. Less than 30 seconds later, Greg Williams got the insurance goal when he spun around in the slot and fired the puck into the Reps' net after a Reps' player had fallen on a Laker and both of them had gone into the Reps' goalie preventing the goalie from getting across to make the save. The Reps pulled their goalie with just over a minute to go to get the man adavantage. The Lakers took a penalty with just under 30 seconds to go but even facing a 6 on 4 the Lakers would "hold the fort" as time ran out to record the 6-4 win.
The Player of the Game (MVP) for the Lakers was Mac MacSorley with his five point game (three goals and two assists).
Sun. Sept. 27 vs. Sun County Panthers "The Willow Tree"
Next up for the Lakers was a game against the Sun County Panthers on Sunday afternoon. The first shift of the first period looked good as the Lakers when directly into the Panthers' end and fired a shot on net. There were a couple good chances at both ends as the play went back and forth through the opening minutes. Eventually, the Lakers found themselves hemmed into their own end and would give up the opening goal to fall behind 1-0. Over the remainder of the period the Lakers were afforded two power play opportunities but were unable to cash in. Even with the two Lakers power plays the Panthers still carried the advantage in play in the first period.
The second period found the Lakers in penalty trouble early as they took two penalties in the first five minutes. In a foreshadowing of things to come, the Lakers played well defensively and successfully killed off the penalties. Just into the second half of the period, Jayden Landry made a heads up play to hit Nick Castell with a pass that sent Castell in on a breakaway. Castell put on a little razzle-dazzle and beat the sprawling Panthers goalie to tie the game. This goal picked the Lakers up a bit and they started to push back offensively against the Panthers. The Panthers took a penalty with a couple minutes left in the period but the Lakers got one of their own about a minute later to negate it. The teams played 4 on 4 for all but thirty seconds of the remainder of the period. Score after two periods: 1-1.
Afte the flood the Lakers were faced with starting the third period a man short for 35 seconds until the penalty near the end of the second period expired. The Lakers successfully killed it off and play was going back and forth when Jared Zufelt sustained a leg injury by the boards. There was a 40 minute break in the action while everyone waited for the paramedics to arrive and take Zufelt away by ambulance. Zufelt's broken leg will put him out of action for a considerable period of time and he will be missed. When play resumed it was a pumped up Lakers team that was determined to win this game in the remaining 13:14 for their injured team-mate. Less than a minute in, Mac MacSorley stole the puck from a Panthers' defenceman and roofed a shot for the go ahead goal. The Lakers resolve had been steeled, their feet moved quicker, their passes were crisper, and the battle was on. The Panthers weren't going to go away quietly and when the Lakers took a penalty at the 10 minute mark it looked like the Lakers would face a test. The Panthers secured a couple good chances on the power play but were denied the goal they were looking for. The ending of the power play didn't stop the Panthers and they continued to pour the pressure onto the Lakers. The Lakers team defensive play was superb and like a willow tree in a strong wind the Lakers swayed and bent but would not break. Finally with 6 minutes to go, MacSorley chipped the puck past a Panther at the Lakers' blue line and took off on a breakaway towards the Panthers' net. A quick wrister beat the goalie and gave the Lakers a 2 goal lead (3-1). This was followed up shortly thereafter by a Lakers' power play which ate up valuable minutes off the clock. With 2:26 to go the Panthers pulled their goalie in a desperate attempt to get back in the game. The Panthers attack was relentless and thirty seconds later the Lakers took a penalty to set up a 6 on 4 Panthers advantage. Even two men short the Lakers were able to hold off the Panthers for awhile before surrendering a power play goal. With 1:20 to go and the Panthers net empty it was going to be a test of wills and desire if the Lakers were to come away with the win. The Panthers pressed but the next goal would belong to the Lakers as MacSorley completed the third period hat trick (assists to Castell and PJ Conlon). The Panthers kept trying but the Lakers scored another empty net goal thirty seconds later when Devin Williams' clearing attempt slid gracefully into the Panthers' empty net. A Lakers' power play with 15 seconds left ensured that the Panthers' scoring was done for the day. Final score: 5-2 for the Lakers.
The Player of the Game (MVP) for the Lakers was Joe Metzger for his solid play between the pipes in turning aside the Panthers' attack.
Weekend Point Leaders
Following the conclusion of the weekend, Alliance Hockey released the list of the top 17 point getters for the Bantam Showcase. First overall was the Lakers Mac MacSorley with 11 points (8 goals, 3 assists). Joining MacSorley on the list were Braydon Blight (5 points: a goal and 4 assists) and PJ Conlon (5 points: 3 goals, 2 assists). Way to go, boys!
