Dec 17, 2006 | tgoetz | 436 views
Major Atoms Come Out on Top of Weekends Games
Major Atoms top Brantford and Waterloo as they take one step closer toward playoff form.
The Huron Perth Lakers AAA Major Atoms traveled to Brantford on Dec. 16th to take on the 99’ers in Alliance league play. The Lakers came out skating and carried the play early but found themselves behind on the scoreboard. Brantford opened with two quick goals before Derek Elliott put the Lakers on the board. A couple of good passes by Garrett James and Nathan Templeman had the puck on Elliott’s stick who snapped a sharp shot into the net for the Lakers first goal. Brantford came right back to make the score 3-1 at the mid way point of the first period. In an effort to try and change the game momentum Coach Jamie Petrie switched goalies having Cole Willemsen came in for goalie partner Kent Taylor. This seemed to work as the Lakers bounced back with even more determination. Defenseman Carter Stewart pinched down low and fed a nice pass to Jared McCann. McCann then found Bayley Boyes with the puck and he scored the Lakers 2nd goal. Then the Lakers power play went to work as they moved the puck with authority in the Brantford end zone. Garrett James and Gregory Swan teamed up to get the puck to Quinton Haddock who scored to tie the score at 3-3. The Lakers continued to force the play in the 2nd period with their relentless team method of fore checking. Goalie Willemsen had to play some loose pucks and did so with great confidence to help out his defense. The Lakers took the lead at the 4 minute marker as they applied tired less pressure on the Brantford goalie. James and Swan teamed up again with good puck movement and finally got the puck to Boyes who notched his 2nd goal of the game putting the Lakers ahead by one. Seconds later the 99’ers went on a 2 on 1 attack but to no avail as forward Derek Elliott skated like the wind to back check and stop the play. Right after this great play the Lakers offense struck again. Swan rimmed the puck to Boyes who then chipped a nice pass to McCann who found the back of the net to make the score 5-3. Throughout the 3rd period the Lakers ran into some penalty trouble. This allowed the 99’ers some extra open space and they started to carry the play. Cole Willemsen was called upon time and time again to make some difficult and key saves. With less then a minute to play Brantford pulled their goalie pulled for an extra attacker and Willemsen made a couple of huge glove saves to preserve the come from behind 5-4 victory. The Lakers hosted league rivals the Waterloo Wolves on Dec. 17th in Clinton. The previous couple of games with the Wolves were high energy, end to end action with plenty of great skill plays shown by both teams. This game started out much the same with both teams playing hard from the start of the game. Three minutes into the game Nathan Templeman scored on a rebound with assists going to Derek Elliott and Alex Peters. A few minutes later Gregory Swan pushed the puck back to defenseman Garrett James. James let go a low hard shot and Bayley Boyes tipped the puck into the Waterloo net to make the score 2-0. The 2nd period opened with a bang as the Wolves cut in on a clear cut break away only to have goalie Kent Taylor make a fine save. At the mid way point Maverick Petrie dumped the puck ahead to teammate Connor Shaw who directed a bouncing put towards the Waterloo net. The bouncing puck alluded the sprawling Waterloo net minder to make the score 3-0. Five minutes into the 3rd period the Lakers went on the power play. Templeman and McCann teamed up and got the puck on the Wolves net. Swan pulled a loose puck back and flipped the 4th Laker goal into the net. Waterloo was not about to quit and came right back to notch their first goal and break Taylor’s shut out bid. The final score was 4-1 for the Lakers who played a good all round game. The Lakers would like to thank their team sponsor McCann Construction from Stratford for their continued support and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.