The Huron Perth Lakers AAA Major Atoms traveled to Preston on January 19th to take part in the three day Preston International hockey tournament. This was a well ran tournament with many high caliber teams taking part.
Game One – Lakers versus Pittsburgh Predators.
This game started out even but the Lakers soon pulled away. The Lakers struck early with an unassisted goal by Gregory Swan. After Pittsburgh tied the score Swan set up Jared McCann to make the score 2-1. The 2nd period saw the Lakers dominate with many shots but could only muster one goal. Goalie Kent Taylor was sharp throughout the game. At the mid way point Bayley Boyes fired a hard shot on goal and Swan picked up the rebound to net the Lakers 3rd goal. In the first minute of the 3rd period Pittsburgh struck for a goal to narrow the score to 3-2. One minute later defenseman Garrett James loaded up a huge shot to record a goal. Within another minute Alex Peters made a super pass to Jared McCann who made not mistake to make the final score, Lakers 5 – Pittsburgh 2.
Game Two, Jan. 20th @ 8 am – Lakers versus Niagara Falls Thunder.
Right from the drop of the puck Head Coach Jamie Petrie has his squad fired up and stole all the thunder from Niagara Falls. While the Lakers were on the power play Maverick Petrie stole the puck from a defender and directed the puck to Connor Shaw. Shaw made a nice wrap around play to score the games first goal. Moments later Quinton Haddock perfectly rushed the puck into the Niagara Falls zone and chipped the puck to Nathan Templeman. Templeman feathered a pass to Derek Elliott high in the slot who made the score 2-0. Seconds later McCann and Boyes teamed up to get the puck to Swan who jammed home the goal. As the period was ending McCann and Boyes worked cycling the puck again and found Swan in the slot who fired a high shot into the net making the score 4-0. The Thunder got on the score board early in the 2nd period. At the mid way point Boyes and Haddock combined to set up McCann to make the score 5-1. A few minutes later McCann broke down the wing and cut hare to the net. McCann then made a next to impossible shot as he roofed the puck from in close over a surprised goalie. Goalie Cole Willemsem was called upon to make several key saves early in the 3rd period to maintain the Lakers lead. The final tally of the game came 3 minutes into the third. Carter Stewart moved sharply to keep the puck in the Thunder zone and got the puck to Haddock who loaded up a screen shot that found the back of the net. The final score was Lakers 7 and Niagara Falls 1.
Game Three, Jan. 20th @ 2 pm – Lakes versus Mississauga Senators.
After a few hours wait the Lakers took to the ice but did not have their usual high level of energy. The Senators took an early well deserved 2-0 lead. This forced the Lakers to re-group and begin to fight back like they have done plenty of times this year. While killing a penalty McCann won the face off deep in the Senators zone back to Swan who then patiently tucked the puck in to make the score 2-1. The 2nd period saw some great end to end action for both teams. The Lakers tied the score on the power play as Swan and Templeman combined to feed Boyes who scored a pretty goal. The tension level was high during the 3rd period as both teams pushed to gain the lead. Some great goaltending by Kent Taylor kept the Lakers in the game. With six minutes remaining McCann chipped a nice pass back to James who shot a rocket of a shot towards the Senators net. Swan gathered up the rebound and made a perfect shot to give the Lakers a 3-2 lead. This score stood up and the Lakers were now undefeated within their division and would advance to the quarter finals later in the day.
Game Four, Jan. 20th @ 5:30 pm – Lakers versus Kitchener Jr. Rangers.
The quarter finals found the Lakers playing their Alliance league rivals the Kitchener Jr. Rangers. Both teams were trying to find enough energy to play their 3rd game of the day. The Lakers struck early as Haddock out muscled two Jr. Rangers and pin pointed a pass to Swan who fired a high shot into the net. The fast paced action continued into the second period and Kitchener struck with two goals to take a one goal lead. Goalie Kent Taylor made a game saving save at the mid way point of the period which seemed to give his team mates some extra motivation. Not being a team that quits the Lakers continued to keep composed and push the puck deep into the Jr. Rangers zone. With 2 minutes remaining in the period the Lakers tied the score as Swan and Boyes teamed up to find James who once again loaded up a huge shot that the goalie had no chance to stop. The 3rd period was a nail biter as both teams did not want to give in knowing the winner would advance to the Semi Finals the next day. The Lakers power play stuck again as this time McCann made a smart play coming around the Kitchener net to set up Boyes who made a great shot to give the Lakers a 3-2 score. As the seconds ticked down the Lakers kept dumping the puck out of their zone to protect the final 3-2 winning score.
Game Five, Jan. 21st @ 10:30 pm – Lakers versus Clarington Toro’s.
The semi final game was a great game as the Lakers played a very good team from Clarington who play in the OMHA AAA league. The Toro’s carried the play for the first six minutes and goalie Kent Taylor was called upon to make several good saves. Right after one of those good saves James made a good pass to McCann who fired a hard shot on net. Boyes was in the right spot to push the rebound into the net to put the Lakers up by one. Early in the 2nd period Clarington went on the power play and tied the score 1-1. The 3rd period was action packed with both teams trying to move onto the finals. Five minutes into the period Alex Peters and Boyes teamed up to get the puck to McCann who persevered and put the puck in to make the score 2-1 for the Lakers. Seconds later Taylor made a super save and the puck was lying behind Taylor when Maverick Petrie came out of nowhere to clear the loose puck and save a goal. At the five minute mark Clarington tied the score 2-2. With two minutes remaining a bench minor was given to the Lakers and kept the Lakers backed up for the remainder of the game. Regulation time ran out and the game remained tied. Early in overtime the Toro’s captain scored his third goal of the game giving Clarington a 3-2 victory.
The entire team competed good throughout the tournament. They can be very proud of their performance and how they represented the Lakers AAA organization. Quinton Haddock and Garrett James represented the Major Atom Lakers at the tournament all star game.
Next up for the Major Atoms is a game against Brantford in Stratford on Jan. 16th at Dufferin Arena at 6:30 pm and a road game in Waterloo on Jan. 27th.
Written by Jeff Swan