Lakers Major Atoms Defeat 1st Place Waterloo Wolves, News, Major Atom, 2006-07 (Huron Perth Lakers)

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Jan 28, 2007 | bjstewart | 694 views
Lakers Major Atoms Defeat 1st Place Waterloo Wolves
The Huron Perth Lakers Major Atoms tuned up for the upcoming playoffs with a road game against the Waterloo Wolves on January 27th. Head Coach Jamie Petrie had the Lakers prepared to start quickly this game as they played the first place Wolves.

Goalie Cole Willemsen was called upon to make a great glove save to keep the momentum with his teammates. Shortly after this huge stop, the Lakers neutral zone checking proved to be too much for the Wolves. Some sharp team defense lead to Garrett James making a crisp pass to Jared McCann who drove to the net and beat the goalie high to the glove to open the scoring.

The 2nd period was end to end as the teams put on a good display of skill and hard work entertaining the large crowd. Willemsen again made a key save and on the transition the Lakers made the Wolves pay. Ryan Stulp-Jacobson made a smart play to pinch down low and force the Wolves to hurray their clearing attempt. Gregory Swan backed up Jacobson and picked up the puck and fired a hard shot on the Waterloo goal. Bayley Boyes picked up the rebound and put a second shot on net with this rebound going right to McCann who buried the second goal of the game. Later in the period some fine fore checking by Derek Elliott lead to a scramble in front of the Waterloo net. Keigan Goetz jammed the puck right through the goalies pads to make the score 3-0 with Elliott earning the assist.

The first place Waterloo club was not about to quit as the 3rd period started. The Wolves came out with a spark and caught the Lakers off guard. The Wolves scored a short handed goal within the first minute to close the gap to 3-1. The Lakers ran into a couple of penalties and the Wolves power play finally hit the mark to make the score 3-2 with about 6 minutes remaining. Both teams raised their level of intensity and the end of the game was as exciting as we have had all year. Waterloo pulled their goalie with over a minute remaining and buzzed our net but goalie Willemsen stopped every attempt. The defense and forwards worked hard and finally cleared the puck with time running out.

The Lakers won the year series with Waterloo by winning two, losing one and tying one game. The coaching staff noted that this was a fine team effort and a great way to end this year's ALLIANCE league play. The Lakers Major Atoms now wait for the announcement of the play off schedule.

Written by Jeff Swan
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