Dec 03, 2006 | cmetzger | 919 views
Lakers go 1-2-1 at Quinte Cup
After a rough first day at the Quinte Cup Hockey Tournament in Belleville, the Minor Peewee Lakers recovered and, thanks to a strong second day, finished 1-2-1 in the tournament.
Friday Dec. 1st saw the Lakers open the Quinte Cup tournament against the host Quinte Red Devils. A fast skating team, the highly-ranked Red Devils came hard at the Lakers from the first drop of the puck. The Lakers matched their intensity and played two solid periods with the score being only 1-0 for the Red Devils at the end of the second (and then only on a goal in the final 30 seconds of the period). However, after the flood between the second and third periods, the Red Devils stormed into the third period and scored three quick goals within the first two minutes. The Lakers battled hard through the remainder of the third period but the Red Devils had the momentum and went on to win 6-0.
The second game of the day for the Lakers saw them face the Nepean Raiders. In the first period, the Raiders scored the only goal and the period was highlighted by a missed penalty shot by the Raiders. In the second period, the Raiders scored two additional goals - one a powerplay and the other short-handed. Unfortunately, the Lakers just weren't in this game and the Raiders went on to score two powerplay goals and an even strength goal in the final period to hand the Lakers their second 6-0 loss of the day.
Saturday, Dec. 2nd was a new day and after re-focusing and putting the results of the previous day behind them, the Lakers were determined to play hard against the Wexford Raiders. The Lakers didn't disappoint as they scored three unanswered goals in the first period followed by an additional goal in the second period to take a 4-0 lead into the third. The Raiders were able to squeak out the first goal of the third period but the Lakers kept coming and added two more powerplay markers to their previous four goals to win the game 6-1. Unlike the previous day's games, the Lakers dominated play throughout the game and outshot their opponents 38-5.
The Lakers second game on Saturday was against the Oshawa Generals. The Lakers and the Generals are two evenly-matched teams as the momentum (and play) ebbed and flowed between both teams. The Generals scored first but the Lakers replied with a goal of their own before the first period ended. The Generals again scored first in the second period, but about a minute later the Lakers replied with a great short-handed goal to even the score, 2-2. The battle between these two teams continued into the third period with the Generals again scoring the "go ahead" goal only to have the Lakers again score about a minute later to tie the game. As the seconds ran out on the clock at the end of the third period, neither team was able to score to claim the victory and the game ended tied 3-3.
Following the game against the Generals, the Lakers hustled across to other rink in the Quinte Sports Complex and watched the final two periods of the OHL game between the Belleville Bulls and the Windsor Spitfires.
Overall, the Lakers had a great weekend and learned a valuable lesson regarding the need to be ready and "up" to play as soon as the puck is dropped, regardless of the period or the opponent.
The Lakers play next in an exhibition game against the Grey-Bruce Highlanders on Tuesday, December 5th at 7 p.m. in the Ayton Arena.