On December 8th, the Lakers faced off against the London Jr. Knights at the Nichols Arena in London.
Chayse Herrfort (Palmerston) came out blazing, finding the back of the London net 22 seconds into the game, unassisted.
The Lakers defence had a strong game against an aggressive squad. They demonstrated good puck movement and decision-making led by Nicole Zabel (Palmerston). The Jr. Knights came back to score twice in the first, both off rebounds of the pads of Brandon Bean (Goderich).
The second period saw the Lakers put on lots of pressure, with many shots and great passing. Jon Baker and Neve Van Pelt played strong games and the second period was held at 2-1.
During the third period, Brandon Bean held the Lakers in the game with outstanding goaltending. The Jr. Knights would score once more with 5 minutes remaining for a final score of 3-1. The Lakers played an excellent game against the top team in their league.
After five weeks on the road, the Lakers were happy to be at home facing the Lambton Jr. String on Sunday, December 9th. The Sting came out strong scoring in the first minutes of the game, but from that point on the Lakers outplayed them with Herrfort scoring the first goal for the team on a pass from Keenan Conlon (Goderich) and Kyle Jones (South Huron).
This game was another strong one for the Lakers defence, especially Conlon showing up with a great weekend. Ryley Cribben (Palmerston) had a good game upfront, scoring twice and creating many more opportunities. The first of Cribben’s goals was a strong effort with assists to Jones and Dominic Burbine (Goderich). The second saw Justin McCarter (South Huron) and Cribben beat the Sting defence with Cribben firing a beauty into the net.
Despite some late game penalties, the Lakers did not give up any power play goals to the Sting. The Sting played the game to the end, scoring with 3 minutes remaining and pulling their goalie for the last minutes of the game. The Lakers held strong, securing their victory with an empty net goal by McCarter from Herrfort and Nick Jung (Elma Logan). The final score: 4-2 Lakers.
The Minor Atoms continue their stint at home with games against the Cambridge Hawks on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in Brussels and against the London Jr. Knights in Goderich at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.