For the second time this year the Laker Minor Peewees have won 3 and tied 1 and yet failed to advance in tournament play. Not advancing was the only downside as the Minor Peewees played a very strong tournament and came away knowing they are at the top of their game.
Game 1 had the Lakers face the Milwaukee Admirals, the only team to give them a challenge over the weekend. The Lakers came out with the Christmas spirit and presented a lacklustre effort to their opposition for the first two periods of play. A timely flood before the second and third allowed the squad to be reminded of the type of team they are and they came flying out of the gates in the third. The Lakers stormed their opposition and took a 4-3 lead with two minutes left in the game when a 2 minute minor was assessed to the Lakers. The Admirals managed a powerplay goal to get the tie back and the play that would be the eventual downfall of the Lakers advancement. The tournament allowed points for periods won so Milwaukee took 3 points to the Lakers two out of the game.
Game 2 had the Lakers face the host Don Mills Flyers squad. The Lakers had their feet under them and skated to a 6-1 win in a rather inhospitable fashion. The tournament only provided three games in the round robin but allowed for an exhibition game to be set up. The Lakers took advantage of this and scheduled a game against the Clarington Toros - a fairly highly ranked team that should have provided some good competition. The Lakers had found their groove though and pounded the Toros 5-1 in what was a relatively short game.
Saturday morning the Lakers faced Pittsburgh and knew they had to win every period and the game. The Lakers did exactly what was asked of them as they won the game 4-0 with goals in every period. Milwaukee eventually was able to advance as they ended up 1/2 point ahead of the Lakers. Had the criteria been goals for and against as it was in the last tourny we were snake bitten in, we would have advanced. The valuable lesson being that we have to come prepared and cannot take a game or part of a game to start playing.
Terrific play from all of the Lakers had the opposing coaches being very complimentary toward the play of this special squad. Players of the Game were awarded to Mckenzie Carter, Brody Tenpas and Taylor Moir.
The Lakers now have a 32-8-6 record. Dropping only 8 games out of 46 contests is a terrific accomplishment to date, and seeing as how this squad is now playing its best hockey the coaches are excited at the prospects heading into the last leg of the season.