Two games this past weekend completed a 6 game schedule over 8 days for the Festival Inn Major Bantams.
On Saturday, the Lakers played host to Sun County in Wingham. The two teams traded goals in each period to finish with a 3-3 tie.
Derek Cowing opened the scoring with
Brad McClure picking up an assist. After the Panthers tied it & then pulled ahead with PP goals, McClure put the Lakers back on even ground with a PP marker of his own with
Garrett Meurs &
Nik McIver earning assists.
Ryan Chambers was rewarded after converting a Cowing offering to put the Lakers on top but some good puck movement led to a Sun County goal with just over a minute to go in the game to see the Lakers settle for a tie.
Coach
Shaun Peet was happy with the effort overall stating "They've (Panthers) had our number this year when it comes to taking penalties with 7 of the 10 goals they've scored against us this year coming on the power play. It was the first game in a while where we've kept the intensity high for the entire 45 minutes, and I really thought we deserved a better fate".
Jake Partridge turned aside 17 of 20 shots in net for the Lakers.
On Sunday, the Lakers met Hamilton for the final time this season & were looking for the 4-0 season sweep. After a scoreless 1st period, & while on the PP,
Mac Nichol kept the puck in at the blueline & quickly fed Garrett Meurs who made no mistake tucking the puck inside the post to take a 1-0 lead.
Hamilton, showing obvious frustration, tried to take liberties against the Lakers players in hopes of keeping the score low. The plan seemed to work but eliminated any offense of their own after playing nearly the entire 3rd period short-handed, allowing the Lakers to skate off with a 1-0 victory.
"We were tremendously proud of our boys' discipline today, only taking four penalties in what could have been a rather chippy game" says Peet, "Our team defense is getting closer to where we need it to be, we've just been a little snake-bitten lately when it comes to scoring goals, despite having numerous quality scoring opportunities".
The Lakers travel to Cambridge on Friday night then make the trek to Bothwell on Saturday to meet Elgin Middlesex.