After a number of games where the Major Atoms were often outshooting and outplaying their opponents but unable to play the full game to get the job done, the team came through with a great weekend. The Lakers have been practicing hard on team play, focus and endurance and the weekend scores reflected such.
The Lakers faced off against the Lambton Jr. Sting on Saturday at the Rotary Arena in Stratford. The Lakers opened scoring in the first and should have been up 2 or 3 goals, but once again had trouble capitalizing on their chances, allowing Lambton to stay in the game. The Lakers found themselves down 3-2 late in the third; however some great fore checking created a turnaround and resulted in a tie game. Good work from the Lakers defence in moving the puck out of their end zone.
Sunday saw the Major Atoms face off against the Cambridge Hawks, currently the point leader in the league. The team had a slow start, spending most on the first in the penalty box. The Lakers gained focus and turned play around in the second and outplayed the Hawks in the third. Final score 3-2 for the Hawks.
On Tuesday night the Lakers travelled to Kitchener to face the Jr. Rangers. The team had a great start to the game with excellent puck movement, focus and tempo. Passing was smooth and precise and finally the Lakers had a scoring outburst. The forwards worked hard at getting the puck to the net, scoring from all three lines for the first time this season. The defence played well with hard battles in the defensive zone and moving the puck up the ice. Both Wyatt Nicholson and Joab Egbers had strong games in net. Final score 6-2 for the Lakers.
The HPL Major Atoms are off to Rochester this weekend for the Rochester ’98 AAA Invitational Games. The next home game will be at the Stratford Rotary Complex, November 22 at 1:30 pm against the London Jr. Knights.