Minor Bantams vs. Sun County Panthers Nov 20 – Essex
The Minor Bantams travelled to Essex to face the Panthers for what was anticipated to be a close game and neither team disappointed. The first period saw a lot of action in the neutral ice as both teams played strong defensively and felt each other out. It would be the very end of the period before the Lakers would get a chance to flex their offensive muscle when the Panthers took the first penalty of the game.
The line of Quinten Haddock, Jared Weishar and Drew Gross worked the puck down low and then fed it back to Ryan Stulp. Stulp’s point shot went wide, but was picked up by Weishar who fed it across to Gross who finished from the side of the net to put the Lakers in the lead as the period finished.
The second period started with Sun County springing a man free but Daniel Dekoning made a great sliding pad save to foil the breakaway. Sun County would however score at the 8-minute mark to tie the score. Haddock’s line would put the Lakers back in the lead when Gross fed the puck to Roland McKeown who walked in all alone for the Lakers' second of the game. Sun County would answer back just as the period ended when their sharpshooter was able to pick up his own rebound.
The third period saw some strong defensive play by Carter Stewart, Jacob Middleton and Alex Peters as the visitors had to kill off several penalties. As the period wound down is was becoming obvious that neither team wanted a tie as Dekoning turned away several good chances at his end and the line of Bayley Boyes, Garrett James and Riley Roberts had their attempts turned away at the other end. With just three minutes remaining Quinten Haddock would score the winning goal when his pass across the front of the net deflected off of a Panthers' skate and found the back of the net. For the second game in a row the Lakers had found a way to win a game that could have went either way.
Final 3-2 Lakers, shots 25 – 16 in favor of the Lakers.
Minor Bantams vs. Windsor Jr. Spitfires Nov 21 – Windsor
The second game of the road trip had the Lakers playing in Windsor’s new WFCU arena. In one of their most dominate games of the year the Lakers would take the lead just 45 seconds into the game when Carter Stewart's wide point shot was fired on net by Jared Weishar and the rebound deposited by Quinten Haddock. Just two minutes later, the same line would increase the lead when Weishar made a perfect pass to Drew Gross who fired a hard shot past the Windsor goalie. Thirty seconds later Weishar would get a goal of his own on a feed from Haddock. The onslaught would continue when Riley Roberts would score his first goal as a Laker on a feed from Gross. The Lakers held Windsor to only two shots through the entire period.
The Lakers would continue the pressure through the second outshooting the Spits 15 -1. The only goal of the period would come when Alex Peters caused a turnover at the Spits blue line and walked in and fired a great snap shot past the Windsor goaltender.
The third period saw the Lakers run into penalty trouble as the refs tried to even the playing field. The plan backfired as Roland McKeown intercepted a pass, stepped over center ice and fired a Howitzer past the Windsor goaltender for a short handed marker just 20 seconds into the period Two minutes later Bayley Boyes would increase the lead to seven on a great one-timer from a McKeown pass. Windsor would get their only marker of the game off the next faceoff as the winger came hard off of the faceoff and fired a hard shot past Kent Taylor who got a piece of the puck but not enough to prevent the goal. The Lakers would play most of the remainder of the third short handed but would only give up three more shots as they cruised to the easy victory.
Final 7-1 Lakers, Shots 42 – 7 in favor of the Lakers.
Minor Bantams vs. Chatham-Kent Cyclones Nov 15 – Bothwell
The first meeting of the year was a physical affair with both teams playing a tough physical game. The Lakers line of Nathan Templeman, Derek Elliott and McKenzie Carter would work the puck into the Chatham end several times in the first but the Cyclone goalie made several good saves to keep them off of the score sheet. With the period coming to a close, an innocent looking play had Garrett James pass the puck back to Roland McKeown who slid it to Bayley Boyes who quickly fired a wrist shot from the hash marks past the goalie.
It looked like the Cyclones would tie it up at the start of the second when a rebound landed right on the stick of a waiting Chatham player but before he could dump it into the empty net Roland McKeown lifted his stick and cleared the puck safely away. Boyes would score the only goal of the period when Derek Elliott made a great play to strip the puck from a Cyclone player at center ice and then carry the puck into the Chatham end before making a great pass to Boyes who fired a one-timer past the sprawling goalkeeper. With the Lakers taking a two goal lead Chatham began to take some liberties with some of our smaller players only to be reminded that the Lakers are not a team to try and push around. Some huge body checks by Jacob Middleton, Carter Stewart, Ryan Stulp and McKeown had Chatham rethinking their strategy.
The Lakers took a three goal lead early in the third when Stewart's hard point shot came off the boards to Gross who flipped the puck to Weishar who picked it out of the air. The Cyclones would finally solve Dekoning when they took advantage of a falling Laker defenseman to score on the two on none. Any hope they had of a come back was quickly squashed as the Lakers would come right back 12 seconds later when Boyes rushed the puck into the Chatham end and made a perfect pass to a streaking Garrett James who’s backhand went bar-down to ensure the win.
Final 4-1 Lakers, shots 37-19 in favor of the Lakers
The Lakers Minor Bantams would like to extend a special "Thank-you" to the management of the Stonecroft Inn of Windsor for a great weekend of hospitality. The equipment and gathering rooms were appreciated: www.stonecroftinn.com
Written by Jeff Taylor