Last Sunday the Lakers hosted the Jr. Spitfires at the MRC looking to maintain their 1st place standing amongst all Alliance teams. The game saw end to end action in the opening few minutes but at the 10:58 mark, the line of
Luka Marinic,
Nick Jung and
Keaton Middleton kept applying great pressure until finally their efforts were rewarded with Marinic jamming home the first goal of the game.
A few minutes later, the line of
Chayse Herrfort,
Brent West and
Jon Baker would contain the Spitfires in their own end until Herrfort would receive a pass from below the goal line and fire a low shot beating the Spitfire goaltender to make it 2-0 for the Lakers. With 2 minutes left in the 1st period the Spitfires would get a power play marker when the Lakers would have difficulty clearing a rebound in front of
Wyatt Nicholson.
However, during the first shift of the 2nd period
Jacob Hrudka would chip the puck off the glass in the neutral zone giving Herrfort the opportunity to blow past the Spitfire defenseman on the outside and retrieve the puck for a 2 on 1. With
Jon Baker driving to the net, Herrfort would deliver a timely backhand pass across to Baker who would restore the 2 goal lead for the Lakers. The 2nd period would end with the Lakers leading 3-1 and they would stretch their lead to 4-1 when
Mackinnon Hawkins would intercept a clearing attempt by a Spitfire defenseman and keep the puck in for Jung who would get the puck to Marinic who would score a beauty goal for his 2nd marker of the game.
In the next few shifts both
Jared Nash and Herrfort would make some very outstanding back checks in an effort to not let Windsor back into the game. With the game seemingly in hand, some different line combinations were being experimented with and the Laker players soon discovered that if they stopped working hard, especially on the back check, that things can change in a hurry. The Spitfires got 2 quick goals 30 seconds apart and it was quickly game on again!
Wyatt Nicholson, however, would close the door on any further Windsor chances and the Lakers would go on to win the game 4-3.
Two thirds of the way through their 30 game league schedule, the Lakers find themselves with a record of 16 wins, 2 losses and 2 ties putting them in first place overall heading into the holidays. On January 3rd it’s back to business as the Lakers travel to Elgin-Middlesex looking for their first win against the Chiefs this season.
The Minor Peewees would like to wish all Lakers families a very Merry Christmas and a bright 2010!