After being eliminated from the playoffs the 94s were given a reprieve.
The team was invited to participate in the OHL Cup Showcase Tournament hosted by the GTHL and spent the first part of March Break preparing for it. Twenty teams took place in this year's tournament, three of them from the USA. Past participants in the tourney include Eric and Jordan Staal, Drew Doughty and John Tavares. The team was invited in recognition for its efforts in the playoff semifinals. Going the distance with eventual champion Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs must've caught someone's attention.
LEAD UP
Early in the week the team travelled to Mississauga for an exhibition game against the Rebels (who eventually won the tournament). The scoreboard results weren't too impressive with the team losing by a score of 3-0. Still, the game did serve its purpose, which was to shake the rust off the players who hadn't played a game since being eliminated from the league playoffs. The game also gave goalie Cian Patterson-March an opportunity to get back into the net. It's difficult for any player to watch games from the bench but when you're a goalie watching often comes with the position, especially when your partner is red hot Drew Reinhardt. Reinhardt got the nod in Game #2 of the playoffs and played great throughout the final eight games. Patterson-March practiced hard, stayed game ready the whole time, and supported his teammates. His dedication and support didn't go unnoticed and are appreciated and respected by players and fans alike.
THUNDER ROAR
Game #1 of the tourney was against the Thunder Bay Kings. This team was beatable, but the Lakers were still a little rusty. (rusty, but never dusty!!) Scott Coghlin played a strong first period, making a smart defensive recovery on one shift and charging up ice on another. At 11:32 of the period Colton Pickett was crosschecked but his discomfort was rewarded with a power play - an unsuccessful one unfortunately. At 7:52 the Kings got on the scoreboard with a questionable goal as Drew Reinhardt appeared to have been interfered with. David Sproat was surprised with a clear breakaway from the blue line in but his backhand deke ended with the puck rolling harmlessly past the right post. The Kings took advantage of this misfire and potted their second goal through the 5-hole.
On a second period penalty kill, Ray Huether caught up to a spinning puck just in time to deke but his effort fell short. At this point the Lakers were down two goals but could have potentially been ahead by one.
In the third period Huether made a great pass in front to Ryan Watson but the Kings goalie got in the way of Watson's quick shot. Thunder Bay would score twice more before the end of the game. Final score 4 - 0. Brandon Priestap earned Lakers Player of the Game for his tireless efforts.
EXPRESS IMPRESSED
Game #2 was scheduled for noon Thursday against a powerful York-Simcoe Express, a team which had defeated the Lakers 6-1 in their Christmas encounter at the Marlies tournament and defeated the Jr Canadiens 2-1 just the day before. Thursday’s game looked like a mismatch in the first period with the Lakers unable to keep the puck out of their own end for any length of time. Even-strength situations looked like Lakers penalty kills, but the boys were able to keep dangerous scoring opportunities to a minimum. Goalie Drew Reinhardt was back in form and took care of any early Express scoring attempts. Toward the end of the period, two good shifts by Ryan Watson, Ray Huether, and Ty Bilcke halted the Express' momentum and the Lakers escaped the period still tied at 0.
Early in the second period, the Express were handed a charging penalty which gave the Lakers a power play. Shawn Moore got the first quality scoring opportunity but was thwarted on his attempt to deke. On the next shift, David Sproat took control of the puck in the Express' end and brought the puck back to Scott Coghlin at the point. Coghlin’s shot was hard to contain and the rebound was up for grabs. Colton Pickett had a go before Brady Wiffen took over and buried it. Play was interrupted for ten minutes or so when Jake Ringuette was steered into the boards by the side gate knocking a pane of glass loose. Behelmeted arena staff quickly assessed the damage and had the bungee cord back in place in no time. Liam Maaskant nearly made the score 2-0 but hit the post. David Sproat tested the goalie with a decent slap shot. Jake Ringuette was interfered with and on the ensuing Huron-Perth power play the Express got the best scoring opportunity, a clear breakaway deke which was calmly averted by #31. On an even strength two on one, Ray Huether turned down a clear shot in favour of a nice little pass to Ryan Watson. Unfortunately the lone defender managed to get his stick in the way before Watson could take advantage of the set up.
The third period began with the Lakers down a man. Once again Drew Reinhardt’s post came up big. An Express player who snuck behind the defense deked for a backhand shot – denied, then went to the backhand again with the rebound – denied again. This spectacular series of saves kept the Lakers ahead by one but only for a short while - the Express scored on the next shift. Late in the game York-Simcoe had a power play and a good chance to go ahead - honorable mention to Brady Wiffen's penalty killing skills. As time wound down, an Express defenseman made a serious error in judgment trying to line up Ty Bilcke. The collision was heard throughout the rink with the Express player taking most of the damage. Bilcke was checked out at the Lakers bench by trainer Cindy Carter* but was no worse for wear. Toward the end of the game, according to at least one reliable witness, the Lakers did send a puck over the goal line. Colton Pickett was identified as the shooter but the officials weren’t in position to see the puck being fished out of the net. If that goal had counted, the rest of the tourney would have unfolded a little differently for the Huron-Perth side. Drew Reinhardt was awarded Lakers Player of the Game.
* Big thanks to Trainer Cindy Carter who took care of the players' bumps and bruises all year!!! And to Paul Sproat for the great articles!
CANADIENS
Thursday night’s Game #3 against the Jr Canadiens will be remembered by Laker players and fans for a long time. The Canadiens were finalists in the GTHL, losing to the Young Nats and seeded as the #2 team in the tournament. Ray Huether opened the scoring in the first period. After receiving a pass in the slot from Brandon Priestap, Huether went behind the net and patiently circled almost to the point where he'd received the initial pass. Huether's dangerous from anywhere and the big wrist shot from the slot is easy pickin's....1-0. Minutes later Jerry Ennett won a faceoff in the Canadiens end. Brady Wiffen delivered the puck to Liam Maaskant who sent it across to Jake Ringuette. Spotting Ennett positioned near a half empty net, Ringuette returned the puck to him. Ennett couldn't miss from there and didn't....2-0. Toward the end of the first, Drew Reinhardt found himself out of position at the mercy of a shooter but, as usual, was able to jump back into position to take the shot off his chest. Reinhardt was tested often but always in position to block the puck. The second period was a challenge for the Lakers who killed overlapping minor penalties, down two men for a span of 15 seconds. In the third period, ahead 2-1 now, players continued to obey Coach Stewart's advice to get on the Canadiens puck carriers immediately. Give them room and they'll get creative. Reinhardt used his posts, made some amazing saves, and relied on teammates to block shots. This is the kind of situation where a consistent defenseman like Spencer Ball is invaluable. Ball holds the blue line well, stays at home in his own end, and is seldom out of position. Against this total team effort the Canadiens were completely frustrated. The Lakers held on for two periods and change to win the game 2-1 in what many would call an upset. The Laker faithful call it a good game! As Reinhardt said after the game, "We knew we could beat them but we had to play one of our best games of the year to do it and WE ARE PUMPED!"
During the game, a Canadiens supporter was heard to comment to a friend, "That goalie's like velcro!" The friend, who obviously doesn't know a great goalie when he sees one, blamed the Canadiens shooters for shooting at the goalie. The friend's name?? Curtis Joseph. ('Cujo', whose son Taylor was playing forward for the Canadiens, was actually very gracious, and had his picture taken with Lakers dad Brian DeGroote. Brian now has a new screensaver.) Friday was a day off from hockey but the team attended a banquet that evening before going to a St. Mikes Majors game. Over a lovely salad one of the Canadiens fathers ungraciously commented that we (the Lakers) had caught them on an off day. "You caught us on a good day," would've been a good reply. For the second time in two games, Drew Reinhardt was awarded Laker Player of the Game.
WILD MILD
Saturday morning's Game #4 against the Eastern Ontario Wild was played for pride alone - good enough reason. According to the Lakers probability department, with a record of 1-1-1 our team was tied with York-Simcoe (remember the goal the ref didn’t see?). For us to advance Thunder Bay would have to defeat York-Simcoe by more that four goals. Didn't happen.
Ryan Watson opened the scoring at 9:24 with a shot from the side of the net that somehow evaded the goalie. With 16:06 seconds left in the period, goalie Cian Patterson-March positioned himself perfectly to absorb a hard shot that could have been problematic. On a second period power play, Ryan Watson came close by deftly tipping a hard shot/pass from Jake Ringuette. The Wild goalie had trouble handling the pressure near his crease and responded with a slash that gave the Lakers a two man advantage. Ray Huether approached from the left side of the net looking like he was going to shoot, and then patiently drifted across the front of the net before letting a wrister go from the right side. The goal judge was reaching for the switch but the puck hit someone’s stick, possibly the goalies. Shortly after that, Huether was hit from behind resulting in an n Easterner being ejected from the game amid a great show of anger. Ty Bilcke was crosschecked in front and it was five on three once again.
The power play controlled the puck beautifully with Jake Ringuette doing his best to set Huether up for the one-timer. A deflected pass resulted in a Wild breakaway from the Laker blue line. Despite a big head start, Ringuette calmly gave chase catching up to and lifting the stick of the player just as he was about to shoot. Still on the same power play, Jeff McArdle pinched in from the blue line and came close to making it 2-0 with a hard wrist shot. Midway through the period, the puck came back to Jesse DeGroote off the sideboards. Bringing it out from the boards for a better angle, DeGroote's slapper had eyes for the top corner but was snagged by a quick glove. Toward the end of the second, Colt Pickett's hard work almost paid off but the puck landed on top of the net instead of in it. With 2:51 left in the period, a Wild player took exception to Jerry Ennett's presence so close to the goalie. On the resulting power play, Ennett took a beauty pass from Brady Wiffen at the corner of the net and tried to bury it. David Sproat was there to snap in the rebound. Unfortunately for smooth skating #5, who'd had a very good tournament, the goal was disallowed - the net was off its moorings. In the third period with the score still 1-0; Cian Patterson-March made the scintillating save of the tourney, diving headlong at the left post with both arms extended just in time to stop the puck. Ryan Watson's spinning/crashing deke was repelled and the puck sent out to the neutral zone. Regrouping, Ray Huether brought the puck back in, dodged a check and sent the puck to Watson. This time Watson went straight at the goalie, bringing the puck to his backhand and chipping it up and in....2-0. Before and after passing the puck to Brady Wiffen, Ty Bilcke was busy putting two big hits on a defender. Wiffen and Colt Pickett left him to it and headed up ice. As Pickett charged the net, Wiffen sent a beauty pass which Pickett redirected at the top of the crease....3-0. Watson was doing some nifty stick handling through traffic, looking for the hat trick but he'll have to wait until next year. Breaking in two on one, Jerry Ennett crashed the lone defender while sending a soft pass to David Sproat. Again Sproat tried the backhand deke with no luck. With 1:05 remaining, after stripping a defender of the puck just as he went behind the net, Ryan Watson sent a short pass out to Ray Huether....denied. With: 51 seconds left in the season, Shawn Moore scored the team's final goal....batting one in from close range assisted by Ennett and Priestap. Still playing for pride alone, the boys celebrated this goal like it was a game winner. Ryan Watson earned Lakers Player of the Game for his offensive contributions.
Article by: Paul Sproat