The Huron Perth Minor Midgets gained wins in two of their last three games over the last week beginning with a victory over the London Jr. Knights Green team on December 15th. As the season is beginning to wind down, each game is so important with the Lakers battling to hold on to first place in the Alliance East Division.
The Lakers came to play against the Knights but were battling from behind throughout the game. London scored on their first shot of the game but it was disallowed as it was kicked into the net. London opened the scoring in the first period when
Daniel Dekoning went out to play the puck that ricocheted off Laker player
Drew Gross and right to a London player who sent the puck into the empty net. The first period ended with the Lakers down 1 – 0. London took a two goal lead in the second period on the powerplay when Dekoning made the first save with his right pad but the rebound went right to a London player who made no mistake with a wide open cage. The Lakers pulled to within one on the powerplay when
Alex Peters moved in from point and beat former Laker goaltender Kent Taylor with a low shot to the blocker side that went in off the post. Assist on the goal going to
Quinten Haddock. The Knights regained a two goal margin on another powerplay of their own on a nice feed from the side of the net to a player moving in from the point who buried the puck past Dekoning before he had a chance to slide over. The Lakers kept fighting back and pulled to within one before the period ended when
Blake Pickering banged in a rebound that
Jake Lapointe had shot from the point. Haddock got the second assist on the goal. The second period ended with 4 goals being scored and the Knights leading 3 – 2. The Lakers tied the game up early in the third period on a fluky goal that
Taylor Moir scored from the corner. Moir shot the puck towards the net and a London player deflected the puck between Taylor’s legs. The puck slowly crossed the goal line with credit going to Moir for some good hustle to get to the puck. With 25 seconds left in the game and a faceoff in the London end,
Nathan Templeman went forward with the draw and Haddock picked up the puck, crossed the slot showing patience and beat Taylor to the glove side for the game winner. The Lakers outshot London 48 – 27 in this one finishing with their largest shot total of the year. Taylor played very well in net for London and Dekoning made some key saves in the third to earn the win.
The Minor Midgets traveled to Chatham on December 17th for a game against the Cyclones. The Lakers were short staffed for this one as some players were injured, some suspended and some sick.
Evan Wigmore returned in goal for the Lakers after being out since the beginning of November. The Cyclones drew first blood in the first period on a giveaway by the Lakers at their own blue line. A Cyclone player walked in alone and made a nice backhand to the top corner to beat Wiggy. The Lakers responded when
Derek Elliott tied the game on a rebound from the slot. Assists going to
Garrett James and
Carter Stewart on the goal. The score was tied at 1 – 1 after the first period with the Lakers outshooting the Cyclones 18 – 2. The Lakers continued to pepper the Cyclone goalie in the second period but the score remained tied going in to the break. The Cyclones took the lead early in the third period when a pass from behind the net to a Cyclone player ended up in the back of the Laker net. With a Laker player ejected from the game and another sitting out the third in the penalty box, it was gut check time for the Minor Midgets as two points in this one was a necessity.
Taylor Moir tied the score on some great fore checking resulting in Moir walking out from behind the net and scoring on a backhander. Assists on the goal going to
Derek Elliott and
Drew Gross.
Garrett James scored a beauty on an end to end rush that saw him fake a shot just over the Cyclone blue line and walk in on net roofing the puck over the goalie from the doorstep. The power play goal was unassisted. With just under 4 minutes to play,
Evan Wigmore made a great save on a high slap shot. Unfortunately the shot reinjured Wiggy and he immediately skated off the ice.
Daniel Dekoning finished out the game and the Lakers hung on by a score of 3 – 2. The Lakers outshot the Cyclones 40 -21.
The Lakers returned home on December 18th to play the Elgin Middlesex Chiefs at the Allman in Stratford on December 18th. The Lakers had 6 players that they pulled up from Major Bantam to help the depleted troops. Neither team could find the net with the score knotted at zero’s after two periods. With just under three minutes to play, the Chiefs scored the game’s only goal on a strange one from the corner that deflected in off
Daniel Dekonings pad. The Lakers pulled the goalie in the remaining moments of the game but came out of this one with a 1 – 0 loss. The shots were even in the game at 16 -16.
With four games remaining, the Lakers find themselves in first place in their division. They are three points up on Cambridge and 5 points up on the surging Waterloo Wolves with each of these teams also having four games left to play. At stake for winning the division is a bye in the first playoff round. To wind up the season, the Lakers play two games against Cambridge and a game each against Waterloo and Hamilton. A couple of wins, with one of them being against Cambridge will be enough to clinch the division. The Lakers play the Cambridge Hawks at the Dufferin Arena in Stratford on December 22nd at 8:00 pm in a crucial match that could determine the final placing in the Alliance East Division.