Jan 23, 2013 | ngaylor | 956 views
Minor Atoms reach semi-final at Preston International losing in double OT
Written by Chris Holloway
The HP Laker Minor Atoms started the prestigious Preston International Tournament Friday afternoon with a 3-2 win over the Vaughn Kings. Tanner Dietz put the Lakers up 1-0 from a Patrick Holloway feed and then Cole Melady from Dietzy had the Lakers up 2-0 halfway through the game. However the Lakers got into penalty trouble late in the 2nd and Vaughn responded with a PP goal. But Dietz restored the 2-goal lead with just 9 seconds left in the 2nd when he went top shelf on a nice individual effort.
Halfway through the 3rd the Lakers were whistled for 2 minor penalties on the same stoppage and were unable to stop the Kings as they scored on the 5 on 3 PP to close the gap to 3-2. But Luke de Vries, Wade Robinson and Jordan Moulton were very solid on the back-end completely eliminating the Vaughn attack during 5 on 5 play to end the game, while Logan Harmer and Brady Ballantyne did some fine defensive work killing penalties throughout the game. Dietzy earned the Laker Chain for his strong offensive game.
Game 2 Friday was another 3-2 win, this time vs. Welland Southern Tier Admirals. Once again the Lakers jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 2 periods. Carter Servais from Sam Sedley and Camden Daigle from Melady. But Southern Tier did not roll over and tied the game by the halfway point of the 3rd before Dietzy netted the winner on a screen shot from just inside the blueline. Aaron Waugh was solid in the pipes and Jack Stecho was a force down low tying up defenders. Daigle earned the chain for his determined and fiesty play throughout the contest.
Saturday afternoon in their final pool game the Lakers faced a tough Mississauga Reps squad. In a must win or tie situation to advance to the semis the Lakers were not to be denied. Dietz scored early from Holloway on the PP to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead they carried all the way into the 3rd period before the Reps. finally broke Kyle Powers shutout bid with 7 minutes remaining. It appeared Daigle had put the Lakers up 2-1 with less than two minutes to go but the goal was disallowed and the game ended deadlocked at 1's. Powers earned the chain with a stellar effort in net backstopping the Lakers into the semis.
The Lakers, who qualified as the 4th seed, with their 2-0-1 record were up against the number 1 seed and eventual tournament champions, Halton Hurricanes. After Halton scored 2 early first period goals the resilient Lakers never gave up and finally got on the board midway through the 3rd when Melady deked a defender and bulged the twine. Maverick Mulder had the assist on a nice bank-pass through the neutral zone. After Halton quickly scored to regain their 2 goal lead, Jackson McLlwain scored 2 quick goals in under a minute to knot the game at 3's and send things to OT. Both goals were assisted by Luke Gaylor from some fine forechecking down low. After a scoreless 5 minutes of 4 on 4 hockey, Halton scored 5 minutes in the 3 on 3 Double-Overtime session for the 4-3 victory. Sam Sedley was fantastic in both ends of the rink and Holloway earned the chain for a nice play-making tournament. Laker coaches and parents are extremely proud of the boys efforts over the weekend as they earned the respect of some great Toronto area teams and represented Huron-Perth hockey with class throughout the Kitchener-Cambridge area.