The Huron Perth Lakers minor peewee AAA Lakers went 5-1 this past weekend, Nov. 16-18, 2012, at the Wally Beavis Memorial tournament in Peterborough. Unfortunately, their only loss was in the tournament final. In the first game they defeated the Peterborough Petes 4-2 which was followed by a 5-2 victory over the Upper Ottawa Valley Aces. The second day saw the Lakers defeat the Oshawa Generals 6-1 and the Ajax-Pickering Raiders 3-0. In the semi-final, the Lakers defeated the Seaway Valley Rapids 6-3 before losing in the final to the Central Ontario Wolves 7-2.
In the first game against the Petes, the Lakers were trailing 2-1 with less than 2 minutes to go before exploding for 3 goals in 80 seconds to secure the victory 4-2. The Lakers were led by Braden Burdett (2 goals), Joshua Zelek ( 1 goal, 1 assist), Eric Vander Eyk (1 goal), Tyson Hall (1 assist) and Kyle Stanbury (1 assist). Game MVP was Braeden Burdett.
In the second game against the Aces, the Lakers never trailed and came away with a 5-2 victory. Leading the way for the Lakers included Stanbury (2 goals, 1 assist) with Burdett, Carter McLlwain and Matthew Schwindt also picking up a goal. Players also picking up an assist included Joel Denotter, Hall and Vander Eyk. Game MVP was Matthew Schwindt who picked up his first AAA goal with a shot from the point.
In the third game against the Generals, after a scoreless first period, the Lakers picked their game up and cruised to a 6-1 victory. Scoring for the Lakers included a pair of goals each from both McLlwain and Sam Dupuis, Stanbury (1 goal, 1 assist), Vander Eyk (1 goal, 1 assist), Zelek (2 assists), Reid Campbell (1 assist), Hall (1 assist) and Denotter (1 assist). Game MVP was Joshua Zelek. Goalie Zach Hall had a strong game.
In the last round robin game against the Raiders, the Lakers shut down the Raiders 3-0. The shutout was recorded by goalie Owen Hahn. Putting up points for the Lakers included Burdett (1 goal, 1 assist), Zelek (2 assists), McLlwain (1 goal), Stanbury (1 goal) and Maxim Mulder (1 assist). Game MVP was Joel Denotter.
On Sunday in the semi-final, the Lakers did not lead until early in the third and sealed the victory by scoring the last 4 goals of the game to win 6-3 against the Rapids. Laker scoring included Stanbury (3 goals, 1 assist), Zelek (1 goal, 2 assists), as well as single markers to Campbell and Vander Eyk and a single helper by Schwindt. Game MVP was Kyle Stanbury.
The Lakers ran out of gas in the final by giving by 2 goals off of odd man rushes late in the first after outplaying the Wolves for most of the period. The Lakers pressed but the Wolves continued to take advantage of their chances while the Lakers were stymied by the Wolves’ stellar goaltending and they could not get out of the hole they dug themselves into. Laker scoring included goals from McLlwain (assists to Vander Eyk and Zach Dow) and Zelek (assists to Hall and Stanbury).
Overall, it is a good tournament when the team plays the maximum amount of games, it is too bad that the Lakers only loss came in the final. Optimistically speaking, there is a lesson to build from. The Lakers return to action this weekend when they travel south to take on Sun County and Windsor. Go Lakers.