Dec 17, 2012 | sjohnson | 1512 views
Lakers on a roll
Lakers defeat Cambridge and Waterloo in close games this weekend.
The Minor Bantam Huron Perth Lakers travelled to Cambridge on Friday night, with team captain Kade Landry back from the Disabled List after 7 weeks off, and defeated the Hawks by the score of 2-1. The game did not start as planned, as the Lakers surrendered the first goal, just 3 minutes into the game while shorthanded. The lead was short-lived as Blair Butchart followed up on a Will Thibeault breakaway and shovelled in the rebound for the tying goal. Landry picked up the other assist on the goal. The game would remain tied, until Scott Stovel would go top shelf with 9 minutes to go in the game to give the HPL a lead they would not surrender. Tanner Hertel would pick up the assist with a nice pass from behind the net to the open Stovel at the top of the slot area. Justin Hergott was the winning goalie. The Lakers served 6 minor penalties while the Hawks would take 10 minor penalties.
Saturday, the RBC arena in Stratford was host to a battle of the top 2 teams in the East Division as the Lakers and Waterloo Wolves would play with first place on the line. Another defensive battle was played throughout, as the Lakers could only muster a few offensive chances. Scoreless after 2, the third period was penalty filled and wide-open as each team had numerous powerplay chances. The Lakers would score after a fortunate bounce off of the back boards would land in front of the net to a waiting Will Thibeault, who made no mistake in beating a sprawled goalie. Tanner Johnson and Jacob Rooke picked up the assists on the powerplay and game-winning goal scored with just 3:40 left in the game. The Lakers would play the last 3:21 seconds shorthanded, including being 2 men down after Waterloo pulled their goalie in favour of an extra attacker, but were terrific on the penalty kill. Brock Baier was sensational in net all game long, frustrating the high powered Wolves offence, as he recorded the well-deserved shutout. The Lakers served 12 minutes in penalties, while Waterloo would serve 18 minutes.
The win is the 8th in their last 10 league games, and keeps the HPL atop of the East Division with a record of 15 wins, 5 losses, and 4 ties.