This past weekend saw the Minor Midget Lakers score only 3 goals
over two games, however strong defensive play and great goaltending secured
victories in both.
Game 1 of the weekend occurred as part of the annual Laker Day
where all HP Laker teams play a home game. This year it was held in St.
Mary’s with both ice rinks in use. It is a wonderful opportunity for each
of the teams and their respective fans to watch and show support for other
Laker teams they might not get to see very often. The Minor Midgets
hosted the Windsor Jr. Spitfires, an opponent they had yet to face this
season. The game started off with a fairly quiet first period, marked by
only a single unrewarded Spitfire powerplay.
Action heated up in the second period, when defenceman Jack
Robinson fed a pass through to Sheldon Pryce who fired it home to stake the
Lakers to a 1-0 lead at the 11:00 minute mark. Moments later, it was
Pryce ringing a rocket off the crossbar on a feed from Lakin Hendry. The
boys were now putting the pressure to Windsor, looking to double the
lead. It would come before the end of the second on pass from to Carter
Schoonerwoerd that sprung Bobby Leis who beat the defender 1-on-1 and scored
five-hole. The second period ended with the Lakers up by two.
An early powerplay in the third for the Spits on a Schoonerwoerd
penalty was turned aside, the effort led by Garrett Golley in goal. The Lakers
had a glorious chance to increase their lead when Windsor found themselves in
penalty trouble. Undisciplined play on their part handed the Lakers a full 2
minute 5-on-3 chance with six and a half minutes left, but the boys were unable
to score. The inevitable push came in the final minutes of the third, but
the defence and Golley stood strong to preserve the shutout. Some
nastiness at the final buzzer was naught but sour grapes on the part of the
Spitfires who headed home defeated. A solid if not spectacular game by
the home team and 2 more points in the bank.
On Sunday, the squad looked to complete their second straight
4-point weekend. Another first-time opponent this season, the Kitchener
Jr. Rangers, came calling at the Rotary. The general consensus is that this
would be a physical match-up and that held true. A scoreless first was
highlighted by fast-paced action at both ends of the ice. An early
powerplay for the Lakers came up empty. Carter Roth and the Rangers
goalie both performed well, hinting that this match would be low scoring.
The Rangers started the second period with a four minute
powerplay as a result of a fracas at the end of the first. Kitchener
asserted themselves with some perimeter puck movement, looking for a hole in
the defence. Roth turned away everything directed at the Laker net and
the boys managed to kill off the penalty. Another powerplay for the
Lakers shortly after the kill on an unsportsmanlike penalty to one of the
Ranger forwards who must have said something to the referee near the
bench. Again it would be Pryce who opened the scoring on a play set up by
Hendry and Leis. First blood was drawn and the Lakers held the
lead. Kaden Hoggarth had a fantastic opportunity later in the frame to
widen the lead when he fired a shot low into the goalie’s pad and then pounced
on the rebound himself and took 3 more whacks at it before the puck was finally
covered. Close but no cigar. The Lakers would kill another Ranger’s man
advantage before the end of the second. The boys headed for the break up
by a goal.
Kitchener came out of the break clearly determined to put as
many pucks as possible toward our net in desperate hope of the equalizer. The
offence came in waves with the Lakers gamely trying to keep the puck to the
outside and let Roth see everything. Man, a 20 minute period can feel
like an hour! At one point, the Rangers had put 10 straight shots toward
the Laker net before one was directed at their own keeper. In the end,
some huge shot blocks (as is becoming a hallmark of the team’s play), some
lights-out goaltending by Roth and a pinch of luck with a couple of posts and
good bounces kept the score to 1-0 Lakers and the victory was sealed.
Back to work this week with a couple of practices and a big pair of
games next weekend against fellow top tier teams Cambridge and Sun County.