Minor Midget Lakers take Silver at Gold Puck, News, Minor Midget, 2017-2018 (Huron Perth Lakers)

The Huron-Perth Minor Midgets competed at the 47^th Annual Waterloo Gold Puck tournament over the weekend, coming away with a second place finish.

The tournament was held at the RIM Park rinks on Friday through Sunday with 16 Minor Midget and 17 Major Midget teams participating.  The Lakers began play on Friday morning with a game against the Soo Thunderbirds. The boys showed great hustle out of the gate and earned a 3-1 victory.  Goal scorers in this one were Josiah Kraayenbrink (AP), Nolan Gagnier and Bobby Leis, with assists to Thomas Gangl, Coleson Fischer and Carter Schoonderwoerd.  Carter Roth played a solid game in goal.

Game 2 on Friday evening was against the Richmond Hill Coyotes, a team the Lakers had seen previously in the London tournament, that resulted in a tight 1-0 loss. The Lakers came out looking for revenge, but it was the Coyotes that struck first on a misplayed puck the Laker zone. However, the Lakers stormed back in the second with 2 goals in less than a minute, both off the stick of Schoonderwoerd.  Pryce would add an empty net goal late in the third for another 3-1 win. Roth with his second win of the day was excellent again, holding the fort well.

With 2 victories in the bag, it was on to Saturday for a very early morning contest against the Sudbury Wolves (also 2-0 at the time).  Huron-Perth knew that a third win would put them in a very good position to move on and that spurred them to take an early lead, on the first shot of the game in fact, as Schoonderwoerd scored yet another big goal. Assist to Bryce Lee on the goal. The Lakers would strike again in the first on a powerplay goal by Lakin Hendry from Jack Robinson and Jack Becker.  That is all the boys would need, as Garrett Golley shut the door with a great effort in goal, especially in the third period as the Wolves poured shot after shot at the Laker net.

Saturday’s second opponent was the North Bay Trappers - another undefeated team.  They proved to be the Lakers toughest test handing the boys a 3-1 loss to finish the round-robin play with 6 points.  Schoonderwoerd scored the only Laker goal with an assist to Pryce.  Now it was a waiting game to see if 6 points would be enough. Sudbury would eventually beat Waterloo to firm up Huron-Perth’s spot in the Sunday semi-final round against the Halton Hurricanes.

The Halton game was one they boys will remember for a long time to come.  Down 2-0 to a very determined Halton team, the boys would not break.  Roth refused to give up the third goal, and the Lakers finally broke through with a goal by Schoonderwoerd on a pass from Blake Wideman.  Minutes later, as the third period wound down, the Lakers got the tying marker on the powerplay off the stick of Pryce who tipped in a Robinson point shot.  Overtime would be needed.  In 3-on-3 OT, Huron-Perth completed the comeback when Gangl sunk in to the top of the slot and wristed the game winner in over the Hurricanes goalie.  An unbelievable come from behind victory that gained the boys a berth in the finals!

The Gold Puck final presented as a rematch between the weekend’s two best teams – Huron-Perth and North Bay.  With the previous day’s loss still fresh, the Lakers came out seeking vengeance.  The game was fast-paced with plenty of chances at either end, but it was clear from the outset that it would be close on the scoreboard throughout.  Roth had to face a penalty shot early on and turned it aside to keep the game scoreless.  North Bay would open the scoring in the final minute of the second period to send the Lakers to the break down a goal.  However, they would find the net on the powerplay midway through the third to knot the game at 1.  With overtime looming again, it was North Bay who found the winner on a cross-ice pass that was hammered home behind Roth with just minutes left in the game.  Despite throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the North Bay net, the Lakers would fall short, losing the game 2-1.