Lakers Begin Second Season, News, Minor Midget, 2017-2018 (Huron Perth Lakers)

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Feb 04, 2018 | mcarter | 658 views
Lakers Begin Second Season
With the Alliance 33 game schedule finished for all 12 teams, the playoff match-ups were set last weekend.  The HP Minor Midget Lakers drew perennial contenders London Jr. Knights in the first round.

Game 1 went on Wednesday night in London at the Western Fair Sports Centre. The pace early on was quick, with both teams putting on pressure.  The best chance in the early going went to Bobby Leis, who just missed converting on a pass from behind the net.  Laker forward Kaden Hoggarth looked energized and full of P & V in his return to the lineup after missing much of the season with an "upper body injury" as they say.  However, it would be the Knights who got on the board first after cycling the puck around the Laker's zone for an extended shift and finished it off with a low shot that looked like it was tipped past goalie Carter Roth.  London struck again on a low blocker side shot and held a 2-0 advantage after one period of play.
 
London would begin the second period where they left off in the first, scoring on another tipped shot through the five-hole on Roth. With the shot count piling up, the Lakers struggled to gain control of the puck for any length of time.  The final London goal of the night was, admittedly, a beauty as the Knights player worked his way through three Laker defenders and went backhand shelf for the goal.  The Lakers headed to the break in search of a spark.
 
While the Huron-Perth boys were unable to score in the third, they did manage to provide some push back to the Knights.  They kept London off the board, thanks largely to several fine saves by Roth.  The Lakers were clearly out to send a message that Game 2 would be different. Final score - London 4, HPL 0.
 
After a practice and a day off to regroup, the boys were back at home for Game 2 at the Rotary on Saturday.  Right from the get-go, you could see the boys were fired up for this tilt.  A minute and half in to the game, Lakin Hendry would convert on a pass from Sheldon Pryce in the corner - Lakers finally had a lead!  H-P goalie Garrett Golley was solid in the first, denying a difficult backdoor chance on the penalty kill later in the period.
 
In the second, the Knights found the tying goal on a point shot that got through as many as five players without being blocked and past Golley who never saw it.  A tipping point in the game - would the Lakers succumb to the Knight's renewed attack or go on the offensive.  The answer came off the stick of D-man Thomas Gangl who worked the puck up ice trying to find Hendry ahead of him.  Luckily, his pass was blocked and he regained possession and fired it over the London keeper's shoulder under the bar to regain the lead for the Lakers. Then it was Carter Schoonderwoerd a minute later walking through the Knight's defense and going post-and-in from the slot to increase the lead to two.  Assists to Leis and Austin Mumby on that one, and the boys headed to the break up a pair.
 
The Knights would respond on the powerplay in the third, when a slapper beat Golley but hit the post. Unfortunately the puck bounced back, hit him and rolled across the line. Tough one, cutting the lead to 3-2. From there, though, the Lakers would take control of the game, getting two more goals - one from Hoggarth (bet that felt good!) from Gangl and Blake Wideman, and another from Hendry, his second of the game.  Final score HPL 5, London 2.
 
Game 3 will be a tough test again for the boys, back in London on Monday night at the Fair. Oh, and our apologies to the "experts" that picked London in 3...