Article wrtten by Mike Savage, Staff Sportswriter for the Stratford Beacon-Herald:
It was a mixed bag for the host organization on opening day of the 2008 All-Ontario Bantam AAA hockey championship at Stratford Rotary Complex Monday.
The Huron-Perth Lakers shut out the Thunder Bay Kings 3-0 in their morning game, then were blanked 4-0 by Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs at night. Their 1-1 record has them in decent shape going forward, as a .500 record should be enough to qualify for the final four in the seven-team event.
“Our goal is to make it to the semifinals,” said Stratford’s Brad McClure, who scored a powerplay goal against the Kings and was named the Lakers’ player of the game against the Chiefs.
“We passed well and got a lot of pucks to the net (against Thunder Bay), took the body and buried the rebounds. It was good to get a win under our belts. We’ve got to keep playing hard and get another one tomorrow.”
The Lakers square off against Soo Thunder (1-1) at 4 p.m. this afternoon, a game which will give the winner an inside track to Friday’s playoffs.
“We’re happy to be where we are,” said Lakers’ head coach Shaun Peet. “We gave a pretty sound effort in the first game and could have had five or six goals. We got into penalty trouble in the second game which hurt us.”
Against the Chiefs (2-0), the Lakers were two-men down late in the first period when Bryan McCauley scored with 1:17 left in the frame, and just 33 seconds later, Ryan Wells made it 2-0 Elgin-Middlesex during a 5-on-4 with a well-placed blast from the point.
Earlier in the period, Lakers’ goaltender Brett O’Drowsky, of St. Marys, made several scintillating saves to keep the game scoreless. He was lifted after the second period in favour of Exeter’s Jake Partridge with Elgin-Middlesex up 3-0.
“It had nothing to do with Brett, he made some big saves for us,” said Peet. “We made the switch because the guys were flat and we tried to give them a spark, make them feel guilty for getting their goalie pulled and see if they’d respond.”
The Lakers improved their play over the final 15-minute session but were unable to beat Chiefs’ goalie Lucas Easterbrook. Justin Thomas sealed it for Elgin-Middlesex with an empty-netter in the closing seconds. McKenzie Berton also scored for the Chiefs.
In their win over Thunder Bay (0-2), the Lakers got a goal and assist from Stratford’s David Dalby, and single markers from McClure and Woodstock’s Dylan Lazarus. Ripley’s Garrett Meurs had two helpers, while Listowel’s Mac Nichol, Embro’s Derek Cowing and Seaforth’s Jordan Currie each had one assist for the Lakers. O’Drowsky recorded the shutout.
Joining Elgin-Middlesex at the top of the standings at 2-0 are the Toronto Marlboros, who defeated Soo Thunder 7-2 in the morning and downed Upper Canada Cyclones 5-1 in the afternoon.
Zach Mitchell had two goals and an assist for the Marlies in the win over the Soo, Ryan Strome a goal and two assists, and Michael Curtis, Lucas Lessio, Mariontoni Matia and Laughton Scott one goal apiece. Matthew Honsberger and Kurtis Barbarie scored for the Thunder. Against the Cyclones, Lessio scored twice for the Marlies, with singles by Luke Juha, Mitchell and Brett Ritchie. Ryan Van Stralen scored for Upper Canada.
In Monday’s other games, the Chiefs defeated York-Simcoe Express 3-1 on a pair of goals by captain Boone Jenner and one by Jacob Worrad. Dylan Kovacs replied for the Express (0-1). And Soo blanked Thunder Bay 3-0 on goals by Barbarie, Honsberger and Matthew Zalewski.
NOTES — The size and speed of these 14- and 15-year-olds is something else ... At 6’3 and 185 pounds, the Chiefs’ Justin Thomas dwarfed most of the Lakers, who have just one player listed at 6’0. But Thomas is not the tallest player in the tournament. That distinction, according to the tale of the tape listed in the program, belongs to Marlies’ forward Stephen Condie, at 6’5, 185 pounds ... A dozen players in the tourney are listed at 6’2 or better ... Plenty of memorabilia up for grabs on display tables in the walking area between the RBC and Molson Arenas. Items available to the highest bidder include autographed framed photos of Martin Brodeur, Jarome Iginla, Sidney Crosby, Steve Yzerman, the 1967 Leafs, Paul Henderson’s goal, a Tim Taylor autographed stick, and an autographed Boyd Devereaux jersey. The silent auction ends Thursday afternoon, prior to the 6 p.m. banquet.