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Minor Peewee MD
Oct 15, 2007
Monday, October
15, 2007, “a great day for hockey”, Badger Bob loved to say, as
the Sarnia Sting minor peewee M.D. skaters faced off opposite
the L.M.H.A. Thunder from London town. Nick VanBilsen,
Dean MacEachern along with Leeam Ridley the starting forward
trio, with Christian Kerrigan and Konnor Harris at the points.
Play concentrated between the bluelines before the puck squirted
loose and was picked up by MacEachern, across the line and a low
hard shot steered aside by Cameron Malott. Thunder with
the attempt to drive the puck hard around the wall, Mitch
Hodgins, away from the play, skated to the end boards, was able
to intercept and centre to Marcus Dusseault. A good effort,
Sting registered another shot on goal. A pass right through the
blue ice, James Pavey with the feed to Hodgins one more close
call to end the second shift of the contest. Thunder’s Hayden
McCulloch stole the puck near centre, side stepped the
defenceman for a shot….off the post!
“That’s not even
a shot on goal”, stated goalie Scott Gray when pressed for a
comment after the game, my goalie coaches told me they did not
expect me to stop every shot….just every shot on goal!
Face off to the
right of Gray, carried out of the zone and down the ice by
MacEachern, a shot and save by Malott. Clearing attempt stopped
at the point by Kerrigan, the shot through traffic a good one,
rebound picked up by Curtis Lindsay. His shot a low drive,
stopped by Malott, rebound, a shot from Tyler Groulx and a huge
save, Malott! Hodgins stopped the “Dee to Dee” pass,
Braden Erskine to Kody Drown, at the Sting blueline, head manned
the puck for Dusseault and he’s off on a break away scoring the
game’s first goal. A good play at the London blueline to keep
the play on side by Harris resulted in solid pressure from the
VanBilsen, MacEachern, and Ridley, culminating in the
wrap-around goal by MacEachern. VanBilsen and Kerrigan earned
the helpers on the goal at 8:34 of the first period.
Thunder struck
just as the buzzer sounded, Dean Demelo credited with the marker
to end the opening stanza.
At the start of
the second, Kerrigan held the line and fired a wrister toward
the goal, VanBisen and Ridley sniffed for the rebound…none to be
found. London grabbed the biscuit mid-ice and on a partial break
as Matthew Fleming skated past the blueline but his travel plans
interrupted with a crunch of a body check delivered by Kevin
Dann! Pavey had the next chance as his blast deflected off the
face mask, a little silent homage paid; to “Jake the Snake”,
(and no I don’t mean the old pro-rassler) as Malott credited
with another save and still sporting a full set of teeth. Point
shot from Dann, tipped wide by Hodgins but scooped up and fired
to the back of the cord cottage by Pavey at 2:42 of the second
period.
Groulx with hard
work on the end boards to direct the puck to the slot and the
tip in attempt by Eric Cunningham just missed. Cameron St. Marie
with a nice rush down ice and good low shot handled cleanly by
Gray.
Three-twenty left
on the clock in the second period, faceoff to the left of Malott,
draw won by Dusseault and a good play at the line by Scott
Ferguson to keep the play on side and alive. Play into the
corner, Pavey on the prowl dug the puck loose and carried it
around the back of the net for the centering chance…Thunder able
to clear. Puck forwarded into the Sting end and Dallas
Publicover sailed on off the crossbar behind Gray again not even
a shot on goal in the mind of any puck stopper. Puck picked up
by Calvin Hughson and skated out over the blueline, but lost it
there setting up a Thunder three on one the other way, but the
three were controlled by the one, Chris Maitland, as he calmly
cleared the puck out of the zone bringing the second period to a
close.
Third period
action now as London cleared the puck from their end down the
ice, not deep enough for an icing, as Kerrigan retrieved the
biscuit. Nice move as the Thunder fore-checker bit on a fake to
the wall, Kerrigan turned and MacEachern was wide open at the
centre ice dot slapping his stick. The tape to tape pass sent
“Big Mac” on a breakaway, a fake left a move to the backhand and
Malott stacked the pads to make another highlight reel save.
Pavey, the shot, a glove save, puck to the blueline….not out,
held there by Dann and directed into the corner. Hodgins gave
chase, controlled the puck, passed to Pavey a shot, save,
scramble, whistle, goal. Er, well, ugh, no goal called, the
whistle had blown, face off to the right of Malott. McCulloch,
the London forward, called for a hooking infraction, but the
Sarnia power play was short-lived as Groulx picked up a slashing
call forty-one seconds later to set up four on four combat.
MacEachern joined his team-mate in the sin bin as he was
assessed two minutes for slashing, now the Sting were down to
just three skaters. Maitland ahead to Dusseault for a
short-handed breakaway, glove save Malott! Maitland showed
good patience, this time the pass to Pavey and the three teamed
up to hem the Thunder in their own end to kill time off the pair
of Sting penalties. Puck lost just inside the Thunder
blueline, looked like Cunningham was going to pounce on it, when
out of nowhere streaked Lindsay, the afterburners on, a hard
shot taken right of the crest on the chest of the L.M.H.A.
keeper. Cunningham was not to be denied as later he scored, his
first Sarnia travel hockey goal, Lindsay and Groulx in on the
assists. “Curty shot and I got to the net. The goalie made the
save but the rebound was right there, I could miss that one!”
stated Cunningham after the game.
When pressed to
comment on his new line mates Eric added, “they are so fast and
they work so hard every shift. I know I have to skate hard and
work my tail off so I don’t look out of place out there.”
Sting in the lead
4-1, as Dusseault struck for his second of the contest, Pavey
and Hodgins in on the helpers increasing the lead to four with
five minutes remaining. Ridley missed a glorious chance as
he took a flip style shot from the crease that just failed to
score. Leeam scored later, Pavey and VanBilsen drew the assists
on the Ridley wrap around. VanBilsen a hard wrist shot found the
back of the cage following a Kerrigan pass, MacEachern the other
helper, as Sarnia now in the lead at 7-1.
Pavey fired home
another Sting marker before Cunningham finished off the scoring
on a nifty move to the backhand. An unselfish play by Groulx, as
he foregoes the shot to slide the puck across to Cunningham, who
made no mistake to make the final tally, Sarnia 9, London 1.
“That should
count as a shut-out”, said Roan Mackay in the room after the
game, “the period was over before that puck went in”, he added.
“Hey Scotty you can’t wash your underwear….it’s a shut out
thing, don’t rinse the luck out of them”, he advised Gray. “I’ll
try to hide them from my mom, but if they get to ripe I think
she’ll find them”, he laughed as he promised not to do anything
to upset the karma.
Sarnia’s next
game will be Thursday October 18th at Kinsmen Arena
against the West London Hawks.
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