The Major Peewee’s travelled to Hamilton to take on the Huskies on Saturday afternoon. The team went into this game hoping to extend there unbeaten streak in league play.
The 1st period was fairly uneventful with a lot of broken plays from both teams. It looked as if Nic Direzze was going to finally put the team on the score sheet as he barreled in on a breakaway but was denied by the Husky goaltender. The period ended 0-0.
In the second period the Sting were starting to press their opposition and this hardwork translated into a power play. The boys capitalized on this opportunity as Josh Vale did some great work down low and made a great pass to Joe Correia coming off the blueline, who in turn took a great wrist shot, low to the blocker side putting the team up 1-0. Shortly after this, the team got caught napping a bit in their own end, failing on a number of occasions to clear their zone and would pay the price as Hamilton would find the back of the net. Hamilton built up some momentum and nearly took the lead, as one of their wingers dashed down the left side uninhibited, taking a nice shot, however, Jakob Knowles made a sensational save to keep it even at 1-1.
The 3rd period began with a Hamilton power play. The team did a good job killing it off, however, it led to Hamilton controlling a lot of the play in the early going. By mid way through, the boys started to get their feet again and took the lead once more as Direzze took a shot that was tipped by Vale. The lead was increased to 3-1 as Cameron Rombouts and Cameron Adam cycled the puck down low and eventually got it back to Gage Langford who wired a shot that made its way to the top corner.
Hamilton would add another on the powerplay late in the period, but were unable get the third goal to tie the game.
The final score was 3-2, not bad for a road game and enough to keep the streak alive. Joe Correia earned the POG award for his contributions in both ends of the ice. Next stop, a home game against division rival Sun County.
Sunday’s matinee game had the Sun County Panthers in town for the second game of the weekend and for the second meeting of these two West division rivals this year.
The Panthers got off to a quick start when less than 1 minute into the game, a bouncing puck eluded the Sting D-man at centre ice. A pair of opportunistic Sun County forwards went in 2 on 1, crashed the crease and pushed the puck and a sprawled out Josh Bayne into the net. 1 – 0 Sun County. In a My Name is Earle moment, karma came back full circle as Gage Langford sent a high lob from centre ice at the net. The puck bounded over the shoulder of the Sun County goaler finding the back of the net. Tie game. After the two follow the bouncing puck episodes, both teams (and the puck) settled in to the rhythm if a tight checking game with only a few shots by either team.
The second period started off where the first had left off - tight checking. Five minutes in, Cam Adam was called for a minor check from behind that carries a once game suspension. The Sting penalty kill successfully held the Panther power play at bay and moments after returning to full strength Dante Fuoco poked home a loose puck with assists going to Josh Vale and Joe Correia. The Sting penalty killers were again put to the test this time killing of a 2 man disadvantage. The successful PK energized the Sting as the intensity of the swarm heightened. The buzzing Sting had 3 good quality scoring chances that were all turned aside by the besieged Sun County goaler in the dying minutes of the period.
Lucas Knowles started the third period with a sweet toe drag and dangle move that had the Panther D-man wondering what happened as the puck slide 5-hole putting the Sting up 3 – 1. Curtis Marks and Jordan Hurtubise were credited with the helpers. A 2 man advantage of their own saw the Sting controlling the play with crisp passing leading to several shots directed at the net. Tristan Haagsma was able to tally the power play marker on a nice shot from the point. Helpers on the play went to Dante Fuoco and Brett Allardyce. Some 4 on 4 action soon found the Sting’s lead increase to 5 – 1 as a nifty passing sequence between Lucas Knowles and Nic Direzze had Nic slide the puck 5-hole for the goal. The POG award went to Alec Trusler. His stout defensive play and good first pass helped set the tone for the Sting team. Special mention goes to Josh Bayne very his critical and timely saves when the game was tight.
“The coaching staff is certainly very proud of the team through this early stretch of 12 undefeated regular season games." said Head Coach Paul
Hurtubise, "The boys deserve a lot of credit for finding ways to win or tie games. The improvements made in the players’ physical conditioning are paying off in the third period which has typically been our best period this season. The most exciting news is that we still have many opportunities to improve individual and team play. These much needed improvements will be critical when facing top teams in our league or in tournaments starting with Waterloo and Elgin next weekend, quickly followed by the highly competitive Shanahan Tournament the weekend of November 9th. This upcoming stretch of games will be a true test of our team’s character. As a team, we really look forward to the challenge!”
