The Lambton Junior Sting PeeWee AAA were looking to kick off the new year with a solid start playing 2 games on the weekend.
The Sting would travel to Komoka to take on the Elgin Middlesex Chiefs on Saturday afternoon. Lambton would score on the first shift of the game as the faceoff would be won back to Gage Langford who would find Theo Crombeen down the right wing who would break in and find Cameron Adam who would convert the cross ice pass for a 1-0 Lambton lead. After the early goal, the boys seemed to fall asleep and by the middle of the 2nd period would be trailing by a score of 3-1. It would be the Joey Ferrera, Curtis Marks and Nic Direzze line that would put some life back in the Sting game as the trio would break in with all three getting a shot on net, Nic Direzze scoring on the final rebound.
Theo Crombeen would tie the game up shortly after on another rebound off a Gage Langford shot. Lucas Knowles would also pick up an assist on the play. The Sting were really starting to pick up their play with the game now in the 3rd period, but it would be Elgin that would take a 4-3 lead as one of their forwards would break in alone on a break away and score a nice goal. Lambton would not be denied as they would soon tie the game up on yet another rebound as Alec Trusler would take a shot from the point and Nic Direzze would make no mistake to bury the rebound for his 2nd goal of the game. The Sting would be forced to work hard to earn the tie as they would be assessed a 4 minute penalty late in the game. The penalty kill units would work hard to kill the penalty and the game would end in a 4-4 tie.
The Sting were at home on Sunday afternoon taking on the Chatham-Kent Cyclones, a struggling team that has been playing pretty well as of late. The team was playing 2 men short due to injuries, so 2 defensemen were moved up to forward leaving only 4 at the back end.
Nic Direzze opened the scoring for the Sting as he pounced on a rebound from a point shot from Tristan Haagsma and buried it before the goalie could move. Nest it was Dante Fuoco who dished it off to Brett Allardyce who took a shot from the point along the ice and found its way through the goalies wickets. The new line made up of Curtis Marks and the D-men Joe Correia and Jordan Hurtubise played very well producing several scoring chances but just could not find the back of the net.
In the second period, despite both teams having a couple of power play opportunities, it was only Chatham while playing even strength, who would score in the period. The lead was cut to 2 – 1 going into the 3rd period.
Early in the period the teams exchanged power plays again. Chatham appeared to have scored on one of those power plays but the goal was called off due to a high stick on the deflection. The score remained 2 – 1 but it was a bit of a wake-up call to the team. From this point on the boys elevated their offensive game. First it was Alec Trusler, fresh out of the penalty box who mad a rush down the left side shooting on net creating a rebound for Nic Direzze whose shot in turn left a yawning cage for Trusler to finish with a backhander. Shortly after this, while on the power play, Cameron Adam parked behind the net found Theo Crombeen out front. He made no mistake snapping home another to make it 4 – 1. With about two and a half minutes remaining the Cyclones pulled their goalie in desperation and it paid off as they scored reducing the lead to 4 – 2. However, their celebration was cut short as Lucas Knowles scored on an empty net.
The final score was 5 – 2. Although the boys came out a bit flat they did manage to recover and get the 2 points.
Coaches Comments:
"My 2 hockey related wishes for 2013 are:
1. More consistent effort from each individual player, always out working the other team.
2. An increased sense of urgency to put the puck in the opposition's net.
We will go a long way in the playdowns when the boys decide to grant me my 2 wishes.
We will work very hard in dryland and practice to drive these 2 points home ..... always remembering that: "Practice does not make perfect ..... Only perfect practice makes perfect"
Happy New Year and thank you for all your support this season."