Dec 03, 2012 | aaddley | 754 views
MIDGET'S SPLIT TWO CLOSE GAMES AT HOME
The midgets met the first place Wloves and last place Spitfires at the SSEC this past weekend coming way with two points in two close one goal games. Fans were treated to some great hockey both days as both games were fast and entertaining.
Sat Dec 1, Sarnia - The Midgets hosted Waterloo in their third meeting of the year. Waterloo currently sits in first place and the teams have split one goal games in their previous meetings. This game was another fan pleaser with both teams playing some great hockey. The first period would be a goalie duel with each team getting chances but both goalies standing tall ending the period with no score.
The Jr. Sting would open the scoring on a Power play just 9 seconds into the second period when Ben Morrison fed the puck out to Clay Williams who slid it across to Joe Desena in the slot. Desena unloaded a slap shot beating the Waterloo goalie clean. Waterloo would come right back and find an open shooter in front of the Lambton net, but Jr. Sting goaltender Kent Taylor would rob the Waterloo sniper to maintain the one goal lead. The action was back and forth with Waterloo tying it up late in the second when a lone shooter beat Taylor high glove side.
The high tempo end-to-end action continued in the third with great chances at both ends and the Waterloo goalie stealing a couple of goals right off the Lambton goal-sheet. As is often the case it was a fluky goal on Taylor that gave Waterloo the lead when a pass deflected off a skate with thirteen minutes left in the game. Some great pressure by the Midgets couldn’t buy a goal although the ring of the Waterloo cross bar and post rang throughout the arena. With just seconds left and the goalie pulled CJ Griffith would get a great shot away right off the face off but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Although they didn't come away with the win it was one of the best games the team has played in several weeks.
Final - Waterloo 2 – Lambton 1
Saves - Kent Taylor 32, Waterloo goalie 41
Penalties - LJS 10 minutes, WJW 14 minutes
Sun Dec 2, Sarnia – The Midgets would host the Windsor Jr. Spitfires for the first time this season. The Spits sit in last place but were coming off a big win over second place Kitchener the night before.
Lambton came out fast generating scoring chances with every shift but for the second game in a row they were facing a hot goaltender. Windsor would score on their first shot of the game at the 14 minute mark on a back door pass. Lambton would come back with a goal of their own when Calvin Hughson buried a Mark MacPherson rebound from a nearly impossible angle. The period finished tied although Lambton outshot Windsor 17-4.
Lambton would take the lead in the second when some great puck movement between Matt Vince and Andrew Martin, Martin's feed found Desena looking at an open net which he easily filled. Windsor wasn’t ready to lay down though and tied it up just two minutes later. It looked like Windsor might take the lead when a rebound was lying in the Sting crease but Keith Arnold made a great play to clear the puck and then followed that up with a thunderous check just seconds later. The midget’s continued to play some exciting hockey including some great individual effort by Zac Lewis and Matt Vince on the penalty kill.
The Jr. Sting would again take the lead in the third when Mac Colasimone passed the puck up to Mitch DeRush who saw David Veluz all alone in the opposite face off circle. A perfect pass allowed Veluz to unleash a one timer that found the top corner of the net. It looked like the Midget’s would cruise to a win but again the Spits showed no quit and tied the game up with less than three minutes remaining.
A five minute overtime gave the Jr. Sting three quality scoring chances but the Spits goalie turned them all away. Even though they clearly outplayed their opponent, the Jr. Sting found themselves in a shootout to determine the winner.
As in the game the Spits were not about to go quietly. Their first shooter found goalie Steven Taylors five hole to take the lead. The Sting’s first two shooters and Spits second couldn’t find the back of the net and Taylor was under pressure to stop the third shooter to keep his team alive. After a great save the pressure moved to Brad Campbell as he needed to score to keep the midgets hopes alive. Campbell fired a bullet past the Windsor keeper making it look easy and the shootout entered sudden death.
Taylor and the Windsor goalie then stole the show as each made some great saves sending this all the way to the eighth round. With last shot Mark MacPherson would be the hero as he beat the Spits goalie with a great top shelf backhand goal to win the game. Playing the first place Wolves and the last place Spits back to back in one goal games demonstrated just how close the league is this year. The midgets hit the road for the next several weeks with 5 back to back road games.
Final - Lambton 4 – Windsor 3 (SO win)
Saves - Steven Taylor 21 – Windsor 41
Penalties - LJS 20 minutes – WJS 22 minutes