Oct 03, 2021 | Steve McGrail | 348 views
U18 Sting Take Part in Alliance Face-off Showcase Weekend in St. Mary's
The Lambton Jr Sting u18 squad headed into the Alliance FaceOff Showcase weekend looking for their first win of the season and that is exactly what they got on Friday afternoon when they squared off against the Brantford 99'ers.
John Chartrand was between the pipes for the Sting and was stellar as he took his shutout bid until mid way through the 3rd period. Kevin Waters opened the scoring in the first on a nice pass from Adam Maitland. Anthony "The Italian Stallion" Tudino put the Sting up 2-0 on a nice pass from Luke DesRoches. Colton Graham made it 3-0 with a nice one-timer on a pass from Jacob Montesi. Ayman Soufan also drew an assist on the play.
Up 3-0, the Sting faced a tough task closing out the boys from Brantford as they battled back scoring twice in the later half of the third period. A disallowed goal followed by a penalty shot miss by Tudino, set the table for a nailbiter finish. But Assistant Captain J.J. Fogarty sealed the victory scoring an empty net insurance goal. Lambton won 4-2 for their first victory of the season. Player of the Game was Defenseman Adam Maitland.
In game 2 on Saturday, Lambton squared off against a strong Waterloo team and came out on the wrong end of a 9-2 drubbing. Once again the boys, came out with fire and jump and were in the game until the third period. Missing an entire line to injury and taking a lot of penalties has proved difficult for the Sting to maintain momentum and energy later in games.
Kevin Waters got the Sting on the board unassisted in the first period. The period ended 2-1 Waterloo. Adam Maitland took a bank pass of the boards from Jace McGrail and made no mistake going bardown and in. Anthony Tudino kept his point scoring streak going also picking up an assist. That would spell the end of the Sting scoring. It was 4-2 Waterloo after two periods and then they continued to pour it on in the third capitalizing on a few powerplays. Final Score was 9to 2 for Waterloo. Joe Malinowski suffered the loss in the Sting net. Player of Game for Lambton was J.J. Fogarty.
In Game 3 on Saturday night, Lambton faced off against the Hamilton Huskies. It was a fast paced game and was back and forth with both teams trading chances. The Sting fell behind 2-0 but a goal by Anthony Tudino closed the gap. Alex Akena picked up an assist. It was 2-1 after one period for Hamilton. Hamilton would add another in the second frame to make it 3-1 after two periods of play. In the third the Sting came out strong and mounted their comeback. Colton Graham scored a nice goal on a nice passing play from Tudino and McGrail. In the dying minutes of the third period, DesRoches corralled a loose puck and dished it off to Tudino who found Jacob Montesi open at the point and he wired a howitzer to the top corner to tie the game up at 3-3. Overtime was next for five minutes of 3on 3 hockey. It was a game of keep away and Sting had many chances but a blocked pass sprung a Huskie player on a breakaway and he made no mistake ripping it past an outstretched glove of John Chartrand. Despite the OT loss, the Sting picked up a valuable point. Goaltender John Chartrand was the Player of the Game.
In the final Game of the Showcase Lambton would face off against the host Huron Perth Lakers team. After a scoreless first period, the Lakers scored first to take a 1-0 lead. Lambton responded back with a nice shot from the point by Owen Kalp, who scored his first goal of the season. Will Hull was credited with the assist. Huron Perth quickly responded back with two quick ones and went to the intermission with a 3to1 lead. The third period was a difficult one again as tired legs struck and the Huron Perth Lakers kept coming in waves. Huron Perth made it 4-1 before Owen Kalp set Will Hull up for an Ovechkin-like one-timer slapshot goal from the face-off dot. The score of 4-2 was as close as Lambton would get as the Lakers added one more to put the game out of reach. Final score was 5-2. Joe Malinowski played well and made some big saves including a breakaway in the third. Player of the Game was Nathan Williams.
The Sting now prepare for two home games this weekend vs Huron Perth and Elgin Middlesex.