Jan 23, 2016 | bblain | 550 views
Warriors keep rolling
Owen Blain recorded a hat trick and added an assist as the Stratford Warriors Tier III West squad, sponsored by Hockey Training Above, toppled the North London Nationals 9-3 in London, January 19.
Facing each other for the third straight time in the regular season and with both teams fresh off a gold medal victory in their respective divisions of the Bradford Bulldogs Tournament, the Warriors were determined to continue their winning ways.
Goaltender Reed Bowles set the tone early when he made a great stick save with the Nationals pressing for the opening marker. It was the spark that the Warriors needed in a rare midweek contest.Less than four minutes in, Owen Chambers intercepted a pass just inside the Warriors' blueline then used his wheels to fly through the neutral zone go around the defence and slip it five hole for a 1-0 lead. Seconds later Taten Mikel made a great play at the point to hold the line. His shot was stopped but Blain was there to tap it home and Stratford was up 2-0.A minute later, Chambers once again used his speed on an end to end rush but he was hooked trying to cut to the net. Then with the Warriors on the power play, Blain took off on a breakaway but he was hauled down and awarded a penalty shot. He raced in, dekedand then flipped it high glove side giving Stratford a three-goal advantage with four minutes left in the first period. One minute later, Rylan DeBoeck was backchecking hard and broke up a play at the Warriors blueline and Mikel picked it up, fought off the defenders and found the back of the net with a beautiful shot that eluded the Nationals netminder.With less than a minute remaining in the first, Colston Kibedi forced a turnover at the blueline and then found Nolan Miller. He picked apart the defenders and then deftly slipped it back cross crease to give the Warriors a 5-0 lead.On the rare occasions when the Nationals broke through the Warriors suffocating defence, Bowles was there to shut the door. Unfortunately, the Nationals recorded a shorthanded tally early in the second period to cut the lead to 5-1.Early in the third, the Nationals created a turnover in the neutral zone and three of them raced in on a breakaway before flipping it over Noah Brosens outstretched glove. Then with the score 5-2, Brosens had to make several big saves early in the third as the Warriors ran into penalty trouble.Blain won a faceoff at the Warriors blueline, split the defence and roofed it blocker side to give the Warriors a four goal cushion with 9:54 remaining.Minutes later, Owen Bridges intercepted a pass at the blueline and found Blain down low on the left side. He expertly moved the puck across to DeBoeck in the slot and he fired high glove side to make it 7-2.The Nationals capitalized on a turnover at the Warriors blueline to cut the lead to four with 4:44 remaining but that was as close as they could get.Moments later, a great defensive play by Owen Hunt resulted in another turnover. He found Ryan Cassone and he made a brilliant pass across to Cole Hishon. Alone in the slot, he made no mistake firing a bullet that restored the five goal advantage. Chambers rounded out the scoring with just over a minute left as he converted another end to end rush. The 9-3 win means the Warriors sit in fourth place with 24 points.They travel to London January 23 to face the Bandits and January 24 to take on the Oakridge Aeros.