With the first half of the
season in the books, the Scotiabank Peewee Warriors began their quest for a
‘AA’ championship December 1 and 2 against London Gold and Green respectively.
It was tough competition and Stratford was up to the challenge competing hard in both contests. The first match-up against London Gold saw the Warriors jump out to an early lead 1-0 on a power play marker, before falling behind 2-1 early in the third period. A strong fore check and excellent defensive play by all five D contributed to the tying marker with about 5 minutes left in the final frame. The teams exchanged chances several times over the last minute, and London was able to score a go ahead goal with only 2 minutes remaining in the game, sealing the victory and handing the Warriors their first loss in over a month by a final score of 3-2. Danny Pacheco was great in net for Stratford and Max Hall was exceptional up front providing both goals for the Warriors.
In the second of a back-to-back weekend the Warriors faced another skilled opponent in London Green. Stratford came out with a lot of momentum and attacked the home side feverishly leading to the opening goal and a 1-0 lead. The teams would trade goals before the end of the opening frame which left Stratford ahead 2-1 heading to the middle frame. Again Stratford was diligent in their own end, limiting the oppositions quality chances and the defense were excellent at clearing the front of the net, and breaking out of the defensive zone. London would out duel Stratford in the second and the game was tied at 3 after two. In an exciting final period the teams played an aggressive style game, exchanging hits and scoring chances with neither side willing to back down. The teams traded goals in the final frame and finished with a 4-4 final. Mitch Watt was solid for Stratford, and Michael Messerschmidt powered the offense with a hat trick, Ethan Hill added the other goal for Stratford whose record now sits at 11-4-4 in league play. Stratford continues the second half with another challenging opponent in Brantford this weekend at the Allman Arena.