After a ten day layoff, the Stratford Cherrey Bus Lines Minor Bantam “A” Warriors were back in action over the weekend, hitting the road for a pair of games and coming away with a win and a loss.
Friday night, Stratford travelled to Burlington to face the Bulldogs in a battle for first place. Both teams sat atop the standing with 27 points each, although the Warriors have a game in hand. Stratford came out flying and had a 2-0 lead in the first nine minutes of the game, on a pair of goals by Josh Smith. Both goals were set up by Tyson Hall, while Hayden Arms also chipped in with an assist. But just four minutes into the second period Stratford gave up the lead and found themselves trailing 3-2, a score that stood until it became 4-2 early in the third. With two and half minutes left, Smith scored his third of the game, with Brett Maguire assisting but that is as close as Stratford would come, as Burlington scored into an empty net to seal the 5-3 victory.
Stratford was back at it again Sunday afternoon, beating the Waterloo Wolves 2-0 at RIM Park. Quinton Duncan collected the shutout for the Warriors, and Stratford had several point blank scoring opportunities that they could not get by the Waterloo goaltender. Dylan Hall got Stratford,s first goal of the game, deflecting a Brett Maguire point shot into the top corner just inside the post. Josh DenOtter closed out the scoring in the game with 32 seconds left in the first, firing a low shot on a 2-1 that the Waterloo defence tipped in. Carter Lewis picked up a helper on the goal.