Minor Bantams Lose Hard Fought Semi-Final
The Cherrey Bus Lines Minor Bantam Warriors lost a tight checking semi-final to the London Mustangs six points to four.
The decisive fifth game was won by London 2-1 on Saturday night. Riley Mathieson put Stratford in front early in the second period. The Warriors controlled play for the first two periods, but the Mustangs scored early in the third to tie things up. A costly too many men on the ice penalty led to the winning goal for London late in the third period. Hardy Westman was strong in the Warriors net.
London started the series by coming back from 2 and 1 goal deficits to win game one 5-3. Tate Gaylor and Jared LeSouder gave Stratford a 2 goal lead. London tied the game before LeSouder gave Stratford a 3-2 lead in the third. Three late goals, including an empty netter, led to the Mustangs win.
A third period goal from Cohen LeSouder and shutout goaltending from Carson Knott resulted in a 1-0 win in game two.
The Warriors and Mustangs continued with the close contests in game three as Stratford won 3-2. Stratford trailed late into the game with their only goal coming from Adam Windsor. Jacob Wiles scored a shorthanded goal with three minutes left to tie the game at two. With seven seconds left Jared LeSouder completed a beautiful passing play with Cohen LeSouder and Wiles to give Stratford the win.
In game four, with a chance to win the series, Stratford fell behind 1-0 early in the game. The Mustangs held on to the lead until Adam Windsor scored with five minutes left. The teams continued to battle until the end of the third, but were still tied. A five minute overtime was played to see if a team could win the game. London managed to score with 30 seconds left, sending the series back to Stratford for the decisive fifth game.