The Hiller Realty Minor Peewee Warriors faced Cambridge Thursday night in game 2 of the playoff series.
Kiefer MacNeil was in net for Stratford. Danny Van Straaten started the game well with early pressure and scoring chances on the Hawks. The Warriors got the first penalty of the game but with hard work Stratford killed it off. MacNeil made 2 great saves and then Stratford got on the power play. Avery Thurston and Thomas Sheldon worked very hard on the power play to generate some offensive chances.
The second period started with us still having a man advantage. Danny Van Straaten rushed the puck out of the zone when we were back to 5 on 5 hockey. He shot it under the goalie’s arm and suddenly we had a 1 goal lead! MacNeil made more saves to keep the lead. Wes Duiker rushed it down and took a shot from the point. Van Straaten and Owen Holloway continued their strong play out front of the Hawks net. Cambridge got another penalty and we had our second power play of the game. The Hawks swept it down to our end but MacNeil stayed strong and made a big save. Unfortunately the Warriors got back to back penalties to make it 5 on 3. The Hawks took advantage of this to take the lead and make it 2-1.
Duiker started the third period off by scoring with a great shot from the blue line, on a pass from Sam Jeffrey to wild cheering from the fans! MacNeil made another massive save to keep it 2-2. Aidan Benton, Hayden White-Roy and Cole Meadows were putting pressure on in the Hawks end. Warriors got another penalty and were scored against to make it 3-2. Thurston got it to Benton who scored right when we needed him to tie it up 3-3! The last 7 minutes of the game were edge of your seat action but we ended up losing 4-3. Great effort Warriors!
Playoff Game #3 vs Cambridge Hawks
The Hiller Realty Minor Peewee Rep Warriors faced off against the Cambridge Hawks on Saturday afternoon in Stratford. We were down by 2 games and if we lost it would be the last game of the season for the team.
The team came out full force right from the puck drop. Aidan Benton, Hayden White-Roy, Jared Gould and Luke Heisz all had shots on net within the first few minutes. We were outnumbering Cambridge with our shots about 10:1. Lucas Jacklin in net made early glove saves and one off the end of his stick as well. The Warriors took the first penalty of the game but put amazing shorthanded pressure on the Hawks. Luke Zorgdrager was working offensively and defensively on the penalty kill to keep it in the Hawks end and fire off shots.
The second period started off with a scoreless game still. The puck was dropped while Jacklin was still talking to the coaches at the bench so we had a do over by the refs. Cole Meadows, Kaden Brame and Owen Holloway all were making great shots. Heisz was keeping the puck in and momentum was building for the line of Jake Heinbuch, Sam Jeffrey and Gould. The passes were sharp and the shots on net hard until finally beauty Heinbuch to Gould to Jeffrey passes led to a goal by Jeffrey! We were up 1-0. We got our first power play of the game on a Hawks penalty. They killed it and then we had a man in the box. Zorgdrager had excellent work on the penalty kill. Brame had a timely back check to break up a play. Jacklin made a glove save then a sliding catch on his knees to keep the lead. Things started to get a bit tense and both teams got coincidental minors so 5 on 5 play continued with 2 boys in the box.
Benton and Meadows continued the offensive pressure and almost had a goal early in the third. There were many scrambles in front of both nets. Colton Gibson had a great shot from the slot and Holloway caught up the rebound. Jacklin had another great save but then shortly after the Hawks tied it up with a goal. Shortly after Zorgdrager got the puck from Meadows, toe dragged around the Cambridge forward pressuring him and walked in to make a hard shot that sailed past the goalie! We were winning 2-1. The Hawks got a penalty in the last few minutes of the game. Avery Thurston made some stellar passes to Jared Gould at centre ice who moved the puck down into the Hawks end. For most of the last minute it stayed in their end and we won the game 2-1! The Warriors are right back in this series and will play on, looking to tie the series up next weekend in Cambridge.