Warriors earn hard fought tie, News, Tier 1 Novice, U8-U9 (Novice), 2018-2019 (Stratford Minor Hockey Association)

ALLIANCE HOCKEY Digital Network

This Team is part of the 2018-2019 season, which is not set as the current season.
News Article
News Article Image
Mar 06, 2019 | Heather Bridges | 577 views
Warriors earn hard fought tie
The Evoke Marketing Tier I Warriors battled their way to a 2-2 tie while visiting the Oakridge Aeros, March 2.

The Warriors came out flying pressing for the opening goal. The teams exchanged chances and Mac Munro came up with some big saves early. Late in the first and with the boys killing a penalty, Oakridge roofed it off the face off to open the scoring. Seconds later Munro flashed his glove to keep it 1-0 after one. 
Early in the second, Owen Martin wrapped it up the boards to Alex Erb and he made a brilliant pass to Ethan Bridges in the high slot. He deked the defenders and ripped it past the netminder to tie it up. Munro made six big saves in the second as Oakridge pressed for the go ahead goal. 
After Oakridge found the back of the net early in the third, the Warriors started the comeback turning on the offense and pressing for the tying goal. The hard work was finally rewarded when Nate Meadows fed Caleb Hurley and he found Jason Adair out front and he rifled a shot into the far side. Unfortunately the Warriors were forced to kill off a two man disadvantage midway through the third but they refused to give up. Munro turned in another great effort between the pipes. 
The forwards Martin, Bridges, Erb, Ethan Schmidt, Luke Hishon, Colton Campbell, Hurley, Adair and Parker Glitz did a great job of backchecking and the defense pairings of Meadows, Cohen Bowles, Liam Micks, Nick McGill, Ryan Watling and Ryder Duchesne were solid, limiting the quality chances. 
The 2-2 tie gave the Warriors a badly needed point in the race for the final playdown spot but left them still three points behind Oakridge. 

On March 3, the Warriors hosted the Sarnia Jr Sting. The Warriors came out determined offensively unfortunately Sarnia took the lead after Malaika Kibedi got most of it but it trickled over the line. A bad deflection off a defender gave the Sting a 2-0. Kibedi came up big on an ensuing penalty kill and made six big stops to give the Warriors a chance. After one big stop, Hishon found Hurley and he beat the defenders and flipped it top corner with 19.7 seconds left in the first. 
With the Warriors pressing for the tying goal, they gave up a two-man breakaway and Sarnia found the back of the net for a 3-1 lead. Adair and Hurley later combined to feed Martin and he rifled a beauty short side to make it 3-2 midway through the second. With the teams exchanging chances through the middle frame, the Warriors were pressuring for that elusive goal yet gave up another breakaway.  Sarnia made no mistake to take a 4-2 advantage with 3:45 remaining in the second. 
In the third, the Warriors were desperate to find a way to win. Unfortunately they gave up a shorthanded breakaway midway through the third and Sarnia took a 5-2 lead. Refusing to quit, on the next shift Campbell banked a shot off the goalie from behind the net to cut the deficit to two. Kibedi came up with a big glove save and then a pad save to keep the Warriors alive.
With Kibedi on the bench and two and a half minutes left, the Warriors tried for a comeback but that was as close as they could get. 
It was a valiant effort but the loss mathematically eliminated the Warriors from the playdown race. 
The Warriors have one game remaining March 10 when they host the second place West London Hawks at the Allman at 1 p.m.
Sponsors
Evoke Marketing and Promotional
We do it all: From branded apparel and products, to headwear and team apparel. From trade shows and business meetings to personal events – we can help you expose your brand in cost-effective ways. Accurate orders, reliable shipping, excellent customer service and umatched pricing. At Evoke, we've got you covered.