The Stratford Bantam Warriors, sponsored by Canadian Tire, returned to
League action this past weekend and posted a road tie and a home win in the two
games.
On Saturday, the Warriors headed to London to face the Greater London Jr. Mustangs (White). The Warriors showed no signs of the bus legs by coming out fast and capturing a 1-0 lead only :45 seconds into the contest. Nick Houben scored with an assist from Issac Deline. The scored stood that way until the Jr. Mustangs answered back in the second period to knot the game at 1-1. Despite firing 37 shots at the Jr. Mustangs goalie, the Warriors could not find the back of the net again. Russel Sebben turned away 19 of 20 shots he faced in the game to preserve the 1-1 tie. Sebben has shown a lot of poise and competitiveness recently and the results of his effort in practice have carried over to game competition in recent weeks. The Warriors commitment to team structure coupled with a great deal of individual effort have produced high-quality, fast-paced play in their November matches.
On Sunday, the Warriors returned to the friendly William Allman Arena to welcome the Waterloo Wolves to Stratford for the first time this season. The Warriors continued their first-period attack on the opposition by jumping out to a 2-0 lead by the end of the period, firing 14 shots at the opposition keeper while allowing only 3 shots on Sebben. The middle frame had teams exchange goals twice, making the score 4-2 Warriors headed into the intermission. In the third, the Warriors pulled away by scoring three times, while the Wolves answered with a single marker late in the period. The game ended in a 7-3 scoreline in favour of the home side. The Warriors held the final shot advantage by a margin of 40-22, with Sebben going the distance between the pipes for the second straight game. Jonas Schmidt scored twice, with singles from Cole Lewis, Jacob Hall, Aubrey Carter, Nole Musselman, and Ethan Scrimgeour. Tyler Wagler, Matthew Barber, and Hall added two assists each, while Anthony Guzvinec and Scrimgeour added single helpers.
NOTES: Goalie #31 Curtis Ball missed his start due to illness, but was dressed for both games; the Warriors remain undefeated in Bristol League play with a record of 1-0-2 and sit in third spot behind St. Thomas and Greater London Jr. Mustangs (Purple), with a game in hand on both teams; the Warriors welcome the first-place Jr. Mustangs (Purple) to the Allman this Wednesday at 8pm; the last time the Warriors and Jr. Mustangs (Purple) met it was a barn-burner game featuring 15 goals, with the Warriors taking the game 9-6; Zach McCann (#17) turned in a very solid game on Saturday in London, despite being held off the scoresheet and was extremely effective along the boards all game; F Caleb Arent (#4) and D Drew Wilken (#3) continued their solid play and created time and space for their teammates in both games and, despite being held off the scoresheet, both were involved in many of the offensive attacks over the weekend; the Warriors, in conjunction with Cherrey Bus Lines 2018 campaign “Help Us Help Others", will be collecting food & gently used clothing donations between now and Dec. 17th for delivery to the Stratford House of Blessing. If you see members of the team, please consider making a donation this Holiday Season.