Oct 09, 2022 | Dan Daum | 235 views
Warriors Battle Hard
The Sutton Group First Choice Realty U14 Warriors were back in action Thursday evening when they hosted the undefeated London JR Knights.
The host team got off to another great start and had the high powered London team chasing their tail early in this contest. This momentum forced the Knights to take an early penalty. The Warriors continued to force the action on the power play with some big plays including a tipped shot on net, a bone jarring hit along the boards and a crisp outlet pass that led to a partial breakaway as the penalty was expiring.
After surviving the early scare London pushed back with a 2 on 1 chance and a bullet of a shot from the high slot, both of which were turned away by the Stratford netminder who had clearly brought his "A" game. The Knights continued to press and it was Stratford's turn to play shorthanded after taking a penalty. London made the most of their opportunity when a shot from the point was redirected off of the pile of players in front of the Stratford goal.
With London now leading 1-0, the Warriors responded with a nice 2 on 1 chance of their own. After a London icing call and the faceoff deep in the Knights zone the Warriors showed how dominant they can be in the offensive zone, grinding heavily until they were able to create a glorious opportunity from the slot. With five minutes remaining in the period London would get another power play opportunity. The Stratford penalty kill was able to fend off the attack by closing off passing lanes and a key save off of the mask of their goaltender. When the teams were back to 5 on 5 action London mounted another charge which included another save off of the keeper's cage and lightning quick glove save that stopped what looked to be a sure goal. This display of fine goaltending must have sparked the troops because the ensuing faceoff generated a 2 on 1 opportunity for the Warriors which was capped off with a beauty shot over the blocker of the London goalie. Period 1 ended with a 1-1 score.
The second period started with both teams trading chances. Stratford was gifted another power play after an ugly looking hit along the wall in the Warriors end. The power play produced three decent scoring chances for the home team. The score remained deadlocked until a second chance rebound tumbled in slow motion over the blocker of the Warrior keeper. The JR Knights continued their onslaught but the Warrior goaltender again stood tall over the next few minutes including a post to post save on a sharp cross crease move. The next sequence was particularly impressive when he kicked out the right pad and then immediately the left pad to squash two quick chances, a third attempt was lifted high over the net. The Warriors once again responded to their goalie's efforts with a quality 2 on 1 chance and another absolute laser of a shot from the slot that was stopped by a quick glove hand. The period ended with the visitors leading 2-1.
After some sustained pressure in the Stratford zone a London player took a careless penalty which gave the Warriors a power play early in the third frame. The power play unit demonstrated great patience and intelligent puck movement but after an unfortunate bounce just inside the London blueline A JR Knight player found himself on a shorthanded breakaway and was able to capitalize. Many teams would wilt after such a momentum swing, instead the Warriors rebounded with a breakaway of their own after a costly London turnover inside the Stratford line. The shot went off of the goalies mask and tumbled up and over the goalie and into the net, cutting the lead to 3-2. Moments later after a dandy pass through the neutral zone and the Stratford player staying onside, it was yet another breakaway for the Warriors. As the rocket shot beat the goalie time seemed to stand still as milliseconds seemed like minutes until a loud "clang" snapped everyone out of their trance. The well places shot had beaten the keeper but not the post! With the net empty and an extra skater Stratford would mount one last attack but ultimately came up short in a 5-2 final. The Warriors next action will be in Waterloo when they take on the Wolves.