Nov 21, 2022 | Dan Daum | 269 views
Still Hungry!
The Sutton Group First Choice Realty U14 Warriors were served a healthy portion of "Pat-Tie" this weekend when they travelled to Hamilton Friday night to take on the Huskies at the Pat Quinn Arena followed by a trip to the Pat Stapleton Arena in Sarnia to battle the Sting on Saturday. They would be left feeling unsatisfied after collecting a single point in each matchup.
With the Warriors looking to carry the momentum from their previous victory into the weekend they started game one on Friday night against the Hamilton Huskies with a big hit on the opening faceoff. A Huskies penalty only a minute and a half into the game would give the Warriors an early powerplay. Stratford couldn't get much going with the man advantage and the Huskies found their legs. With Hamilton starting to take control of the game the Warrior between the pipes put everyone on notice that he was there to play by turning away multiple chances including a point blank shot with less than 6 minutes left in the first period. The teams would trade penalties late in the period but no damage was done. 0-0 after 1.
With the Warriors still trying to find their legs and adjust to the physical style of the Huskies, the second period would start with Stratford netminder making another save off of his shoulder and the defence taking care of the leftovers. After another save, the Warriors charged down the ice and started their own assault which turned into a scramble out front of the Hamilton net and ended with an opportunistic Warrior cashing in on a loose puck! 1-0 Stratford. Hamilton again mounted some strong pressure in the Warrior zone but Stratford was employing the familiar bend but don't break attitude by breaking up chances with sticks in passing lanes, getting a bodies in the way to block shots or getting physical along the wall. A Hamilton penalty at 8:45 would put the Warriors back on the powerplay where they started clicking and created one glorious opportunity that somehow stayed out. Hamilton returned to 5 on 5 play with renewed motivation and charged down the ice for a quality chance of their own, with the initial shot being stopped the rebound seemed to lay in the crease for an eternity as the Huskies players closed in but not before a Warrior defenceman came flying across the crease to swat away a sure tap in goal. The remainder of the period would see similar charges by Hamilton including a breakaway that was turned away and another goal saving clear on the rebound by a Warrior defenceman. 1-0 Warriors after 2.
With a fresh sheet of ice to start the third, the Warriors were keeping things simple and managing the puck well until a determined solo effort through the neutral zone from one of the Huskies forwards ended with a cross crease deke that tied the game. A Hamilton penalty around the 12 minute mark would see the Warriors back on the powerplay that was starting to gain some traction. A great feed for a one timer with 30 seconds left on the PP almost put the Warriors back on top. Later in the period Hamilton charged down the ice on another dangerous rush and almost had a lead of their own but rang the post. As often happens, the Warriors transitioned from this near miss and had a 2 on 1 of their own heading the other way and they would not be denied this time with the Stratford forward making the most of his chance with a snipe past the gaolie. With time melting away the Warriors were looking to lock it down and appeared to be doing a decent job of it until a harmless point shot was tipped and although the Warrior netminder made a nice adjustment to make the initial save the subsequent rebound was tapped in for a goal with roughly 4 minutes remaining. Stratford would send a player to the penalty box with 2:35 remaining in the game, a tie was now seeming like a welcome result. The Huskies were definitely looking to end it on their terms but the penalty kill was able to hold on and as the fifth Warrior player returned to the ice a long pass through the neutral zone would see him on a clear breakaway with 30 seconds left and the game on his stick. The showdown ended with a great shot headed for the top corner but knocked off course by the outstretched arm of the goalie. A great team effort ended with a 2-2 tie.
The second game of the weekend saw the Warriors travel to Sarnia to take on the Sting. It seemed like a good start to the game when Stratford won the opening draw and got the puck into the Sarnia zone but that feeling was quickly soured when a Sarnia player gathered the puck in his own zone and turned on the jets and blasted down the ice for a quick breakaway goal less than a minute into the game. Sarnia would take a penalty around the 13 minute mark to give the Warriors a powerplay, which looked dialled in on this day a chance to tie the game. Some patient passing and player crossing with the man advantage lead to some quality chances. Another Sarnia penalty at 10:26 gave Stratford another opportunity on the powerplay but the multiple chances that they created were turned away. Shortly after the penalty expired Sarnia was able to apply some pressure and score their second goal on a hard shot from the slot. The teams would trade overlapping penalties and continue to fight for momentum. With just over two minutes remaining in the period a scramble out front of the Stratford net after consecutive saves would yield a third marker for the Sting. The period would end with coincidental charging and unsportsmanlike penalties and a 3-0 Sarnia lead.
The second period started with the Warrior netminder putting together a three save sequence that created a spark. Stratford would generate some pressure and chances in the offensive zone which ultimately lead to Sarnia taking a penalty and giving the Warrior powerplay unit another chance. This time they would not be stopped and scored just 11 seconds into the man advantage after a scramble off of a hot shot. This gave the Warriors some jump and they went back to building momentum by stringing together multiple quality shifts until Sarnia was forced into another penalty around the 5 minute mark. One thing was for sure on this day, the powerplay was looking fantastic with multiple passes pulling defenders from their spots and patient plays to create the next great chance. They seemed destined to score multiple times but couldn't get one to go. A four minute penalty to Stratford with 51 seconds remaining in the period would mean that the Warriors would start the third period short handed.
After the zamboni made the rounds Stratford got right back to work killing off the remainder of the penalty and looked to chip away at their deficit. Another Sarnia penalty at 12:11 would give the powerplay another opportunity but a beautiful one timer from the slot was turned aside. Sarnia decided it was their turn to apply some pressure and almost put things out of reach when a wide open player in the slot launched a rocket that was denied by the blocker of the Stratford keeper. Shortly after the Warriors were back in the Sarnia zone mucking things up in front of the Sting keeper and were able to slide in a greasy score to get the team within a goal. With Sarnia feeling the momentum sliding they tried hard to regain the good vibes from their quick start but the Warriors netminder put them on notice that the early success they had achieved was no longer an option as he turned aside all efforts. With Stratford still pressing a Warrior forward had a chance to tie the game with a breakaway with 6 minutes left but the Sting goalie was able to turn that aside. A Sarnia too many men penalty with 5:13 remaining would allow the dangerous powerplay unit another opportunity. They went right to work creating an unbelievable chance that saw the puck get to the goal line just to be scooped out at the last possible second by the goalie's glove. It didn't seem to rattle them as they won the face off and got back to setting things up on the left side of the ice. The following sequence of passes was a thing of beauty as the player on the halfwall slid the puck to a player beside the net and below the goaline who then touched the puck quickly to the waiting player out front of the net for a tic-tac-toe powerplay goal to tie the game. A fitting reward for a powerplay unit that had been great for the entire game. Stratford would have an opportunity to take the lead on a late 2 on 1 but couldn't convert. The remaining seconds would elapse with the Warriors demonstrating great resilience to skate away with the 3-3 tie.
The Warriors next action will be Saturday when they face the top ranked London Jr Knights Green.