Congratulations Exeter Tournament Champions! 5 wins + 0 losses = Top Dogs (Huskies)!
Contributions from all players collectively was the recipe for success in this past weekend's tournament. Be proud of your accomplishment and continue to strive for further success as a team!
Read more for tournament game details...
Game #1 - New Hamburg vs. Goderich… Win 7-1
1st period - Our boys came out of the gate skating hard but couldn’t seem to get the upper hand. It wasn’t until midway through the first period when Owen decided to go for a skate on his own and buried a beautiful wrister top shelf to open the scoring. This sparked the boys as they began tearing up the ice, pressuring Goderich and causing turnovers in their end. Once the boys started passing the puck around, there was no stopping them. Stu made an awesome open ice pass that caught Brendan in stride which broke him out and Brendan made no mistake by filling the net. Sammy fed a perfect pass from the corner to the front of the net for Riley G. who snapped it home for his first of 2. A minute later Brendan rifled a pass out front again Riley G. was able to get his stick on it and deflected the puck five-hole for his second. The boys did a great job with a penalty kill and Jayden made a huge breakaway save with only a minute left in the period to help save our momentum. Off the faceoff Brendan barreled his way through traffic and was able to snipe another quick one with only 2 seconds left in the 1st period.
2nd period - Goderich didn’t lie down at all in the second. It was the best period for both teams despite the only goal coming from Brendan who had to hustle down the side boards and cut across for a sweet backhander that found mesh. Both Jayden and Riley were incredible in net. Without the 2 of them stopping 7 breakaways, this game could have turned right around.
3rd period belonged to Owen, Max and Mathew’s line. They were relentless in the offensive zone wearing down and frustrating Goderich with their collective effort. Like the second period, not allot of scoring, but great effort by our boys. Brendan was able to chalk up one last goal as he blasted a shot from the slot. This put the game completely out of reach. It was a great team effort with exceptional goaltending. Riley and Jayden were awarded the players of the game.
Game 2 vs. South Huron Red…. Win 5-3.
1st period - This game proved to be the biggest test of the season thus far for the boys. The first 4 minutes of the 1st period had us stuck in our own end as South Huron was all over us. Riley G. was finally able to chip the puck off the boards to Brendan who had to make a move around the defense to spring him-self free and pot the first goal of the game. The goal put pressure on South Huron as they started to scramble a bit and took a couple of penalties. We were able to keep the puck in their end for remainder of the period thanks to the blue line play of Cohen, Stu, Sasha, Cameron and Bryson.
2nd period was fast paced with both teams burying their scoring opportunities. Brendan ripped the puck deep around the boards behind South Huron’s net where Sam was waiting. A quick move to the side and Sammy slammed the puck in the side of the goal to give the boys a 2 goal lead. Not to be outdone, South Huron pounced on a loose puck and potted a goal of their own 20 seconds later. We were able to get the puck deep causing a scrum in front of the South Huron goalie and Brendan was able to jam the puck under the goalies pad to again go up by 2. South Huron again within 30 seconds responded to the goal with one of their own and ended the 2nd period only down 1 goal.
3rd period – The boys knew they were in a battle and rose up to the challenge. Cohen stood tall right off the opening draw as South Huron was in on a 2 on 1. All within 90 seconds Cohen made the perfect defensive play, grabbed the puck and fired a perfect pass to Brendan up the side board who in turn buried the puck for his hat-trick. The opposition didn’t waiver as they were all over us for the entire 3rd period. Our defense and goal tending were amazing. We were lucky to find another scrum in front of their goalie as the puck dribbled across the line off Brendan’s stick and the boys went up 3. South Huron snapped back with a goal to come back within 2. Shorthanded and with 4 minutes to play, our boys had to come up big to stave off the assault of South Huron. Our defense stepped it up and iced the puck to help kill the time and secure the win. Cohen Christener was the player of the game due to his defensive play.
Game 3 vs. Caledonia… Win 5-0.
This was a bit slower paced game as the boys seemed to be getting their land legs back from an evening of swimming. They played as well as needed and conserved some energy for the upcoming semi-final game. Not to look past Caledonia the boys stayed where they needed to be and capitalized when necessary. Brendan scored a goal in the first and second period unassisted to go up 2-0. Sammy jumped in on the scoring in the 3rd as he bust out on a breakaway from a pass from Cohen and snapped home a no doubter. Owen was also sprung on a breakaway as he found the pass from Brendan. Owen cut inside and went top shelf to put the game out of reach. Sammy was awarded the player of the game for his offensive effort.
Semi Final vs. South Huron Red….. Win 6-3.
This was an anticipated rematch that wouldn’t disappoint. The boys had to put forward their best effort as they finally experienced how it feels to have to fight from behind for the victory. South Huron came out flying and potted the first goal of the game within the first 2 minutes of the period. It didn’t seem to faze the boys at all. Everyone was on top of their game and contributing as the puck went from end to end. Part way through the period Brendan was able to crank it up as he broke out and roofed his shot for the tying goal. A minute later, South Huron snuck in another goal to take back the lead. Each team was really aggressive and each received a penalty causing a 4 on 4 late in the period. With all the pressure in our end, the boys were resilient and were able to come out of the period only down 1.
2nd period – you could feel the momentum start to shift to our boys as they began to win the battles for the puck. The first 4 minutes were battles at both ends until Riley G. found Brendan with a pass to spring him out and bury the tying goal. 20 seconds later, right off the faceoff, Brendan plowed through the defense and pounded in another for the go-ahead goal. South Huron bounce back almost immediately and popped the tying goal. The boys were on their heels for a moment but were able to get the puck deep behind the South Huron Goal where Sammy was waiting in his favorite spot. He fired the puck out front and it deflected off a defensive player and trickled across the goal line for the go ahead goal (it was unreal)! The rest of the stressful period was spent defending in our end as South Huron started to look desperate and applied incredible pressure. Owen, Max and Mat were amazing as their effort kept disrupting South Huron’s offense in our end.
3rd period –
Back and forth action as the fans from both sides of the rink were cheering and hollering. South Huron was desperate to get that tying goal. Our defense wouldn’t let them have their chance. Cohen, Bryson, Stu, Sasha and Cameron transitioned in front of our goal perfectly not allowing a chance to score from in close. Most of the pressure was again in our end as South Huron pressed to get the tying goal. Sammy provided the relief needed as he hustled to a loose puck in their end and made a great pass out front to Brendan who ripped the puck under the crossbar to go up 2 goals. An empty netter to follow was all it took to secure a spot in the finals. Great goaltending and defense! Brendan received the player of the game for his offense efforts.
Finals vs. St. Mary’s…. win 4-1
With a delayed start time, both teams took a minute to get up to speed. Our boys started to create pressure in their end. Every time St. Mary’s tried to get the puck out, Sasha was on the blue line in perfect position and rifled it back in deep. Although there wasn’t scoring and the first period solved nothing, our boys seemed to have the stronger legs.
2nd period – started with both teams skating hard and a lot of neutral zone battles. There were no real scoring chances for either team until St. Mary’s stepped into the slot with a hard shot that opened the scoring midway through the period. On the ensuing faceoff, Brendan won the draw to Riley G. and sped off to the blue line and was hit in stride with Riley’s pass. Brendan pushed through 3 defenders before filling the top of the net with the tying goal. 3 minutes later and momentum mounting, Brendan gathered the puck in our end and went coast to coast for his second of the game and the go ahead goal. Time expired in the second and our boys were up 2-1.
3rd period – St. Mary’s came out hard and fast. There were 2 breakaways and a scrum in front of Riley Cook-Reiner in which could have been game changers within the first 3 minutes of the period. Riley slammed the door on all of them with amazing poise between the pipes. Sasha was a force in front of our goal as he kept intercepting the centering passes and snapping the puck into the corner out of harm’s way. Riley G. picked up one of Sasha’s cleared pucks and chipped it over to Sammy, who made a perfect pass to Max Berry who made a couple of nice moves and snapped a bullet into the back of St. Mary’s net. Still with 5 minutes left in the game St. Mary’s wasn’t letting up as they were only down 2 goals with plenty of time to play. Owen Donkers wouldn’t let St. Mary’s get anything going as there was no stopping his relentless fore-checking. Riley G. put the final nail in the coffin as he went end to end and completely undressed the opposing goalie with a great deke and finish. With only a few minutes left in the game our entire team contributed in keeping the puck out of our end. It was a great effort by everyone and could not have been achieved without TEAMWORK. Players of the game were awarded to Max, Shasha and Riley G. Congratulations to everyone! New Hamburg LL2, you deserve to be called champions!
JG