Dec 08, 2013 | Albert Ross | 1032 views
Huskies Overcome Sabres at Home
The
EJ’s Husky AE were in the mood for a win when they played host to the
Flamborough Sabres on December 5. They knew it wouldn’t be easy, having already
lost to their guests twice in regular season but this game was going to be
different.
The big story for the first frame was the astounding net-minding skills of Sam Cull as he fended off seven solid scoring chances when the Huskies dealt with an equal number of penalty minutes. Defenders Joel Domm, Owen Ross, Emmet Latyn and Dale Jurica were doing sterling service blunting the worst of the Sabre’s drives on some solid penalty killing. Incredibly, the game was a scoreless draw after one but that changed in the second as the Huskies returned to full strength. The opener came with some nice team play in front of the Sabres goalie. Josh Potts fed Ryan Pierson who’s shot at the net hit the jackpot to get his team on the board. The Sabres pushed back minutes later to retie the match putting the Huskies on notice that this was a long way from being over. The game tempo found another gear and both sides were hitting hard and taking penalties. With Cull minding the store well in net, the Huskies pressed into the forward zone. A solid scoring chance came when a blue-line bullet from Ross was very nearly completed by Alex Kyle who was visibly playing to win. Taking that cue from Kyle, Danny Farrish capitalized on a mid-ice turnover, dashed up ice and beat the Sabre goalie bar down. The Dogs retained the lead going into the third as the rough play continued. Both sides were parading to the penalty box but the Sabres were clearly the more frustrated team. Cull was again sorely tested stopping seven more blistering attacks before succumbing on the eighth. The visitor’s celebration was short lived when Jurica fed Kyle who split the defense, raced for the net and punched in his own pad rebound to regain the lead. The Sabres, in their frustration, garnered another penalty in the final minute that the Huskies matched on a tripping call. Pulling their goalie, the guests put it all on the line and a final attack at the buzzer saw the puck sitting on Cull’s goal line, but it did not cross. It was a hard-fought 3 – 2 win for the Huskies that will hopefully buoy them when they face the Ancaster Avalanche on December 12.