The
EJ’s Husky Bantam AEs needed a win In Dundas on January 26 to keep their OMHA
dreams alive. The hosting Blues were determined to avenge their earlier loss to
the Dogs and brought their A-game to the ice.
It was a clean and tough first period that saw net-minder Sam Cull busy warding off the worst of the Blues efforts. As fate would have it, the hosts opened the scoring early in the second and continued their determined attacks. The Husky defensemen, Joel Domm, Emmet Laytn, Dale Jurica and Owen Ross were up to the challenge and were key to turning the game around. The break for the Dogs came late in the frame when Danny Farrish working hard in front of the Blues net-minder, plugged in his own pad rebound unassisted to tie the game. The Blues looked like they would come back in the third when a head-contact call against the Dogs left the visitors short-handed. Cull was outstanding, and proved his worth in net, allowing his team time to recover. The opportunity came when the roles reversed and the Huskies went to the power-play. Laytn led the breakout charge feeding the puck to Jurica who unleashed a bullet to the Blues net. Nic Egli got his stick on it and the tip-in took his team into the lead. The Blues couldn’t recover and the Dogs secured the needed 2 – 1 win. They would need to repeat that effort in Hespeler on January 28 in order to secure a second place standing in the round-robin which would allow advancement in the OMHA play-downs. The hosting Shamrocks were tough customers that the Huskies had failed to beat in regular season and had already delivered them a loss in post season. Even so, after a grueling first period, the match remained scoreless with both sides playing well. It was more back-and-forth play in the second but the Huskies were first to find the mark at the midway point. Farrish, working hard behind the net, fed the puck to Alex Kyle in front who promptly beat the goalie to open the scoring. The Shamrocks answered on the power-play minutes later when the Dogs took a slashing minor. The game remained a deadlock after two and the tempo ratcheted up a notch in the third. Penalties were levied to both sides in this contest of wills but the advantage went to the Huskies in the ensuing 4-on-4 play. Ethan Field, battling hard down low, won the puck and fed Farrish who buried it to re-establish the lead. But the hosts were relentless and retied the contest late in the frame on a shorthanded effort. The deadlock remained at the end of regulation forcing an overtime period that saw both teams giving everything they had. The deciding point came when the Huskies were cited for a head-contact minor, giving the hosts the power-play advantage. With 2 minutes reaming, the Shamrocks found the net first, delivering the Huskies a 3 – 2 loss. It was a valiant effort but the result mathematically eliminates the Dogs from an OMHA second round.