The New Hamburg Huskies Midget LL3s had a
challenging but successful weekend, notching a pair of victories against the
Woolwich Wildcats LL1 and the Hespeler Shamrocks LL1. The Dogs were in St. Jacobs
on Friday October 29 looking to rebound from a loss the previous week and
wasted little time in asserting their intentions.
They dominated the offensive zone in the first period, tallying two goals. Collin Shannon opened the scoring on a point shot with Mike Thrush collecting the assist. Owen Ross followed up with an end-to-end rush through traffic and beat the goalie. Luke Aikman and Brayden Gingerich pocketed the helpers on the play. The hosts woke up early in the second and answered from a face-off draw that put the Huskies on notice that this game was still up for grabs. Alex Wagler working in tandem with Gingerich and Thrush, re-established the two point spread that the hosts would not let stand. A melee in front of the Husky net late in the frame made it a 3 – 2 game and it looked like the Wildcats had the Dogs on their heels. The Pack regrouped when some early key saves by Carter Schwartzentruber turned the tables. Aikman delivered the knock-out offensive drive to the net. His bullet went off the pads but Gingerich was there to finish the mission. The Wildcats, taking late frame penalties could not respond and the Huskies took the 4 – 2 win with a hope to repeat at home the next night. The Shamrocks came out blazing and established an early lead on a two-man rush. The Huskies immediately answered when Nathan Gerber set up Thrush who made no mistake on the play. Deadlocked after one, the visitors were again successful early in the second but the Dogs were not backing down. Shannon broke the puck out to Aikman who got it deep into enemy territory. Drawing the attackers, he fed Ryan Pierson who promptly beat the goalie to re-tie the match. It was desperation in the third as the hosts suffered repeated attacks. Schwartzentruber was being sorely tested and a third defensive zone breakdown saw the Shamrocks once again take the lead. The Husky bench made some adjustments that seemed to pay off. Going on the offensive, Gerber raced in and a drop pass to Aikman fooled the opposition net-minder. Aikman’s wrister through the 5-hole was the turning point that put the Huskies back in the driver’s seat. The finisher came from Charlie Slessor at the end of his shift getting help from Shannon and Ross. He rocketed a shot over the goalie’s shoulder that would be the game winner. The Shamrocks failed to answer and the hosts notched the favourable 4 – 3 decision. The LL3s hope to extend their winning ways on November 5 when they face their fraternity brothers, the Huskies LL4.