Feb 26, 2017 | Albert Ross | 706 views
Midget LL3s Gaining Traction In Play-offs
It was a “must-win” game for the New Hamburg
Huskies Midget LL3s when they hosted the Plattsville Rage on February 24. The
Dogs had 3 wins and 3 losses in the 10-game A-pool round-robin play-off series
and a win would go a long way to securing a top-2 slot. They knew it wouldn’t
be easy, having lost 5-7 to their guests at the beginning of the series but the
Pack was ready at game time to get the job done.
The Huskies immediately went on a blistering offensive drive from the first puck-drop and had registered the first goal with less than 30 seconds elapsed. Colin Shannon got the puck to Alex Wagler who went deep into enemy territory and looking for help found Shannon high in the slot. The pass back was good and the hard shot to the net was better. The Rage tried to mount a counter-offensive and it looked like they might succeed when a 3 on 1 situation developed. Carter Schwartzentruber was on his game between the pipes and denied the attempt allowing his team some breathing room. Speed and daring were the keys to success in the next Husky goal. A mid-ice turnover saw Luke Aikman charging up the middle through traffic, deking the defenders including the goalie to make it a 2-goal contest. Things were looking good going into the second frame with some nail-biting end-to-end action. Both sides saw players head to the box for minor infractions but neither side could capitalize on the man-advantage situations. Plattsville made the most of a defensive zone breakdown and drew within one of the Dogs in the last minute of play for the period. The Huskies regrouped going into the third and chances followed. Gavin Banwell and Tyler Wagler both put rubber to the net but it would be Shannon coming up roses 5 minutes in. His bullet from the blue line re-established the two-goal lead with the helpers going to Banwell and Nathan Gerber. The Dogs were in control and not even a controversial no-goal ruling on the next play could diminish the efforts. The Plattsville coach pulled his goalie as time wound down but it backfired when Alex Wagler found the open net getting help from Shannon who could do no wrong. It was a satisfying 4 – 1 win that the Huskies hope to repeat in the remaining 3 games of the series.