Dec 10, 2017 | Duane Gingerich | 687 views
Midget LL2 Win 2 of 3 In Tillsonburg
Submitted by Al Ross
The
New Hamburg Huskies Midget LL2 took a break from regular season play to compete
in the Max Partlo Memorial Tournament in Tillsonburg on December 9. The Dogs
were one of 12 teams looking to bring home the big prize in the 2-day event and
began the contest facing off against the Dresden Junior Kings.
The first frame was scoreless contest of wills while the second frame saw both sides getting down to business. Dresden got on the score sheet early as the Pack was wrapping up a penalty kill and it had the effect of waking the boys up. Brayden Gingerich nearly tallied when his shot went off the cross bar but the Huskies pressure finally paid off in the dying minutes. Owen Ross scooped up a loose puck at the blue line and rifled it past the goalie’s shoulder to tie the match. Play had barely resumed when Teegan Wagler notched the go-ahead point on a feed from Alex Wagler. The Dogs weren’t done and continued to take the paly to their opponent in the third. Teegan was once again the trigger-man on the next two Husky points. He swatted in a pad rebound from Alex Wagler early in the frame and collected the hat trick on a turnover. Things were looking good for the Pack as they entered their next contest with a convincing 4 – 1 win under their belt. The Mount Brydges Cougars Red had also won their first round and the Pack had reliable intel reports that this team was going to be tough. It proved to be so and after 2 periods of play, the Dogs were down 3 – 0. In spite of solid efforts, the Huskies could not find the opposing net and had to accept the loss with the knowledge that they needed a huge win in the third round robin set. The winner of each pool automatically advances with one wild-card slot up for grabs. The Huskies needed to not only win their last contest against the Tillsonburg Tornadoes LL1, they needed a crushing lopsided score to secure the wild-card berth. With that knowledge in hand, the team took to the ice with a mission and dominated the play from the first whistle. The Tillsonburg goalie suffered a blizzard of pucks as the Dogs threw everything they had at him. Ryan Pierson opened the scoring on a backhand with Gingerich collecting the assist. Then it was Andy Maxwell’s tip in with Ethan Norley and Alex Wagler riding shotgun. Desperation set in when the opposing goalie tightened up in the second. The Huskies finally found the net a third time When Alex Wagler blasted one in from the slot with the helpers going to Evan Pffaf and Pierson. Their opponent struck back on a defensive zone breakdown to finish the period at 3 – 1. More chances followed in the third but the Tillsonburg goalie proved to be the spoiler for the Huskies. The victory was pyric as the goal differential accrued through 3 games was not enough to take the wild-card slot and advance to the semi-finals. Although they were eliminated from the tournament, it was a good experience that will serve the Huskies well as they continue their regular season.