Midget LL2s Dominate Beverly in Play-off Action, News, Midget LL2, U18, 2017-2018 (New Hamburg Hockey Association)

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Feb 25, 2018 | Duane Gingerich | 1224 views
Midget LL2s Dominate Beverly in Play-off Action
Submitted by Albert Ross

The Midget Huskies LL2s secured 2 back-to-back dominating wins that will go far towards the team goal of securing a top two slot at the end of the play-off round robin action and a trip to the championship finals. The Dogs were in Beverly on February 23 to do battle with the Bandits, a team that had a reputation for scoring a lot of goals but also giving up a lot. 

The pattern seemed to be holding after the first period as the hosts lead the visitors 2 to 1 with the lone Husky point coming from Braydon Gingerich with Reed Cormier collecting the assist. The Pack rallied in the second posting 5 goals to Beverly’s single short-handed point. Gingerich, Robert Fiedler, Alex Gruhl, Alex Wagler and Ryan Pierson all found the net on some beautiful team play. It would not get easier for the opposition in the 3rd as the Pack continued their relentless fore checking game. When the buzzer sounded, the scoreboard showed 4 more Husky points added to the tally. Alex Wagler accounted for 2 of them, giving him a hat trick on the night while Pierson and Gingerich each doubled their personal total. It was a dominating 10 – 3 win that the Huskies hoped to repeat the following night when they hosted the same opponent. The only real worry the Huskies bench had was the Bandit captain wearing number 20. He accounted for all 3 of the previous game goals and was clearly their best player but the Huskies were determined to keep him off the score sheet. As expected, the first frame was a fairly even contest with the lone point coming from Cormier when he rushed the net on a back pass from Alex Wagler. Carter Schwartzentruber, doing his best to match Zack Okum’s performance in net the previous night, looked good between the pipes, stopping 3 credible shots. Things began to unravel for the Bandits early in the second when Pierson doubled the tally on a power play getting help from Teegan Wagler. Owen Ross upped the ante in 4 on 4 action with the assists going to Gingerich and Joel Henkel. Pierson closed out the frame by bagging another unanswered point with the setup going to Andy Maxwell. With a 4 – 0 lead going into the third, the Dogs looked to be in control of their own destiny but a couple of back-to-back penalties saw their hosts try to rally in the 5 on 3 action. In an absolutely stunning turn of fortune, Alex Wagler caught the Bandits flat-footed not once, but 4 consecutive times to score short-handed in two 5 on 3 situations and one 5 on 4 situation with the last one at even strength. Teegan Wagler rode shotgun on 3 of the goals while Fiedler collected the assist on the last. The wind was completely out of their sails after that. Pierson added two more points before the buzzer with a lone point for Beverly coming from number 20 in the dying minutes. It was a dominating 10 – 1 win that put the Huskies within reach of a top 2 finish. With 2 games left in the round-robin series to go, the Midget LL2s need to secure at least one more win to cement a trip to the finals. It will not be easy as they will face the Midget LL1s who have also accrued a respectable record so the hockey action should be fierce.