EAGLES STILL BATTLING AFTER WEEKEND PLAYOFF SPLIT WITH ROCKETS!, News, Novice LL 2, 2014-2015 (East Lambton Minor Hockey)

This Team is part of the 2014-2015 season, which is not set as the current season.
News Article
News Article Image
Mar 08, 2015 | dcumming | 822 views
EAGLES STILL BATTLING AFTER WEEKEND PLAYOFF SPLIT WITH ROCKETS!
The Novice 2 Eagles split a pair of games with the Strathroy Jr. Rockets Red team on Friday and Saturday and are still very much alive in their quest for a league championship!

The team travelled to Strathroy on Friday night for a 6pm game at the Gemini Arena. Maybe it was due to it being the end of the week or just being rushed to the rink after school, but for whatever reason, the Eagles just didn't seem to be very organized right from the start! We were fortunate to come out of the first period in a scoreless tie.

Period two saw the Rockets put up their first goal at 6:47! Strong defensive play by the Rockets and what appeared to be a lack of energy by the Eagles kept our shot total very low! It was 1-0 Rockets after two!

The third period was more of the same. The Rockets attack was strong, and Eagles pressure was not! At 6:56 the Rockets took a 2-0 lead! In the dying minutes, the Eagles pulled their goalie to try to get back into the game, but a long sweeping shot by a Rockets player travelled the entire length of the ice and sealed the deal for Strathroy! Final score was 3-0 Rockets!

One of the bright spots for the Eagles was Wyatt "The Wall" Grover, who kept his team in the game as he turned away 11 of the 13 shots he faced! 

______________________________________________________________________________________________

On Saturday March 7, game 3 of the 6 point series took place in a crowded Watford arena! Pregame dressing room discussion was directed mainly at desire and increasing forechecking pressure on the Rockets defense! The kids were reminded that we were not finished in the series and that Eagles don't quit!

The first period showed a marked improvement over Friday's game with everyone hustling for the puck and putting on the forechecking pressure! When the Eagles finally started getting shots on goal, they were rewarded! Kaden "Black Shadow" Smith got the Eagles on the scoreboard when he scored at 3:00 assisted by Cole "Batman" Janicek and Will "Robin" Janicek! The see-saw battle began, when the Rockets responded with a tying goal at 2:41. 1-1 after 1! A very entertaining and hard-fought period of hockey!

The second period saw more great action and the Eagles take a 2-1 lead at 4:33 when "Black Shadow" scored his second of the game assisted once again by "Batman" Janicek and Alex "The Bulldog" Nemcek! Two minutes later, the Rockets were able to break in and tie it up at 2's!

In the third period, The Eagles managed to find a way to score again and took the lead 3-2 at 9:35! Isaac "The Surgeon" Goss was the goal scorer, unassisted! A big goal! As they had done all game long, The Rockets tallied a goal of their own to knot the score at 3's at 8:06! With the season on the line, the Eagles needed to kick it up a notch as a tie was not our game plan! With 1:59 left on the game clock, and less than a minute before the final curfew horn was set to sound, The Eagles put some real pressure on the Rockets in their zone, and Carson "Wheels" Cumming let a shot go that found the back of the net, unassisted! The goal put the Eagles up 4-3 and not a moment too soon! The final buzzer sounded as the ref dropped the puck on the ensuing faceoff! Final score 4-3 Eagles!

With the win, the Eagles avoided being swept in the finals and have jumped right back into the series! The coaches were very proud of all of the players after this one! It was obvious that they came focused and ready to leave all of their energy on the ice! Wyatt "The Wall" Grover had another great game as he stopped 12 of the 15 shots he faced which included some real boomers!

The next game of the series will not be played until Friday March 20/15 at 6pm in Strathroy, when the Eagles will look to tie things up at 2 games apiece!
______________________________________________________________________________________________

**Remember our tournament will be played on Tuesday March 17th in Plattsville, ON! Our first game will be at 10:10am and will be vs. St. Mary's Rock! Some families have booked rooms at the Hampton Inn in Kitchener for Monday and Tuesday nights! (Yes, there is a pool) Booster club members and families are invited to join us for what promises to be a lot of fun!**
GO EAGLES GO!!!