The Bantam Rep Sailors didn't come out as strongly as they would have liked in the Kincardine Regional Silverstick tournament over the holidays, winning only one of their three games (a 4-1 victory over South Huron). They were defeated by the Kincardine Kinucks and the Twin Centres Stars. But their first game of 2011 proved to be a solid and well-played game that brought them their second victory over the BCH Ice Dogs.
The Sailors met the Dogs at the Hensall arena on Sunday, January 2, and came out strong from the outset. Despite a strong Sailor presence in the BCH end and multiple scoring chances, it was the Ice Dogs who scored the first two goals of the game. With only five minutes left in the first period though, DJ Stevenson popped in the first Goderich goal, narrowing the gap to 2-1. The Sailors revved up even more in the second, especially after the BCH team scored a power play goal early on to make it 3-1. Luke Fraser darted around the BCH defense and roofed a beauty to bring the Sailors a little closer, 3-2. About a minute later, Tyler Moss narrowly missed the net, but Steve De Jager was there to pop in the tying goal. Again, the Sailors came on even more strongly, with Stevenson finding Brandon Johnston, who netted the go-ahead goal for Goderich. With 0.5 seconds left in the second, BCH scored a power play goal to tie the game up again, 4-4. In the third period the Goderich defensemen were fantastic, holding their ground and staying steady and strong against the attacking Ice Dogs. It was Taylor Helesic, assisted by Fraser, who put the Sailors in the lead again shortly into the third period. They fended off many rushes by the Dogs, and in the last minute when BCH pulled their goalie, Helesic was able to calmly slide one around the opposition and into the empty net. The Sailors took away a well-deserved 6-4 victory against the Ice Dogs. Well done, guys!