Jan 07, 2015 | Sheri Peet | 999 views
Atom Hyundai AE Best Game of The Season
After an extended holiday break the Hyundai Atom AE Sailors (1-13-1) returned to action on Sunday afternoon with an away game against the Wingham Ironmen (9-6-0). Wingham had won the previous two games played.
The Sailors came out strong in the opening period keeping the Ironmen in their own zone and battling hard for the puck. A body contact penalty to Noah midway through the period slowed the Sailor’s attack, but they worked hard to keep the puck out of their zone and were successful in killing off the penalty. With less than 2 minutes left in the period Spencer was sent off for body contact putting the Sailors back on the penalty kill. With time winding down the Ironmen opened the scoring on the power play. The Sailors had several good chances to score in the period, but could not beat the Wingham netminder
Early in the second period the Sailors once again found themselves a man short with Cameron being sent off for a tripping penalty. They were again successful in killing off the penalty and managed several shorthanded chances. Before the midway point of the period the Ironmen increased their lead to 2-0, but the boys didn’t quit. They continue to dig for the puck and were rewarded with a late goal by Chris off a rebound from a shot by Spencer. Spencer’s shot from the left wing was stopped by the Ironmen’s goalie, but Chris was there to poke through the goalie into the back of the net.
The Ironmen regained their two goal lead in the first minute of the third period, but the Sailors responded quickly with an unassisted goal by Spencer on a low, hard shot. The Sailors tied the game at 3-3 a short time later on a goal by Wesley. Spencer carried the puck out of the Sailor’s zone and fed Wesley a pass on the left wing. Wesley tried to return the pass, but it was partially blocked. Wesley regained control of the puck and fired a weak shot between the Wingham goalie’s legs.
The teams continued to trade chances with Wingham scoring the go-ahead goal with seven minutes to play in the third period. Less than a minute later the Sailor tied the game 4-4. The official scoring credited Kaelan with the goal, assisted by Noah. But, the game would be decided by the Ironmen’s power play. Spencer was called for a slashing penalty during a scrum in the Sailor’s zone. The Ironmen scored on the ensuing power play to take the lead 5-4. With less than 4 minutes to play, the Sailors did not give up and pressed for the tying goal. The Sailor had the Ironmen scrambling in their own zone, but could not put the puck in the net. With less than a minute to play, the Sailors pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, but came up just short.
Despite the final score, the Sailors played one of their best games of the year. They worked hard from the opening faceoff to the final buzzer playing a strong team game. The forward lines took the play to the Ironmen with strong forechecking, and solid defensive play. The defence pairing also played a great game keeping the puck to the outside, clearing the front of the net and getting the puck out of the zone quickly. Both goalies played well making several good stops.
The Aton AE Sailors last regular season game is this Friday against the Ironmen.
Come out and cheer on the boys as they look to end the season with a win!
Article Credited to Jim Sherratt