Feb 09, 2015 | Sheri Peet | 1164 views
A well deserved WIN for the Atom Hyundai AE's
The Atom AE Hyundai Sailors continued the round robin portion of the Neilson Cup with a home game against the Walkerton Capitals. Friday evening’s game was the home half of the two games with the Walkerton Capitals at the Maitland Recreation Centre. The previous week’s game in Walkerton ended in disappointment with a 3-2 loss in overtime.
The Sailors opened the scoring midway through the first period. Spencer came in to the zone and tried the shot from near the faceoff dot. The shot found its way through and into the back of the net behind the Walkerton goalie. The goal was assisted by Chris and Theron. The Sailors extended their lead with less than a minute left to play in the period. Wesley`s low shot was redirected off the Walkerton defenceman`s skate and past the Capital`s netminder. Wesley`s goal was assisted by Justin who chipped the puck out of the Sailor`s zone to create the scoring chance.
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ust before the seven minute mark of the second period Goderich extended their lead to 3-0 on a nice backhand by Jordan over the shoulder of the Walkerton goalie. The Capitals had just completed a successful penalty kill seconds earlier. Jordan goal was assisted by Spencer and Michael. Michael`s assist was the first by a Sailor`s goalie this season and capped off a shutout performance by Michael before switching with Kellen.
Spencer extended the Sailor`s lead to 4-0 with less than two minutes left in the second period. Spencer`s shot from a difficult angle near the corner beat the Capital`s goalie. Spencer`s second goal of the game was assisted by Jordan and Austin. The Sailor`s ended the period with a penalty in the last minute to Austin for body contact. The boys managed to kill off the penalty to end the period.
The third period opened with the Sailors seemingly in complete control, but the Capitals pressed hard to get back into the game. A penalty for tripping to Spencer lasted only seven seconds with the Capitals scoring off the draw and cut the Sailors’ lead to 4-1. Less than a minute later Justin was assessed a minor penalty for slashing, but the Sailors managed to regain their success on the penalty kill.
Walkerton scored its second goal with just under seven minutes to play in the third period. The Sailor`s bench called a timeout to regroup. Shortly after the timeout, a penalty to Wesley for slashing put the Sailor`s on the penalty kill with plenty of time left to play. The boys had a solid penalty kill and regained the momentum. Spencer had a couple of good chances to complete the hat trick, but was not rewarded. With less than a minute to play, the Capitals` took their timeout to set up with the sixth attacker on the ice. The Sailor`s did not allow them to set up, but instead created a scoring chance of their own . Wesley had the opportunity to score into the empty net, but shot the puck just wide. Kellen played well in preserving the win for the Sailors.
It was a well deserved win for the Sailors. The team has worked hard over the last few weeks and continue to improve. It was a solid team effort on Friday night with everyone contributing. The forward lines of Spencer, Jordan, Chris and Justin, Noah, Wesley worked well together providing forechecking pressure and aggressive backcheck. The defensive pairing of Cameron and Austin and Theron and Caden put in a solid performance slowing down the Capitals attack and clearing out the rebound.
Next up for the Sailors is a Valentine`s Day match-up with the Hanover Falcons as they continue round robin play.