written by: Karen MacDonald
photo: T. MacDonald on the rush during the game against Centre Wellington
The BDO Dunwoody Atom BB team travelled to Elora over the weekend to participate in the 31st Annual Elora Atom Minor Hockey Tournament. The Storm’s first matchup was against the host team, the Centre Wellington Fusion. The Storm knew they were in for a challenge against the Major Atom A team (25-1-1) but were determined to play a strong game. And they did exactly that for two full periods. The Storm gave the CW Fusion a run for their money in the first two periods, keeping the game competitive by trading scoring opportunities back and forth. The Storm kept pace with the Fusion and did their fair share of applying pressure to the Fusion netminder. The hard work of the BDO Dunwoody Atom BB team finally paid off in the second period when Thomas MacDonald cleanly won the faceoff in the offensive end and pushed the puck over to Nick Sutter-Lammie who wasted no time getting to the net and fired a low shot that beat the CW goalie. Riding the wave of momentum just one minute later, Justin Marlowe gained possession of the puck and took it for a run the length of the rink to fire a shot on goal from the top of the circle. The CW netminder deflected the shot only to have Storm player, Paul Leger bat it out of the air and into the back of the net. The Storm was up 2-0. Both teams continued to play a spirited game, keeping the fans on the edge of their seats. The tide turned as the Fusion were credited with a goal that appeared to be covered by Storm goalie, Jack Flarity just as the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the second period.
The third period would find the Storm team lose its rhythm as one player unexpectedly took ill and was unable to finish the game. The remaining players were unable to get back into their groove and just couldn’t seem to find a way to mount any type of offensive play in the final period. CW would tie the game with a rocket shot worthy of the highlight reel that went top shelf, glove side. They would get their go-ahead goal shortly after and then earn an empty netter to take the game 4-2 despite the gritty efforts of the Storm defense and the solid performance of Storm netminder, Jack Flarity.
The BDO Dunwoody Atom BB team met up with the Simcoe Warriors on Saturday afternoon with what they hoped would be a relatively even match up. Unfortunately the Warriors seemed to be just that much quicker to get to the puck and just that much more determined to play a better game. The Storm team found themselves playing a more defensive game. The defense worked hard to keep the slot clear and netminder, Jacob Ackert did his part to give his team a chance for the win. Unfortunately the team wasn’t ever really able to mount any type of formidable offense and the Warriors would emerge victorious with a score of 3-0.
The second loss for the Storm left them without any chance to go to the final round but they had one more game to play on Sunday to finish their schedule. The BDO Dunwoody Atom BB team took on the Petrolia Oilers on Sunday afternoon. The tone of the game was set in the first period as both teams took multiple penalties and each found themselves in a five on three situation at different points during the first ten minutes. The demanding physical play took its toll as both teams remained scoreless after the first period. The second period was as physically taxing as the first and the Oilers managed to muscle their way through to find the back of the net early in the second. The Storm continued to battle hard, but once again, struggled to find their offensive game. The Oilers would seal the deal with a second goal midway through the third. Unable to mount a siginificant number of scoring opportunities, the Storm would remain off of the scoreboard for the second time in two days. The game would end 2-0 in favour of the Petrolia Oilers. The BDO Dunwoody Atom BB team would leave Elora defeated and disappointed despite their impressive efforts during that initial game. Click on the following link for an interesting perspective on the Centre Wellington vs Saugeen Shores game. Select "News" on the sidebar and scroll down to the article entitled “ Fusion Almost Caught In Storm”.
http://cwmajoratoma.com/
Playoffs are next up for the BDO Dunwoody Atom BB team as they take some time to regroup and get ready for the first round.
Go Storm Go!