Over the past weekend Saugeen Storm Atom LL#1, Allan’s Fireside Grill, Open regular their season vs Arran-Elderslie Ice Dogs in Paisley on Saturday and Bruce Peninsula Northstars at home in Southampton Sunday . These were two great games and very exciting for the player’s, coaches and of course the parents.
Storm#1 vs Ice Dogs
The team was excited to play their first regular season game and because it was Hockey day in Paisley the arena was full of excitement and fans. As the puck dropped for the opening faceoff both teams got off to a great start, skating hard and battling for the loose pucks. It was the Ice dogs who struck first at 8:34 of the first but that did not get the Storm slow down at all. The centermen Jake, Nick and Riley where trying real hard and getting chances but could not beat the Ice Dogs netminder. The wingers, Jack, Charlie, Sabra, Ismail, Hunter, Peter, Wes, were working real hard at getting the puck in deep and keeping the pressure on their opponents and creating chances on net. Unfortunately the period ended with the score 1-0 for the Ice Dogs.
In the starting of the second the Storm once again came out flying and once when they got the puck in deep kept pressure on the Ice Dogs managed a few shots on net and suddenly Jake scored off a scramble out front of the net assisted by Jack and Ian to even the score at 6:12 of the second. The great work did not stop there as the Storm repeatedly attacked the net of the Ice Dogs with everyone getting chances. All this would not have been possible without the amazing work from the defensemen Zach, Josh, Talan, Andrew, Andy and Ian. They did a great job of moving the puck out of their end but did an even better one of keeping the puck in the Ice Dogs zone so that all the offensive chances could happen. This great teamwork once again paid off with a scramble out front of the Ice Dogs net when Riley made a beautiful pass over to Wes standing all alone with all kinds of net to shot at and tucked one home for his team to put them up 2-1 at 5:36 of the period. The Ice Dogs responded at 4:44 in the second and the score remained tied 2-2 at the end of the second.
The third started real quick and the Ice dogs managed to go up by two early on at 14:06 and 13:16 respectfully. The Storm kept Battling and skating refusing to give up and managed another with a wicked shot by Talan at the point that went straight in, an unassisted goal to make the score 4-3 at 11:55 in the third. Ben continued to try his best in net and stopped the Ice Dogs on several breaks to the net and trying to cover up the puck for a whistle when he could. The Ice Dogs scored again at 10:26 and the Storm responded right away with some great offensive zone work with Ismail receiving a pass out front and hammering that baby home with Nick and Wes earning the assists on the play at 9:27 to make the score 5-4. In the last few minutes the Ice Dogs scored again to make the game final 6-4.
Great game Storm!! The coaches where very proud of how hard every player worked all game long and never gave up. Big Happy Birthday went out to Peter in the dressing room followed by the team signing happy birthday to him.
Next Game Sunday at Home vs The Nothstars.
Storm Host the Nothstars
The Storm hosted the Bruce Peninsula Northstars #2 Sunday morning in Southampton. The puck dropped for the opening faceoff of and you could tell the Storm came to play this one. Right off the hop the Storm took to the Northstars zone and started working the battling for the puck. It didn’t take long and at 8:47 Jake opened the scoring to put his team up by one with an unassisted goal on a nice shot through the goalies five hole. The good hard work continued and the Storm where rewarded again in the period at 6:56 on a Goal but Wes assisted by Ismail on another great drive to the net. Shortly after that Jake managed his second of the period assisted from Ismail at the 5:49 mark to make the score 3-0 in favour of the Storm. As the period continued it was evident that every player was determined to make a difference in this game. The Wingers, Ismail, Hunter, Peter, Sabra, Charlie, Jack, Wes continued to drive the net, take shots, get rebounds and make those passes out front to the open player, they won battles in the corners and along the side boards by playing with real confidence. The defensemen, Josh, Talan, Andy, Ian, Zach and Andrew all played a solid defensive game as they only allowed 1 shot to get through to Big Save Benny in the period and threw a few nice shots on net from the point. This hard work showed on the scoreboard as the 3-0 lead still stood at the end of the first.
The second opened with a bang and a big offensive presence in the Northstars zone as the right off the faceoff to start the period the storm gained to offensive zone. With a shot on net early and the rebound recovered Riley tried a wrap around but saw Hunter sitting in the high slot and dished him a pass, Hunter took his shot and found nothing but net butting his team up by 4 at this point and Riley earning the assist at 9:14. Pucks kept going to the net and the forwards kept the puck in deep with the help of the fantastic work from the defensemen to hold the blueline and allow the pressure to continue on the Northstars. Once again the Storm had control down low and the puck movement of Nick and Peter helped Sabra add another beauty very similar to Hunter’s goal. The goal came at 8:49 with assists from Peter and Nick. The centermen, Riley, Nick and Jake drove pucks to the net supported the defenceman all game when the Northstars gained our zone and got right up in the rush creating many offensive chances all game long. As the team continued to march on Wes scored again as Jack assisted on the goal during a scramble in front of the net, Wes managed another to compile a Hat Trick in the dying seconds of the period with an assist awarded to Charlie.
As the Storm had a good lead going into the third players got shaken up and most players played different position for the rest of the game. Every player on the ice was doing a great job and kept the pressure on the Northstars but at 10:13 they managed to break free and beat Ben on a breakaway as he made a fabulous attempt to stop it. Ben played a great game as he didn’t see many shots but made some real key saves all game long, Great Job Big Save Benny!!
Once again all the coaches where very pleased with the players and in the dressing room Coach Richard apologized to his team as he had forgotten something for after the game on Sunday in Paisley. What did he forget? It was the Digger Award and it is awarded to the hardest working player during the game. The best part of the Digger Award is trying to decide who gets it, and as coaches we want the decision to be hard because that shows everyone was playing their best and trying their hardest. Great Job team!!
Next game Saturday Nov 8th, 1pm vs The Shallow Lake Lakers at the Plex.