The Atom Storm LL#1, Allan’s Fireside Grill, went on the road
to play in Shallow Lake vs The Lakers on Sunday. This proved to be a very exciting match as
all players from both teams worked very hard all game long.
The puck drops to start the game and the Storm came out hard to battle the Lakers. Despite great opening effort the Lakers managed the first marker and the Storm where down by one. They kept battling and getting shots on net and Jack had nice chance off a faceoff in the Lakers end but it was snagged out of the air by a great glove save. Not getting discouraged they continued to get chance after chance on net until 5:50 of the first Jake and Wes had a nice break down the ice. Jake took a shot on net and Wes cleaned up the rebound and the score was tied at one a piece with Wes earning the goal and Jake awarded with the assist. The Storm kept on bringing it as they won battles in all areas of the ice and managed shot after shot but just could not get one past the Lakers netminder. In our end “Big Save Benny” was living up to his nickname as he looked awesome in net with some great movement and making some great saves and keeping his team in it. Despite the Storms great work the score did not change and the score remained tied.
The second started with the Storm battling hard once again, the wingers Smiley, Jack, Peter, Charlie, Jake and Hunter were really playing well. They skated hard, got pressure in the other team’s zone and worked well at getting it out of our end. They rushed the ice and looked for rebounds after the first shot but could not beat the Lakers goalie. The centers were flying as well, Riley had a bunch of great rushes but could not find the back of the net, he was also great at getting back to support his “D” and hold the blue line and support in our end. Nick was all over the ice wining battles and getting shots off as well as covering for the “D” when they rushed; he had fantastic backchecks all game long as well. Wes was playing great as he continued to get a lot of chances on net, battled the Lakers hard for the puck and was always back to help out his “Dman”. Despite the solid work and great skating the Lakers managed to slide one past Ben midway through the second and the Lakers went up 2-1. The Storm kept coming mainly from the great work the defencemen, Andy, Ian, Josh, Zach, Andrew and Talan did in our end at protecting the front of the net getting the puck up to forwards, being very strong on the blueline and they supported each other very well in all three zones on the ice. As the horn sounded to end the second period the scoreboard read 2-1 for the home team but the Storm did not seem discouraged at all.
The third period is underway and the Storm kept coming, they needed a goal and they were trying their best. Wes and Jake kept rushing the ice together, Riley and Nick had some beauty chances and passes and both displayed excellent stickhanding skills. The defencemen, An, Andy, Josh and Andrew played great and caught the Lakers every time they managed to get around them and knocked the pucks away to save a scoring chance, they also made it very difficult for Lakers to hang out in front of Ben which is a real tough job. Zach and Talan played great defensively but also had great offensive games as they both had a few rushes down the ice, one where Talan hit the post and you could almost hear the sigh of disbelief from the crowd and Zach was robbed by a few great saves. Nick fed a pass to Peter out front of the Lakers net all alone but could not tuck it home, Smiley took a good hard shot on net from the slot but could not find the mesh. Jack and Charlie where passing well and jumping all over rebound trying a shot when they could but couldn't get one past the Lakers tender. Hunter was blocking shots in our end, getting rebounds and always skating hard to join the rush. This was by far the best period of hockey this team had played as they totally dominated most of the time. The Lakers came back with two more on the Storm even though Ben was on his game and making some really good stops. The horn blasted to end the game and the Lakers got the win due to their insane goaltender.
Great game Storm, the team keeps getting better every practice and game and should stand tall after a great performance on the ice today. The coaches are very excited about what we are seeing from this group and the improvement since the first team practice. Talan was awarded the Digger for his great game but there where at least 4 other players in the running for this and it was a very hard decision for the coaches. Congrats Eagle Talan!!
Next game vs Bruce Peninsula Northstars in Wiarton @ 4pm