Nov 17, 2021 | Dykstra | 287 views
U11 Rep Storm Post First Home Ice Win Of The Season
The Saugeen Shores U11 Rep Storm, sponsored by UNIFOR, posted their first home ice win of the season against the Listowel Cyclones on Sunday afternoon. The Storm came out strong in the first period skating hard and attacking the Listowel net. The first Storm chance came when Chase Cosgrove passed it to Mack Smith for a shot on net
Then it was Mack’s turn to feed the puck to Gordie Brady for a shot. More chances in the first period included shots by Will Conley and Chase Cosgrove, an end to end passing play by Greyson Wolfe and Gordie Brady to Mack Smith, and a wrap-around attempt by Cooper Henderson. Even the storm defenders got in on the offensive action with drives of their own from Jack Tiffin, Josh Dykstra, and Greyson Wolfe, keeping the Cyclones on their heels. Many of the Listowel drives were broken up by Storm defenders like Micah Alexander and Liam Huber, and the few plays that made it to the Storm end with a shot or puck scramble in front of the net were stopped by Storm goaltender Kaine Myers. The period ended scoreless after 10 minutes of play.
The second period opened with a drive by Radek Ebenstreit into the Listowel end. The puck headed back out to the blue line being kept in by Josh Dykstra who passed it in to Chase Cosgrove for a shot. Kai Bailey also got a shot in before the puck was finally cleared out of the zone. Another scoring chance came from Richie Buckland, and then one from Cooper Henderson. Bradley Seaman had a solid shot from the point that was smothered by the Cyclones net minder who left few loose pucks in front of the net for the waiting Storm attackers who are always ready to pound home any rebounds. At 6:24 in the period a tripping penalty was called against Will Conley, and the Cyclones scored off the opening power play face-off. Then Listowel was charged with a tripping penalty of their own a minute later. After spending some of their power play time in the Storm end, Chase Cosgrove pressed into the Listowel zone for a shot that was blocked by the goalie but not smothered. In the resulting puck scramble Kai Bailey found the net to tie up the game for Saugeen Shores. A second Storm goal came shortly after when Josh Dykstra fed the puck to Mack Smith for a strong shot that give Gordie Brady a chance to drive home the rebound. In the closing minutes of play, the Storm forwards had a few passing plays from the sides that couldn’t quite connect with their open player for a shot from center ice, ending the period with the Storm leading 2-1.
The third period opened with Listowel scoring the tying goal in the first minute of play. Both teams pressed hard trying to take the lead when Mack Smith had a shot that left a rebound for Gordie Brady to put into the net for the Storm’s third goal of the game. The fourth Storm goal came on a passing play from Josh Dykstra to Will Conley to Brock Harrison to the back of the net. Down by two goals, the Cyclones pressed hard in the Storm zone and had a few nice passing plays from the corner to an open player in front of the net, with only Kaine Myers there to stop them. The Cyclones pulled their goalie in the closing minutes, and with the extra skater in the Storm zone were able to score on a screened Storm goalie. Still up by one goal, the Storm squad played their best defensive game for the final minute, and when they found the puck at the boards in their defensive zone they held it there as the final seconds ticked off the game clock sealing their 4-3 victory with a full team effort. Josh Dykstra was awarded the player of the game for his strong effort in breaking up Listowel drives, keeping the puck in the offensive zone, and assisting two of the Storm goals. Saugeen Shores will play their third game in four days when they head to Hanover on Tuesday evening to face the Falcons. Go Storm!