Over the
past weekend the Petes competed in the Halton Hills Memorial Tournament. The Petes were initially scheduled to play
against the following 3 teams; Guelph Gryphons, Halton Hills Thunder, Oakville
Rangers (Red) with the fourth game to be determined. The Petes were eager to play against some
other BB teams.
The first
game of the day on Friday was against the Guelph Gryphons, and it was filled
with anticipation. Previously the Petes
played the Gryphons in the Welland Little NHL Tournament and lost 4-1. The Petes were eager to show the Gryphons how
much they had improved. However, on this
day the Gryphons would get the best of the Petes. The game started off with both teams getting
chances to score, but some early penalty problems put the Petes shorthanded,
and momentum swung in the Gryphons favour.
For the remainder of the game the Gryphons were in full control and the
Petes were shutout losing 5-0.
The second
game of the day was versus the home team Halton Hills Thunder. The arena was packed with hometown fans and
the stage was set for an exciting game. The
Thunder who lost their first game was ready from the drop of the puck as they
showed that by scoring their first goal 8 seconds into the period. The Petes new it wasn’t going to be easy, and
they were going to have their hands full.
The Petes now over the shock of the first goal started to get themselves
back into the game. However, the Thunder
would once again take advantage of another opportunity and extend their lead to
2-0 by the end of the first period. The
second period was a better period for the Petes as they were able to put
together multiple scoring chances and get their first goal of the season. The score was now 2-1. The Thunder was not without their own
opportunities to score and would not be denied as they scored their third goal
of the game to make the score 3-1 at the end of the second period. The Petes determined to get back into the
game stepped up their game in the third period.
The Petes started to win the races to the pucks and control the pace of
the game. The Petes then scored aa goal
to at the midpoint in the period to close the gap and make the score 3-2. The Petes hungry for more kept up the
pressure on the Thunder. The Petes continued
to get shot after shot on the Thunder goalie and with 30 seconds left in the
game tied the game with a shorthanded goal.
The score was now 3-3. However,
with a weird turn of events the Thunder would get a breakaway with time running
out and score with 2 seconds remaining on the clock to secure a 4-3 victory
over the Petes.
The Petes
third game was versus the Oakville Rangers (Red) on Saturday night. Even though the Petes had dropped their first
two games of the tournament they were not mathematically eliminated yet. All the Petes would need to do is beat the
Rangers by a multiple number of goals. It would be a tall order, but the Petes
were willing to give it their best effort.
The game started with the Petes getting a lot of offensive zone time,
but it didn’t result in any goals. The
Petes continued to play well but by the end of the second period the Rangers would
hold a 2-0 lead over the Petes. The
third period started similarly to the first two periods with the Petes getting
chance but unable to score and the Rangers getting the bounces and scoring
early in the period to take a 3-0 lead.
With the game looking in hand for the Rangers the Petes managed to turn
the tables. Following the third Rangers
goal it was a different story as the Petes scored their first goal of the
game. The Petes determination finally
paid off. The Petes continued to build
confidence from their first goal and pushed to score another. The Petes would then get get rewarded for
their efforts and score their second
goal of the game. The score was now 3-2
with the Petes fully motivated to get the win.
Late in the game the Petes pulled the goalie to get an extra attacker,
but it was not in the cards for the Petes on this night as time ran out. It was a great effort put forth by the Petes.
Tuesday
night the Petes played travelled down the 401 to Pickering to compete against
the Ajax-Pickering Raiders for the last time this season. In previous meetings the Raiders have gotten the
best of the Petes winning 9-5 and most recently 7-3. The Petes however refreshed from their winter
break were eager to change the tides and get the second half of the season
started with a better result.
The first
period was an excellent period for the Petes as they stuck to the game plan and
were able to limit the scoring chances for the Raiders top two goal
scorers. The two teams battled hard
during the period and both goalies were called upon at times to make huge saves
to keep the game scoreless. The Petes
would end up being assessed the only penalty midway through the period and the Petes penalty killers were called upon to
shut down the Raiders, which they did. The
game would continue to be close checking until less than a minute remaining
when the Petes opened the scoring. The
period would come to an end with the Petes leading 1-0.
The second
period the Petes continued to control the pace of play and with momentum on
their side would be rewarded with their second goal of the night three minutes
into the period to extend the lead to 2-0.
The score would remain that way until the Petes were accessed another
penalty. The Petes penalty killers were
once again called upon to shutdown the Raiders.
The Raiders frustrated by the great penalty killing would end up taking
a penalty of their own which ended their advantage. The teams would now play 4 on 4 for the
remainder of the penalty time. This
would prove to be an advantage for the Raiders as they were able to score and
reduce the lead to 2-1 for the Petes. In
preparation for the upcoming tournament plans were in place to have each of the
goalies play half game. The plan was put
into motion and Carter K.’s night was done.
Carter faced 20 shots and only relinquished 1 goal. Well done, Carter! Adam M. now took over in the net for his turn. Whether or not the Raiders were inspired by
their recent goal, or by the goalie switch the Raiders elevated their play and
regained momentum in the game. The
Raiders dominated play for the remaining time in the period and were rewarded
with two goals to take a 3-2 lead into the intermission.
At this
point it the tournament officials were able to finally determine who the Petes
would face in their fourth game of the tournament on Sunday afternoon. And as luck would have it was against the Halton
Hills Thunder. The Petes would have their
chance for redemption and not have to wait long to get it. The Petes took to the ice with a focus and
determination not seen before and opened the scoring to take a 1-0 lead. The scoring would go back and forth, and before
you knew it the game was tied at the end of the first period 2-2. The Petes were full of confidence and energy staring
the second period and it immediately showed on the ice as the Petes took control
of the game and never looked back. The
Petes scored 5 unanswered goals on the Thunder and closed out the second period
with a 7-2 lead. The Petes then determined
to get the win stepped up defensively and played one of their best periods of the
season. The Petes did run into some penalty problems, but the Petes penalty
killers were up to the task and shutdown the Thunder. The Petes took the visctory 7-2 over the
Thunder and redeemed themselves.
Tournament MVPs: Caeden K., Aiden B., Will M., DJ C., Ethan D., Josh St. T.,
The Petes
next game is against the Northumberland Nighthawks on Wednesday, January 11th @
8:00 PM in Port Hope.
Thank you to all our Game Day sponsors for supporting our
team!
Go Petes Go!