On January 25th, 2015, the Lockhart Funeral Home Pee Wee LL boys played their last regular season game against the Howick Hornets in Mitchell. It was a night of firsts for the some of the players, and the team played their first penalty-free game.
At the beginning of the first period the team skated around the rink much like they would at a Sunday afternoon free skate, but this did not last for long. Suddenly, Solomon KOERT leapt from the bench and onto the ice. He darted right to the puck, grabbed it and dumped it in the net. Jake WALKER and Denzyl FINLAYSON assisted with his goal. The team united and they started to pass the puck around and make several shots on Howick's net. A couple minutes later Cole WILTON shot the puck from the point and it landed right between the pipes. WALKER picked up his second assist and the other assist went to Kole HUNT. KOERT continued to dominate. He went in for what he hoped would be his second goal, but it bounced off a Howick player and right into the hands of Ryker VANDENBROEK who did not hesitate to take advantage and score goal number three for the team. KOERT and the Howick player were credited with the assists. Next, Wade MONDEN took control of the puck, weaved his way around the other team and scored on a breakaway. FINLAYSON assisted. With less than a minute on the clock, MONDEN took his place in front of the net and finished off the period with one final goal that was assisted by HUNT and Jackson THORPE. The scoreboard read 5 to 0 for us.
Jaden FAULKNER stood out all game as he continued to shoot the puck at his opponent’s net. The Howick goalie caught and deflected several of our shots. He was definitely getting a workout tonight. Carter YOST, who is no stranger to scoring goals, was also working hard to add to his team’s score. Riley MURRAY worked hard in the corners getting the puck free for his teammates and also provided several shots on net in an attempt to help rack up the points. The boys continued to set up plays and MONDEN and WALKER made a textbook pass over to HUNT who recorded another one for Mitchell. At this point, MONDEN’s parents were unprepared for what happened next. They did not have an “extra” hat to throw on to the ice as MONDEN got his first hat-trick of his travel hockey career. Kudos goes to HUNT and WALKER for helping him attain this goal. The period ended 7 to 0 for us.
Due to the solid lead, some of the Mitchell players tried out different positions. They continued to practice proper passing skills and their one-timers. They all worked hard to get some of the players who regularly play defense into a scoring position. FAULKNER who had been determined all night to net that puck finally did just that and the assist went to YOST. Jesse JUBINVILLE exhibited perfect stick handling as he moved the puck to the HOWICK end, he passed it to WILTON who in turn set up THORPE and THORPE scored his first “official” goal of the season. Remember that final goal in the Dairy Queen Challenge Cup Tournament? Well, we do! (See: “Come On! Even the Zamboni Guy Said It Went In Before the Buzzer.”). Another player determined to score his first goal of the season was FINLAYSON. He already had a couple assists under his belt for the night, but there is nothing like being the guy responsible for getting the goal! Shot after shot was delivered by FINLAYSON. Clearly their goalie was not going to give up any more goals without a fight (figuratively speaking of course). Some random fan yelled “HARD” from the stands and FINLAYSON finally got that goal! VANDENBROEK and WILTON got the assists. The boys had demonstrated excellent sportsmanship skills all game and refrained from celebrating, but they could not let this one go without the recognition it deserved and the boys had a little congratulatory huddle before they resumed at the red line. Will STEINBACH provided a strong offensive effort throughout the game as well. Our goalie, Brent SMITH, did not stand idle the entire game and had to work hard when the Howick players managed to get the puck away from our dominating players. He protected our net from start to finish and when the buzzer sounded he pocketed another shut out. The final score was 10 to 0 us.
Stay tuned for more exciting hockey news from this team as they head into playoffs and have one final tournament in Goderich.