The Scotiabank Bantam LL boys brought their A game to the Mitchell arena on the evening of Friday, February 20th where they met up with their arch nemesis, South Bruce aka Teeswater.
They had barely had time to scuff up the freshly watered down ice when Zeke KOERT planted goal number one right between the pipes. Jake MONDEN got the assist and they all skated back to center ice to do it again. Six minutes later they did just that, except this time Jackson MACARTHUR got the goal with the assist going to his line-mates, MONDEN and KOERT. They ended that first period with a strong 2 to 0 lead.
Period two played out in much the same fashion. Several rebound shots were taken by our boys, which aided in yet another two goals for the good guys. Anthony BEUERMAN scored midway into this period and the assists went to Nate BAKER and Ben HART. Less than a minute later team captain KOERT made his presence known once again and dumped the puck right past their goalie displaying goal number four for the team on the scoreboard. Nic BAKER and MONDEN were the apple bearers of this goal. Hayden ADAIR shone as he provided airtight defense for his team and a few nice shots were let go by HART and Kurtis FORREST, but their goalie managed to snag them both. They ended the second period with an even stronger 4 to 0 lead.
The puck dropped in the third and Eric DEARING was off like a shot in an attempt to catch their goalie off guard in the first five seconds but, unfortunately for us, he was on his toes. The game turned into a bit of a gong show in the third as Teeswater desperately tried to beat down our players any way they could, but there was no stopping this united team of Mitchell boys tonight as they weaved their way out of oncoming body checks in an incredible effort to maintain their four nothing lead. Nate BAKER and Des FINLAYSON both had a hard shot on net as they continued to put the heat on their opponents. As always, Kyle WETTLAUFER skated with the speed of a champion speed skater all game long always beating his man to the puck and sending it flying in the opposite direction of our net. Finally, the buzzer sounded and Mitchell celebrated their first win (4 to 0) against Teeswater and yet another shutout for goalie Reid DEGROOT.
The following night the meteors travelled to Wingham for their third playoff series game. After a clumsy warm up and a ho-hum attitude prior to the game the Mitchell boys flicked the "on" switch as they stepped up to the red line for their first face off with Wingham. Once again, two quick goals at the beginning of the first period set the tone for the rest of the game. DEARING scored the first unassisted and FORREST nailed the second with the assistance of MONDEN. They ended the period 2 to 0.
Mitchell started the second period with a win at the faceoff which afforded Tristan BEEHLER the chance to score goal number three with the assistance of MONDEN and MACARTHUR. Since Mitchell’s roster was a little shorter than normal, right winger BEUERMAN played defense for the night. He did an excellent job and may have found his true calling. Mitchell continued to outplay and outshoot their opponents but could not prevent Wingham from getting their only goal of the night part way through the period. It was truly a very exciting moment for this player as he rode his stick to centre ice where he performed his celly for all to see. This left the scoreboard showing 3 to 1 and the possibility of it being anyone’s game.
Ten minutes went by in period three with no change on the scoreboard. The players seemed to have run out of gas, until Nate BAKER shook things up and added another goal. BEEHLER was there to get the assist and shortly after that BEEHLER scored one himself with the assists going to MACARTHUR and MONDEN. Defenseman WETTLAUFER put forth a huge effort to score, as well, with a few shots on net. The final seconds of the game certainly provided added excitement as Mitchell had a 5 on 3 advantage due to a 10 minute misconduct penalty awarded to a Wingham player. Here’s a piece of advice, never say, "you wanna fight?" when the ref is within earshot. That being said, FORREST took advantage of the situation and fired the puck into their net. He was assisted by Nate BAKER and MONDEN. Seconds later, MACARTHUR did the same thing. Once again MONDEN assisted as well as BEEHLER. The buzzer sounded before Mitchell could beef up the scoreboard anymore and this barn burner was over. They skated away with a 7 to 1 win.
Fantastic team work boys! Keep up the good work as you continue your winning streak and take on Goderich on Friday, February 27th at 9:00 pm in Mitchell. This will be a good game that you will not want to miss!