The Scotiabank Bantam LL Meteors started out the year with a solid winning streak. Despite the fact that they have played the fewest games in their league, they have managed to creep their way up to the middle of the pack in points.
January 9, 2017, the boys played an away game, with a full bench, in Monkton against Central Perth. As I took my seat on the "home" bleachers I thought to myself, "why are our kids wearing black jerseys and who are all these strangers sitting on Mitchell’s side?" It was then that I remembered that we were actually the visitors for this game (no I’m not a natural blonde…why do you ask?). I found my homeys sitting at the other end of the arena and I know they were happy to see me. The team was lined up to our right, chompin at the bit to get on the ice. Lots of laughter could be heard, so no doubt Joey HILL was keeping his team in stitches with his hilarious sense of humour. We immediately started to cheer as the boys took to the ice. Despite our efforts, it wasn’t until the 2nd period that the scoreboard saw any action. Monkton started things off in that regard, but Cole WILTON answered back with an unassisted shorthanded goal about a minute later. Once again, Monkton found the back of the net and concluded the period 2 to 1 for them. 30 seconds into the 3rd Carter YOST, with the assistance of defenceman Brent "PUFF" SMITH tied things up. Both teams battled hard for the remainder of the game, but the Meteors were the victor as WILTON once again scored, this time with the help of Josh BEDOUR. Game 1 of the new year ended in a 3 to 2 win for the Meteors.
On January 12, 2017, the Meteors hosted the Goderich Sailors in their own barn (Mitchell) for what turned out to be a stellar win for our local boys. At no point during this game did Mitchell relinquish its lead. Early into the night, Jaden FAULKNER and Curtis "CHEESE" DEJONG assisted WILTON with his first goal of the game. Goal number two was again the handiwork of WILTON this time assisted by Dominic VOROS and PUFF. Goderich made sure to close the period with a goal of its own, but Mitchell still controlled the scoreboard. It’s hard to throw a hat onto the ice when you are A. sitting in the warm area and B. aren’t wearing a hat, but had neither of those been the case then I could have definitely cheered way more when CHEESE set the puck up perfectly in front of the net aiding WILTON in his HAT TRICK! Way to go! BEDOUR scored next with the assistance of CHEESE and PUFF. Goderich continued to answer back to every goal we scored, but Mitchell still came out on top of the 2nd 4 to 3. Sometimes that little Zamboni break is a good thing, and tonight was one of those times. Mitchell dominated in the 3rd period. VOROS scored top shelf, unassisted, followed by YOST placing a hard shot to the back of the net, assisted by Kole HUNT and Basil VOROS. Dominic VOROS, one of our topnotch defencemen, I might add, scored his second unassisted "this time empty netter" goal of the game. As the last few seconds of the game disappeared from the clock, Goderich once again pulled its goalie and once again Mitchell, or rather, WILTON and CHEESE shot the puck with perfect aim right between the pipes. Mitchell skated away with an 8 to 3 win. Not only did WILTON score 4 times during that game, but honourable mention goes to CHEESE for getting 4 assists. I should also mention that Stevie DAUM played a fantastic game between the pipes. Constantly snatching the puck mid-air, diving and flipping and whatever he needed to do to protect his net.
THE METEORS ARE ON FIRE! On January 13, 2017, they hosted Central Perth in Mitchell (in case you were wondering, I had no issues figuring out where to sit for this game). They claimed another win and increased their winning streak to 4. Their bench was shortened by 4 players, so they knew this was going to be a tough match. On a side note, FAULKNER hit the boards hard the night before and the result was a broken collar bone. The team sure will miss his speed that’s for sure. This kid can out skate anyone and knock the puck off their stick with ease. But back to the game…Mitchell set the bar high in the first period scoring 4 goals to Central Perth’s 1. Wade MONDEN started things off with the assistance of Will STEINBACH. Next YOST scored assisted by HUNT and Basil VOROS. Next YOST scored assisted by HUNT and Basil VOROS. Deja vu? Nope, this actually happened. These three mixed things up a bit for the next goal with HUNT scoring and Basil VOROS and YOST assisting this time. The boys sat back in the 2nd period as Central Perth tightened up the score, but Mitchell’s scoreboard came back to life in the 3rd. Lucky for Denzyl FINLAYSON I was sitting in the cold part when he scored his first goal of the season. FINLAYSON is one of our trusty defencemen. He guards our net and assists DAUM every game, rarely looking for any glory as a goal scorer, but tonight he scored his goal, unassisted I might add. The crowd when wild! And when I say crowd, I mean his mom, Tania, and I. We yelled and cheered despite getting the death glare from him as he skated back to the bench. I mean if you can’t embarrass your kids or your friend’s kids then why even bother going to their sporting events?!! Feeding off of the roar of the crowd (I’m sure) Basil VOROS was in position, placed the puck in front of the net setting up YOST for his shorthanded HATTY! The final buzzer sounded and the Meteors celebrated their 6 to 3 win.
Mitchell’s winning streak came to an end on January 19th. They journeyed to Seaforth to take on the Stars. I sat in the warm area again, but this time right up against the glass so that I could get both a good view of the net and I could smash my hand on the glass when needed. Mitchell started taking shots on net half way through the first period, but try as they might that Seaforth goalie was determined to block everything they shot at him. It was a very evenly matched game. Right winger HILL played a solid game in the neutral zone with many attempted turnovers. Curtis CHAFFE played a solid D game. Every time the puck was in our end he was shoulder to shoulder with their player and they just could not get past him. Seaforth got on the board first…with just 20.3 seconds left in the 2nd period and the assistance of a power play. The boys scrambled for what seemed an eternity in front of our net, but unfortunately the puck got loose and rolled over the line. Yes, I was smashing my hand on the glass at this point. Seaforth scored two more times in the 3rd period. A scramble ensued in front of Seaforth’s net and MONDEN dug deep until he successful shoved the puck across the line preventing Seaforth from getting a shutout and claiming the team’s sole (unassisted) goal of the game. I cheered loud from the warm area trying to encourage at least a couple more goals out of our boys, but Seaforth ended up winning 3 to 1.
What a fantastic start to 2017. Keep up the great work boys. Good luck this afternoon as you take on the Cyclones in Listowel.