Jan 07, 2013 | bmiller | 132 views
Atomc Red vs. Atomc Blue
After losing a close game to Blue (6-3-2) in the Christmas tournament, Red (5-4-2) put in a gritty effort and was able to tie the game this past weekend.
Red was able to get off to their fastest start of the season when Horvath, Wagner, and Kytola scored eleven seconds into the opening period. Both teams played strong for the remainder of the first period with chances going both directions. It was Blue who was able to capitalize though, scoring two goals in three minutes to take a 2-1 lead.
Although they lost the lead late in the first period, Red still came out hard to begin the second. A dominant offensive shift by Horvath, Wagner, and Kytola resulted in the line scoring their second goal of the game to tie the game 2-2. The game would not remain tied long however, as Blue was able to score just three minutes later to regain the lead.
Heading into the third, Red was determined to tie the game and their hard work and dedication paid off. Another strong offensive shift by Noble, Annett, and Perry resulted in the game tying goal only three minutes into the period. Following the goal, both teams would push for the lead which resulted in scoring opportunities in both directions. Kelly, McGoldrick, and Smith were not able to score on their opportunities, but they did play fantastic defensive hockey to keep Blue from scoring the go ahead goal. In the end both teams were able to kill off third period penalties and the score would remain a 3-3 tie.
The defense pairings of Paiva-Bernard and Hankins; Reeve and Domerchie; Endres and Steffler were able to hold a high scoring Blue team to only three goals. Their play in the third period was particularly important as they were able to maintain the tie for Red.
Storms played another great game in net. Although his team played well in front of him, he made key saves when called upon to keep Red in the game.
The team will hope to play just as well this weekend, when they head to London to compete in the Jayden Elmore Memorial Tournament.