This past weekend Atomc Red competed in the House-league Year End Championship.
Red knew they were in for a tough tournament as they were scheduled to face the second through fourth placed teams. Their first game came Friday night against a high scoring Atomc Gold. Red was able to put up one of their best team efforts of the season, with six different goal scorers. Sothern, Perry, and Smith started the game off right for Red, scoring on their first shift of the game. Gold would answer quickly with a goal of their own, scoring on the next shift. However just three minutes later defenseman Endres scored after another strong shift by Sothern, Perry, and Smith. With time winding down in the period Annett, Noble, and Horvath were able to score a buzzer beater to give Red a 3-1 lead.
Half of the second period would pass by with nothing to show for both teams, until just after the halfway point when Gold would score to cut the lead to one. However Annett, Noble, and Horvath would answer. The line scored two goals in twenty seconds to extend Reds lead to 5-2.
Red was able to ride the momentum into the third period beginning with a strong shift by Paiva-Bernard, Kytola, and Wagner. Sothern, Perry, and Smith followed with another goal to give Red a commanding 6-2 lead. Gold would score at the midway point of the third period but that would be all as Red scored once more to make the final 7-4.
Although Red allowed four goals, the teams defense played well. Reeve, Domerchie, Hankins, Steffler, Endres, Kelly, and McGoldrick were especially impressive on the offensive side of the puck making the first pass of the breakout look easy. They were also able to keep a high scoring Gold squad to the outside of the ice limiting their opportunities.
Goaltender Storms played a phenomenal game. The score could have been much closer if it were not for a few big breakaway saves late in the game.
Red’s second game of the tournament came bright and early Saturday morning against Atomc Blue. Red began the game very slowly and Blue was able to capitalize, scoring five minutes into the first period. Red continued to look for some jump but could not generate anything on offense.
As Red continued to struggle, Blue scored once again early in the second period. Red was finaly able to find their legs as the second period ticked down. Sothern, Perry, and Smith got things rolling when they were able to generate a quality offensive shift. It was followed by Annett, Noble, and Horvath who were able to score to cut the lead to one.
Following the goal, Red once again was able to find little in the way of offense. The defense pairings Reeve and Domerchie; Hankins and Steffler; Endres and Kelly along with goaltender Storms were forced to keep the team in the game. The defense were able to play well positionally in their own zone, and Storms made a few key saves when called upon. Finally with just under three minutes remaining, a good shift by Annett, Noble, and Horvath resulted in a goal and the game was tied 2-2. Paiva-Bernard, McGoldrick, and Smith followed it up with a great shift of their own, generating a few scoring opportunities. They were not able to capitalize and Red was able to salvage a 2-2 tie.
Later that afternoon Red played their third game of the tournament against Atomc Green. The game proved to be an exciting up and down battle. Green found the back of the net first, scoring just over a minute into the game. Both teams traded chances for the remainder of the period until Annett, Noble, and Horvath scored close to the two minute mark to tie the game. The tie was short lived though as Green answered with a goal of their own only fifteen seconds later.
The second period once again saw end to end action. The defense pairings Reeve and Domerchie; Hankins and Steffler; Endres and Kelly played their best hockey in the middle frame keeping the team within one. Finally with three minutes remaining in the period Annett, Noble, and Horvath scored to tie the game once again. However, Green was able to answer quickly again, scoring just over a minute later to regain the lead.
It was during the third period when Red was finally able to take control. Good shifts by all three lines including Paiva-Bernard, McGoldrick, and Wagner along with Sothern, Perry, and Smith swung the momentum into Red’s favour. Annett, Noble, and Horvath were able to build on that momentum and the line scored three times in the final six minutes to make the final score 5-3.
Storms played a good game in goal, as he never allowed the team to fall behind by more then one goal.
After finishing the round robin with a 2-0-1 record Red was set to face Atomc Blue in the semi-finals Sunday morning. Red started the early morning game with a slow start that the team has become notorious for. The team was able to generate very little offensively and Blue took a 1-0 lead into the end of the first period.
Throughout the second period the team was once again stagnant on offense. The team did play okay on the defensive side of the puck but Blue added two more goals near the end of the period to take a 3-0 lead.
The third period saw much of the same for Red. They were not able to generate any scoring chances and the forecheck was almost non-existent. The team also found themselves in penalty trouble and Blue would add another goal with three minutes left in the game to make the final 4-0.
After an uncharacteristic performance in the semi-final, Red rebounded in the consolation final against Atomc Green. The team was able to shake of some early jitters to make yet another comeback in the final minutes of the game, one of many this season. Green was able to jump on Red early in the game for two quick goals before the six minute mark. Red was once again not able to generate anything in the offensive zone.
The second period was the same as the first. Red’s defense and goaltender were hung out to dry but strong play by Reeve and Domerchie; Hankins and Steffler; Endres and Kelly along with key saves by Storms kept Red in the game. Green was able to score one more by the end of the period however, taking a 3-0 lead into the third period.
The team found a little jump to begin the third when Sothern, McGoldrick, and Smith scored to cut the lead by one. The momentum was short lived though as Green scored less then a minute later to regain the three goal lead. At this point it looked like Red would not be able to come back in the hockey game, but the team was not ready to give up. A shift in Green’s zone by Paiva-Bernard, Horvath, and Wagner seemed to change the game in Red’s direction. The following shift Annett, Noble, and Perry were able to score with just over five minutes remaining to give the team life. With jump in their step Sothern, McGoldrick, and Smith took to the ice the following shift and scored their second goal of the period to bring the team within one. Red continued to throw everything they could at the Green goaltender but were not able to score. Finally, with the goalie pulled and six attackers on the ice Red completed the amazing comeback scoring with thirty-four seconds left to tie the game 4-4.
After a crazy finish to the third period, the teams were set for a sudden death four on four overtime period. Red started the overtime with a few quality chances, but were unable to capitalize. Then with three minutes remaining Green was able to score off of a quick offensive rush making the final 5-4.
The coaching staff is proud of the way the team played throughout the tournament. We were able to come out of the round robin with a 2-0-1 record against three excellent hockey teams. More importantly the team was able to respond with heart, grit, and determination in the third period of the consolation finals. Although we did not win the hockey game, it was the never give up mentality that we were happiest to see. Looking forward to more of the same this weekend during the Fun Festival!