The Minor Atom Selects Take the Sting Out of the Hornets in the Season Finale, News, Minor Atom, 2012-2013, Select (Waterloo Minor Hockey)

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This Team is part of the 2012-2013 season, which is not set as the current season.
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Jan 14, 2013 | Ryan Scott | 1454 views
The Minor Atom Selects Take the Sting Out of the Hornets in the Season Finale
The Minor Atom Selects got a much needed victory on Sunday, their first of many to come in 2013, by a score of 3-1. The team took part in their third and final meeting of the regular season with a pesky Cambridge Hornets Team. After two totally different games, with both teams earning a win against the other, the game had all the makings of a great rubber match. A rubber match in which the Wolves so desperately needed to settle with a victory in order to gain momentum in the upcoming Humber Valley Select Tournament in Etobicoke this weekend (January 19-20).

The team came out flat in the first period leading to a neutral zone battle with neither team generating much offense. The highlight of the period was when call-up Jacob O'Malley rushed into the offensive zone and managed to flip the puck towards the net with two defenseman on top of him leading to the first and only scoring chance of the period.

However, the second period was a much different story than that of the first. Four minutes into the period defenseman and co-captain Eric Lacey rushed into the defensive zone and took a hard shot that was blocked and that the Hornets attempted to clear. Andrew Yang intercepted the failed clear-out and passed the puck back to Lacey who unleashed a laser from the point that went through traffic and into the top corner. It was a highlight reel goal that left the Hornet netminder stunned.

Lacey was not done yet. On the ensuing faceoff the Hornets fired the puck into the Wolves end where Ethan McBain picked up the puck and delivered a pass to linemate Aiden Shah. Shah was pressured by the Hornets forecheck and managed to pass the puck to Lacey who was sprung for yet another rush down the ice. He stepped into the Hornet zone and shot another rocket from the point that buckled the netminder and put the Wolves up 2-0.

The goal sparked the team and lead to a much different game from this point forth. Although, the Hornets scored on a scramble in front of the net to begin the third period., the ice continued to be slanted towards the Wolves side with the scoring chances mounting. The Wolves continued to forecheck hard causing turnover after turnover.

Yang put the game away with a beautiful wrist shot that soared into the top of the net after some precision passing from Aiden Fox and Wesley Evans. Player of the Game honours were given to Eric Lacey after some stellar all-around play.

After an up and down first half of the season on the scoreboard in which the team has never quit and kept each game close, nothing but good things look to be in store for the Minor Atom Select Wolves. The coaching staff, including new addition Ray Vander Veen, could not be more pleased with the team's undeniable willingness to learn and win as a team.

Special mention goes out to each winner of the Player of the Game Puck thus far including (in order); Aiden Shah, Aiden Fox, Grady Simpson (twice), Joe Vander Veen, Connor Kemp, Wesley Evans, Abbie Kim, Ben Kerklaan, Brenden Labrie, Ethan McBain and Eric Lacey.