Good evening folks, and welcome to Sports Desk. We have two games to report on from last weekend. First there's the game with Waterloo playing the Cambridge Hornets at home in the Igloo at Albert East on Saturday night, and the second is Waterloo away at the Hamilton Steelhawks. So let's get started!
Saturday was a chilly one both inside and out. Emmett is in net for the night and looks ready to go. The first period looks like the boys are fairly evenly matched, and it isn't until 3 minutes to go in the first period that we some really promising action when Waterloo goes on the power play. Waterloo has several scoring chances. Here's Ben flinging a hard wrist shot from the point, but is saved by the glove. Then Casey H gets a piece of it and passes to Carter, and Carter sends it to Curtis. Curtis takes a look, the shot, and GOAL!
Just over a minute into the second period we see Cambridge going hard into the Waterloo end. The Waterloo defence is trying to shut it down but can't quite get onto the puck, and the shot goes high and over Emmett's shoulder and in. The game is now tied at one apiece. Emmett faces several more shots in the period but keeps it out. Deeper into the period we have Dion shutting down a dangerous looking break, which is what Dion does. Rarely does the puck get past him.
Early in the third period we see Waterloo going on a strong looking rush. Zach passes it up to Jacob, and he takes it all the way, he waits until the goalie drops, and SCORE! Waterloo takes a 2 - 1 lead. A few minutes later, Michael slides the puck over to Josh, Josh takes a high shot that looks like the goalie has it but the puck is tipped off the end of the glove and into the net. Now Waterloo has a 3 -1 game. Despite the score, it's still a tough game all the way to the end. Jacob gets a couple more shots at the net, and so does Colin. With less than a minute to go, Zach goes all the way, takes a shot to the 5-hole, but the goalie gets just enough of it to keep it out. And that's the game, 3 -1 Waterloo.
On Sunday the boys and parents made a road trip to Hamilton to play the Steelhawks. The fans enjoy the nice arena, and enjoy the spectacle of angry-Zamboni-guy who makes sure the boys don't put a toe onto the ice until he's good and ready.
This time Alex takes his turn between the pipes, and he looks ready to go. It's been a long weekend of hockey, and tonight the boys are going to play 3 fifteen-minute periods. Let's see how they stand up.
Early in the period Alex makes a stick save but the puck pops out. Despite the strong defence, a Steelhead gets onto it and taps in the rebound. Not too long after, Peter goes along the boards, takes the shot, but it's saved by a hot Hamilton goalie. The Waterloo boys are getting a lot of chances in the period, and they show some great skill and patience. Here's Josh stick-handling his way through traffic, takes a clear shot over the goalie's shoulder and in! A real beauty of a goal, Josh's second of the weekend so far. Alex sees more action but still keeps it out. With under 4 minutes to go, Curtis goes on a strong rush, takes a shot but it gets saved. Soon after, he screams back on a back-check to prevent a Hamilton shot. As the period winds down, Casey H is on the receiving end of a hard slap shot to the shin. He winces but he toughs it out and stays on.
The second period starts with the game still tied at 1. Early on, here's Peter with the pass to Josh, Josh shows off his light hands by deeking around everyone in his way, then puts it over the same shoulder as before, his second goal of the game and now Waterloo takes a one-goal lead. Here's Ben, he strips the puck away from a Hamilton player and takes it most of the way back to the Hamilton end, but the shot is saved. Hamilton takes it back, there's a scramble in front of Alex, they pass it out front, but it goes off a Waterloo player and in. The game is tied at 2. The game goes back and forth for a while. Hamilton scores despite a heroic effort by Zach to clear the puck. Waterloo gets a penalty but manages to kill it by keeping it in the Hamilton end for almost the entire time. Grant takes a slap shot in the centre mass. He drags is own carcass off, and the play continues. Casey pushes his way through like a linebacker, takes the wide-angle shot and it's saved. Colin is there for the rebound and spanks it into the 5-hole, tying it now at 3. With 40 seconds to go in the period we see the puck pin-balling around in front of Alex but he can only stop so many and it goes in. Hamilton moves ahead 4 - 3.
Now for the 3rd period. Early on we see a Hamilton undress the Waterloo defence with some nice moves, then scores. Despite some fantastic plays by both teams, Hamilton keeps on top of the boys to keep it at 5 -3 for most of the period. Late in the period there's a play in front of Alex. It looks like Alex has it but there's no whistle. Hamilton pushes everyone into the net and the referee calls it a goal. The fans aren't too happy but the goal stands, making the game 6 -3, which is how it will end. Despite the loss, the boys played well and didn't seem to slow down despite the 45 minutes of play.