Those
pesky St. Thomas Jr Stars sure made life difficult for our Waterloo Wolves this
season.
First
there was the penalty filled gong show of a game that ended in a tie followed
up by the collapse, or failure to show up, game the Wolves lost. Both leaving a
foul taste in the players and coaches’ mouths.
Alas,
the Wolves changed the narrative at home with a fantastic 3 to 0 win to finish
on a high note against the Stars and likely getting the last laugh by refusing
the Stars critical points.
Might
be a good thing for the Wolves, all things considered.
It
was a huge game winning goal by Jackson McNichol, his first of the season, to
get the Wolves on the board. McNichol’s goal was assisted by Tyler O’Hearn and
Matthew Anderson. Carson Bernhardt sent a rocket top shelf for the insurance
goal from O’Hearn and Jacob Reid-Brant added the empty net goal.
It
was another big performance from the Wolves goaltenders with Mitch Simmons earning
the shutout. Simmons had to work for it and made clutch saves for his team. It
has been incredible how well Simmons has played since returning from injury and
you can see the confidence the team plays with in front of him.
The
Wolves saw a lot of positives from all three lines and once again the Matthew
Ball, Declan Uniac and Cole Hunsberger line literally spent almost all their time
on ice cycling and creating opportunities in the oppositions end of the ice.
Ryan
Beckner, Caleb Cumming, and Cole Ledgister gave the Wolves energy every shift.
The trio has to be the hardest line in Alliance to play against. They hit
everything that moves, backcheck relentlessly and are resilient on the
forecheck.
A
pair of plays from the Wolves defenders helped keep the goose egg. First,
Yianni Peppas got his stick on a shot against an open net putting the puck into
netting and then Cullen Derry smacked a puck out of mid air to clear a for sure
goal from going in the Wolves net. Connor Palmer and Jake Patterson both were
instrumental on the penalty kill and key parts of the win as well.
The
Wolves went into the game knowing they needed to get a minimum of three wins to
clinch first and took a huge step forward with the win. The team will look to
keep pushing forward against Stratford where the Wolves will need an even
better effort to get the win.
Keep
working hard Wolves!