As the whistle sounded to end the game, the Stratford
Warriors showed fight in them that wasn’t apparent at the start of the game, as
the Waterloo Wolves skated to a 5 to 1 win in Stratford.
The Warriors player instigated a fight
with Griffin Beddis at the end of the game and the bad blood between the teams
is sure to continue Saturday when the Warriors come to Waterloo for the second match
in four days.
Jake Patterson opened the scoring for the Wolves from Evan
Wallace and Cole Ledgister. Matthew Ball scored from Declan Uniac. Cole
Hunsberger had a goal from Ball and then Ball repaid the favour to Uniac
setting Uniac up for a goal with Paterson also earning an assist. Wallace put
on the final touches, scoring on a 2 on 1 play from Ben Morton.
The Wolves had several players playing in their 4th
game of the day due to a high school hockey tournament and as the game wore on
you could see the fatigue kicking in with the team. It didn’t help the team
only had Patterson, Jackson McNichol, Evan Walsh, Jordan Abbott and Jack Smith
on the backend with Riley Webster suspended and Ethan Wasylyshyn unavailable.
Fatigue didn’t seem to be an issue for Sam Miller. Miller
went head-to-head with his goalie partner, Drew Cribbin, in the high school
tournament and was sharp for the Wolves.
This meant the team needed help from their forward lines and
the young wingers, Jack Thompson and Jack Mayne, were exceptional and worked
hard for the team. Hunter McMurdo showed his ability along the wall and in the
defensive zone as well, finishing the game without a single mistake in his end.
The centers, Morton, Beddis and Ball, all did heavy lifting in the defensive
zone.
Needless to say, with how the game ended, bad blood and a
sense of pay back is sure to spill over into Saturday’s game. The Wolves are
focused on what is important and that is the 2 points. The theatrics and nonsense
will not be fed into by the team.
All that matters to the Wolves is earning another couple
points and setting themselves up for an Alliance Championship.
Go Wolves!