Jan 06, 2009 | Sweber | 554 views
Tied for First
The Mount Forest Atom Rep Rams met the first place Drayton Defenders for an intense game, and the boys rose to the occasion with bragging rights and an 8-4 win that left the Rams and Defenders tied for first spot in the standings.
Drayton dominated the Rams in the first period, quickly warming up goalie Noah Kroes with a number of shots. Cole Hodgins was able to bring the puck out of the Rams end, and pass to Blake Lewis at center ice to draw first blood.
Drayton soon retaliated to score with a long shot, and then broke away at the blueline. Two offenders worked the fake, but Kroes made an amazing glove save to shut them down.
There was serious pressure at both ends of the ice, but Drayton was next to light up the board with a high shot. Using great puck movement, Derick Acheson and Tristan Sylvestre set up linemate Jordan Reaman to tie it up again 2-2.
During intermission, the coaching staff had the play boards out showing the boys what they needed to do, and they brought the plays to life as Acheson tapped it home from the point with assists to Reaman and Sylvestre.
Drayton was getting frustrated as the Rams kept adding pressure, and forwards, Troy Weber, Brady Coburn, Kyle Dallaire and Jake Mulder did an amazing job backchecking and fowling up Drayton's chances of breaking away.
Hunter Elliott fired the puck from the blueline, but was stopped by the Drayton cager. Reaman then rushed back to pick up the puck, and wove around the forwards and defence before a deke on the goalie added a goal.
With seconds counting down, the Rams had many opportunities to score, with great blueline action from Dylan Reeves and Jake Zeinstra feeding the puck to the forwards in front.
Mount Forest added fuel to the fire in the third frame, as Weber in the corner passed out front to Reaman who one-timed it in. Two shifts later, a duplicate play saw Acheson find Reaman for his fourth goal.
Penalities started to add up, forcing the Rams to make adjustments and play shorthanded. Drayton made good on their powerplay, as Kroes lined up well for the shot but could not read the deflection off a skate.
Alex Kieffer and Warren Zeinstra brought the puck out of their end to set up Sylvestre, who made it look easy as he deked the goalie and slid one in. Drayton was able to get one more on the Rams in the late going.
To make the game exciting to the end, Lewis was denied on a hard shot, but Reaman was able to tip it in while flying through the air.
The win was one of the biggest games of the year for the Atoms, with every player giving 100 per cent effort in all three periods.