The Pee Wee Rep Rams continue to hold their ground in numerous matchups throughout Southwestern Ontario, including their first tournament of the year.
The Pee Wee Rep Rams continue to hold their ground in numerous matchups throughout Southwestern Ontario.
MF vs DRAYTON
The Rams hosted the Drayton Icemen for an afternoon Sunday contest. Dylan Laprade held down the crease and was tested early on with a Drayton goal within the first minute of play. The Rams were quick to respond as Willson Fisher took a rebound from Nolan Officer to even the damage. This would end the scoring as the teams would battle throughout the three frames without additional goals. Outstanding effort shout outs go to Cody Stewart who continues to be solid in his defense, Maverick Hollliday for not giving up at the crease, and the line of Nathan Reeves, John Bowden and Macaulay Hall, who are due for a goal with their continued hard work.
Laprade was solid in his net, providing solid skills throughout the match and keeping the Rams at par with the evenly matched Drayton squad.
MF @ HARRISTON
The Minto Mad Dogs hosted the Rams Nov. 9.
Bretton Peter guarded the Mount Forest pipes and was tested early in the match. The squads had end to end action for the first several minutes. A shot on the high blocker side put Minto on the score board. The Rams put the pressure on as Connor Reeves and Brett Doney teamed up to secure their blue line, and forwards Jackson Francis and Willson Fisher had near misses that only fueled the Rams fire. Nathan Reeves was key in drawing the puck off his winger's stick and Connor Kerr slowed down Minto attackers with an effective back check.
The Rams exploded from the first face off as Francis pulled the puck from the drop and took it the Minto end. Maverick Holliday had the fans screaming during a thrilling breakaway and Cody Stewart pulled his weight by feeding in the rubber for his forwards. Mad Dogs circled and within two minutes bested Peter to make it 3-0. The Rams struggled to keep the hosts out of their end and the period ended at 4-0.
Following the flood, the Rams came back with a mission. Kerr lit up the score board with a beautiful top corner shot. A breakaway for the Mad Dogs bested Peter on the glove hand after rapid fire on the Mount Forest pipes. Kerr retaliated with another marker, this time on the open far side of the downed cager. The hosts advanced the score to 6-2 and it looked like the Rams would have to settle, but with 26.4 seconds left in the game, Willson Fisher sent a long sweeping shot over the red line to halve the lead 6-3. Unfortunately the clock ran out on the Rams who were poised to do further damage.
MF @ LISTOWEL
Listowel Cylcones hosted the Mount Forest Rams in a rare mid-week match.
The hosts dominated throughout the game, with superb stick handling and relentless attacks on the Mount Forest end, minded by Dylan Laprade. The first period saw the Cyclones turn up the heat and cash two markers. John Bowden had a near miss, followed by a great rebound attempted by Macaulay Hall.
Early in the second frame, the Cyclones caught Laprade out of the crease and up the score to 3-0. Nathan Reeves set the tone for a physical game with a crushing check on an oversized winger, but this didn't stop the barrage of shots on the Rams crease. Before the end of the period, the score was 10-0.
Returning to the ice after the flood, the Rams tried to hold their own, but the hosts were merciless, adding two more points to the damage. Finally, Willson Fisher repeated his previous game's performance, breaking through the Cyclone defense for a thrilling marker with only 26 seconds remaining. Assists were credited to Nathan Reeves and Macauley Hall. The Cyclones capped the night with the last goal scored at 17.6 seconds remaining. Laprade had a thorough working, facing 36 shots throughout the match.
CLIFFORD PEE WEE TOURNAMENT
The Rams travelled to Clifford for the first tournament of the season.
The first match of the day saw the Rams facing off against Twin Centres and fans were treated to some solid end to end action. The line of Maverick Holliday, Nolan Officer and Jackson Francis introduced themselves to the Twin Centres' end early on, but were frustrated. Playing as the home squad Twin Centres were on the board at the five-minute mark, as Peter was bested by a sharp five-hole snap.
Ready to change their fortunes, the Rams took the game to the home zone and ended the frame hammering at the Twin Centre pipes.
The Rams continued their barrage at the start of the second period, with Cody Stewart feeding the rubber to the attacking forwards. Willson Fisher, Nolan Officer and Connor Kerr had fans yelling with their attacks, but were denied. Twin Centres brought the action back to the Mount Forest end and in spite of solid blocks and rebounds, Peter was caught with a wrap around shot into the back corner followed by a screened shot moments later.
Connor Reeves was showing old style by using his boards and slamming the puck back into the Twin Centre zone. Peter withstood some serious rubber action and kept the hopes alive throughout the middle stanza by denying further damage.
At the top of the third, penalties to got the best of the Rams and it was up to John Bowden, Own Milne and Stewart to burn off the minutes. Once at full strength, Officer, Holliday and Francis were a nightmare for the Twin Centre cager. Brett Doney got in on the action with rushing defense tactics to add to the barrage. Francis had the stands roaring with excitement with a thrilling breakaway but was spoiled at the crease. Peter held the period without additional damage and held the deficit to 3-0.
GAME 2
It was a clearly motivated Rams team when the squad faced off against the Clifford Thunder for game two.
The tournament hosts were put on their heels from the first face off, as the Rams were challenging every Thunder line. John Bowden shone on defense, switching with Cody Stewart who was equally brilliant on wing. Bowden earned an assist off Nolan Officer's goal a the seven minute mark. The Rams were clearly more focused, and continued to put pressure on in the Clifford end, leaving Dylan Laprade with breathing room at the Mount Forest net.
Macaulay Hall, Willson Fisher and Nathan Reeves pushed relentlessly while Owen Milne fought off his winger to spoil an attack. Fisher earned a point with a low sliding pass, with assists to Connor Kerr and Bowden. Kerr then got his own point thanks to Stewart and Brett Doney. Moments later Officer earned his second goal off of a rebound from Maverick Holliday a pass off of Jackson Francis. Hall added to the tally thanks to Nathan Reeves and Officer. Officer then marked his hat trick with an assist for Doney. The final goal of the frame came again from Officer, after he run the top cross bar with a hand off from Bowden.
Laprade was lonely in the Rams crease as his team mates brought the charge starting from the first face off. Francis notched goal number eight with help from Holliday and Fisher. Holliday then deposited a pass from Fisher and fed by Connor Reeves. Francis continued to shine with a long swing pass hitting the back corner of the net and assist props going to Officer and Laprade. Stewart then joined the club after receiving from Kerr and Doney. Number 12 came courtesy of Bowden on a rushing defense move complimented by Officer's faceoff. Nathan Reeves then helped Officer earn his fifth point and Hall wrapped up the firestorm, assisted by Nathan Reeves and Doney. In spite of the outstanding 14-0 score, the Rams pushed through to the final minutes, qualifiying them for their berth in the Consolation Finals.
GAME 3
West Lincoln Wrath faced off against the Rams for the B-side title.
Bretton Peter returned to the pipes and was tested early on. John Bowden strengthened the Rams defense with solid backchecking and covering the ice end to end. The Wrath drew first blood with a second rebound shot over a downed Peter. The Rams replied with a messy marker cashed by Nolan Officer off of Maverick Holliday. Both sides notched up their play, which became increasingly physical. Each shift moved from end to end and it began to shape up as a goalie's game. Peter was solid throughout the frame and ensured minimal damage.
Holliday, Jackson Francis and Willson Fisher swarmed the Wrath's end but could not penetrate the cager's wall. Macaulay Hall continued his scoring streak off of Officer's rebound and advanced the cause 2-1. The Wrath regrouped with a blistering shot to tie the count. While the Ram's defense was working overtime, the Wrath had a golden breakaway to advance 3-2. A hearbreaking rolling puck counted to widen the margin before the end of the second chapter.
The Rams were resilient and could not be stopped with wave after wave ot attacks. Once again the play became more physical and both teams padded the penalty box. Dylan Laprade replaced an injuried Peter with minutes left. He then returned to the bench in favor of an additional attacker, which worked for the Rams. The time seemed to run out on the squad as Francis scored off of Officer's rebound with 2.9 seconds remaining making the final 4-3.
MF vs. MILDMAY
The Rams treated the Mildmay Monarchs like royalty, until the puck dropped. The evenly matched teams thrilled the crowd with end to end play. Nolan Officer weaved through the traffic to attack the guest's net but was stymied. Dylan Laprade was sandwiched between Monarch forwards, but controlled the rubber. The Rams had reason to hope with a strong rush from Nathan Reeves, Officer and Macaulay Hall, but at the end of the first act, the teams were scoreless.
Home squad started the second period with two penalties and it was up to John Bowden, Officer and Brett Doney to burn off the time. Once back up to full strength, Cody Stewart came thisclose to cashing a pass from Officer, while Nathan Reeves was robbed as his shot rang off the pipes. Connor Reeves was key in reinforcing the defense and feeding the rubber back into the Ram forwards. The hosts were able to capitalize on Mildmay penalties as Connor Kerr bulged the twine over a mess of bodies, with assist creds going to Officer and Doney.
Hall looked like a threat at the visitor end, while Doney proved invaluable racing end to end to rush and recover in his own end. Laprade could breath easy with the Rams defense locking down Monarch attacks. Connor Reeves and Doney were a wall of frustration while Officer and Jackson Francis hovered at the Monarch's crease.
Within minutes of the first face off in the third period, Connor Reeves shot from the point and found the back of the net - Hall and Doney credited with assists. Willson Fisher looked for his opportunity with a fash rush, followed by an encore with Francis. Bowden put his body on the line to deflect shots on net and Owen Milne continues to impress with his ability to pull the puck off the oppositions' stick. Officer was credited with a deflection off of the Monark's defenseman to mark the 3-0 final and lock down the win for the Rams.