Dec 26, 2012 | mdaer | 619 views
Sailors Deliver the first Gift of the Season
On Dec 22nd the Jr Sailors hosted St.Marys as a kick-off to the team's Christmas Party. Despite being in the spirit of giving for Christmas, the Jr Sailors did the taking on this afternoon with a 4-3 victory.
The game began with the Jr Sailors playing the gracious hosts, as they spotted St.Marys a 1-0 lead after the 1st period.
However, early in the 2nd period, an excellent play started with Jess Szusz hitting Wesley Geerlinks with a pass deep in the Sailors' zone. Wesley fed an outstanding lead pass to Luke Ainsworth who tied the game 1-1 on the breakaway. With just over 6mins left in the period, Liam Hepburn had a great offensive zone face off win back to Kayla Benwell, who moved it to Pernell Pasch, who hammered a slapshot through the legs of the big St.Marys goalie. However, St.Marys tied the game 2-2 in the final minute of the 2nd period on a bad bounce that gave them an open shot.
The 3rd period saw the Jr Sailors return to their dominating performance, as they maintained a constant attack on the St.Marys goalie. However, the big goalie was equal to the task, and turned away several great scoring chances. Finally, with just under 5mins left to play, AP Chris Manning, who played a terrific game in a call-up situation, sprang Ryan Meth with a pass, and Ryan slid the puck through the goalie's pads for a 3-2 lead. Then, with around 2mins left in the game, AP Corson Hardwick, also called up for the game, out battled a St.Marys defenseman for the puck, drawing a penalty on the play. On the ensuing PP, Steven Calles worked hard down low to win the puck, and fed it out front to Luke Ainsworth, who connected with his 2nd of the game and a 4-2 lead. St.Marys made things interesting by scoring on the next shift, with just under 1min left, to made it 4-3. However, the Jr Sailors weren't about to start their party by giving away a victory, and they held on for a 4-3 win.
Next up, after the joy of Christmas, is a rare away game in Port Stanley for a meeting with Port Stanley LL1 for the first of a pair of Sailors vs Sailors matchups.
Hope everyone has a awesome Christmas season, filled with family, joy, and laughter, and ends safely in a return to the rink on the weekend.