Oct 24, 2013 | gpettit | 836 views
Sailors get a point in wild shootout
It was a fast and furious evening with back and forth action and lots of scoring in the cosy confines of the old Port Stanley Arena. The sailors dominated the first period of play against the East Lambton Eagles getting great goaltending from Hunter R to keep the Eagles off the board as he turned aside each and every shot and a few excellent scoring chances. Tyson B netted two beauties with his new twig to give the Sailors the lead and Steven H scored on a boomer from the point to close the scoring at 3-0 after the first period of play.
Unfortunately for the Sailors the Eagles appeared to wake up after the initial onslaught and even though Tyson B completed his Hatty on a beauty pass from Jake P to go up 4-0 early in the second once the Eagles notched their first squeaker past Hunter R their confidence soared and they quickly followed it up with two more to leave the sailors up 4-3 at the end of two periods. In the final frame both teams employed a run and gun style of play which lead to multiple odd man rushes in both directions with pretty goals and great saves made at both ends of the rink. When the dust settled Tyson B netted his second hatty of the game and the Eagles scored 4 of their own to secure the tie with a heartbreaker at 22 seconds left to play.
While it was disappointing to not get the win the Sailors worked hard for three full periods today and showed they can play with the best teams in their division. Tyson B put his new stick to work scoring 6 goals on the night to lead the way for the sailors and he hopes the magic in it stays around for many games to come. Hunter R played a great game in net with most of the Eagles goals coming off breakaways and odd man rushes. Brady L took to his new position like a duck to water as he worked hard clearing the puck in the defensive zone and made things difficult for the Eagles puck carriers as they tried to get by him.
Each game continues to bring improvement for the Sailors and once they learn to get the puck deep in the other team's end and stop stickhandling at the blue-line they will give up fewer break aways and scoring chances which would make life easier for the defense and goaltenders. The Sailors now turn their attention to the West Lorne Comets for their Sunday afternoon tilt.