The MBRP Major Midget Otters had a busy game schedule this past weekend, playing to two ties in road games against the South Muskoka Bears and Midland Centennials before they returned home for a huge 3-1 win in a rematch with South Muskoka.
The weekend improves the Major Midgets’ record to 1-3-1 on the young season, as they have recorded at least a point in the standings in four of their first five games.
The MBRP Major Midgets next game will be in Parry Sound against the Shamrocks Friday October 23rd and 8:30pm at the Bobby Orr Community Centre.
This weekend’s game summary, contributed by Dan Dickson:
The Bracebridge arena was loud with cheers from the crowd and sticks banging the boards as the Otters and the Bears took to the ice for the opening faceoff Friday night. After winning the draw, the Otters held the puck deep in the Bear’s zone, keeping the opposition penned in for over a minute until a deflection put the puck out of play. The next shift would see a big open ice hit from the Otter’s defense that got the crowd roaring.
The Bears would respond to the physical play, however, and during a 2-on-1 breakaway scored their first goal of the game to put the home team up 1-0. After two Otter powerplays which failed to generate many scoring chances, it was the Bears who would instead add to their lead, capitalizing on a 5-on-3 advantage with less than two minutes left in the first to go up 2-0, despite several incredible saves from goaltender Scott Perry on the penalty kill.
The second period started with end to end action and Otters forward Cody Parent was back checking with authority. The Otters battled hard to get on the board, but at the midway mark of the frame found themselves down by three after a Bears forward scored on a breakaway.
Shortly after, an Huntsville player took a 2 minute roughing penalty and another 4 minutes for head contact, putting the Bears on another extended 5-on-3 powerplay. During the advantage, Perry made no less than six saves including a highlight reel grab with his glove, providing the spark which seemed to tilt the ice in the other direction. With 2:12 remaining in the second Evan Dickson dug the puck out of the corner and chipped it up to defense partner Jack Armstrong, who fed Arric Lupton streaking up centre ice. Lupton beat the Bear’s defense to come in alone on the breakaway and score the Otters first goal. The momentum was short lived, however, as on the ensuing shift the Otters defense got caught pinching deep to pressure the puck, leading to another Bears breakaway and a 4-1 score after forty minutes.
The Otters needed a strong third period, and got things started on the right track with a powerplay goal from Chris Aben to cut the deficit to 4-2, with Lupton and Nick Lavigne getting the assists. The Bears battled back and netted their fifth of the night at 4:50, instinctively ending any thought of a comeback. But the Otters refused to quit, and with less than three minutes to go Cody Jones found Dylan Welsh who scored at the side of the net to make it 5-3. A minute later, Armstrong would show off his skating ability by going coast-to-coast with an unassisted goal to bring the Otters within one.
Pulling their goalie for the extra attacker, Jones grabbed the puck and found Cole Earl, who became the hero by potting the tying goal with 22.6 seconds remaining, as the game ended 5-5. The Otters outshot their opponent by a 35-24 margin, and Cody Parent was awarded Player of the Game honours by his teammates for his solid back-checking and overall physical play.
The Otters were off to Midland for game two of the weekend against the Centennials, and dominated play early on by gaining the offensive zone and creating chances with slap shots from the point. Despite several quality chances, the score remained deadlocked at zeros until 3:28 left in the first, when the Centennials took the lead on a powerplay with a goal through traffic from the defence.
The penalty trouble continued into the second period, when 21 seconds in the Otters were back in the box as Midland scored to go up 2-0. Despite 16 shots in the frame, the Otters were unable to solve the Centennials net minder and were still down by two heading into the third.
The Otters came out flying for the final period, and Conner White found the back of the net off a rebound from Dylan Welsh’s shot to cut the Centennials lead to 2-1 just a few minutes in. Shortly after, the Huntsville was able to capitalize on the man advantage with Cole Earl feeding Jacob Schnurr for the tying goal and putting the Otters back on level ground. Midland would strike back though, retaking the lead in the closing minutes as the Otters were fighting hard to score. For the second straight night, it was Earl who would find the late game magic for the Otters, picking up the puck at his own blue line, splitting the defense and scoring top corner to end the game in a 3-3 tie. The Otters outshot the Centennials 38-13.
“The team was working well together tonight and I was fortunate to be in positions during the game that helped the team,” said Jacob Schnurr, who was awarded Player of the Game by his teammates.
The Otters were back to Huntsville on Sunday for a home game against the South Muskoka Bears, and for the first time all weekend scored the game’s opening goal. At 4:35 in the first, the Otters went on a power play, with defenseman Quinn Thompson gaining the zone and passing to Cole Earl, who fed Cody Jones to put Huntsville up 1-0. South Muskoka responded with 35 seconds left in the period, tying the game 1-1 with with a wrist shot through traffic.
The start of the second was end to end action with both goalies making great saves. Otters defenseman Nick Lavigne put the home team up 2-1 with a hard shot along the ice that went in off the post for the only goal of the period, despite the Bears hitting a crossbar late during a desperate flurry to tie the game.
The third period was all Otters, who defended their lead with lots of pressure and great offence. Jones scored an insurance goal on the powerplay at 11:14 to put Huntsville up 3-1 as the Otters skated to their first win of the season as Nick Lavigne was named player of the game for his efforts.
0 Comments