The Spits continued their extended homestand with a pair of games this past weekend. And the boys definitely showed that they meant business!
The weekend started off on Saturday with a non-divisional matchup against the Cambridge Hawks. Looking to avenge a loss earlier in the season, the Spits came out with some real jump in their step. Early in the first it was Mateo Nepszy pouncing on a loose puck and wiring home a bullet to give the boys the 1-0 lead. Following that up was Owen Findlay with a toe drag beauty to the low corner. All Spits through the first frame and a 2 goal lead heading to the 2nd.
In the second the teams traded goals with both teams picking up their fair share of goals. For the Spits it was Brendan Gouin with a nice low corner snipe. Following that it was the big man Seth Martineau doing his best Bobby Orr impression with an end to end rush that was finished with a missile right under the bar. From there it was Nate Dowling finishing off a beautifully executed 2 on 1. Not to be outdone Matthew Mongeau decided to head in on a breakaway and put a slick move on the Hawk goaltender, a real beauty!
Heading to the 3rd the Spits held the 3 goal advantage and that would be all that they needed for the 6-3 win. In net Phil DiMambro was tremendous and a couple highlight reel glove saves really stole the show. On defense Nolan Carvalho and Denzel Aguilar were rock solid and didn’t allow the Hawk forwards to get much of anything going. A great team effort and a good start to the weekend.
On to Sunday…. Sunday saw the arrival of the Lambton Jr. Sting to the “Park” and this one would prove to be a rather chippy affair. The last meeting between the 2 teams was a lopsided victory for the Sting so the Spits were looking to bring their best effort. From the get go it was apparent that Spits weren’t going to let this one get away, and the intense forecheck and puck pursuits were evidence of this. The Sting could not handle the onslaught that was coming at them and it didn’t take long for Brendan Gouin to benefit from some great work of his linemates Mateo Nepszy and Matthew Mongeau and bang home a rebound. The Sting were able to counter with one of their own and at the end of the first period the score was knotted at 1.
But in the second frame it was much of the same. The Spits kept coming and coming and it was Nate Dowling being rewarded for a great effort in front of the net to give the Spits the lead heading to the 3rd.
The 3rd got started off with a shorthanded goal from Owen Findlay, who along with Nate, outworked the opponent the whole shift to give the Spits the 2 goal lead. However after having to kill nearly 20 minutes in minor penalties, the Spits gave up one to the Sting on the powerplay to cut the lead to 2. But that is all they would need as the score finished up 4-2 Spits! In net Trevor Heslop got the revenge he was looking for and played a tremendous game. Key saves at key times. On the back end once again the boys were fantastic as a group of 6. Brody Gillis and Anton Tchernenko played excellent games with great first passes and perfect gap control. Along with big Matteo Pare consistently out battling the Sting in front of the net and in the corners. Up front the smooth skating of Gavin Grundner and Ethan Olafson along with the backchecking of Nic Graniero proved to be just too much for the Sting to handle. A great game overall and probably the most complete effort of the year for the squad!
Way to go boys!! We are all very proud of you!!
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