Bantam Winless Streak Comes To An End
The Bantam Reps welcomed the Saugeen Shores Storm to town on Sunday night for game two of four season games against each other.
The Cyclones came out flying right from the first drop of the puck and were rewarded with a goal just 19 seconds into the game. Connor Johnson took a pass from Justin Miller and then blew by the Storm defence, made a nice deke around the goalie and then bent the mesh to light the lamp. The action was fast paced and both teams battled back and forth creating lots of scoring chances, however, there was no more scoring until the Storm buried one half way through the second. The Storm then took a one goal lead late in the second. The Cycs Captain, Travis Bender, picked-up a juicy rebound and showed the goalie the top corner to tie the game early in the third. With just over two minutes left in the third, Miller went for a skate and took took the puck deep behind the net. An attempted pass out front bounced off the goalie's skate and crossed the goal line to give the home team their first regular season victory. Mitchell Smith was between the pipes and had a very solid game to earn the win.
Monday night saw the boys take a road trip to the face the Walkerton Capitals. The first period was all Cyclones as most of the play was in the Capitals end, but the boys just couldn't beat the goaltender. It was Walkerton who would earn the first spot on the scoreboard when they capitalized on a bad bounce down low. They would take a two goal lead early in the second, but the Cycs closed the gap when playing two men short on a penalty kill. Once again, the speedy Johnson would split the defence and would beat the goalie with a nice deke. The "whistle happy" referees took over in the third and handed-out a total of 12 minor penalties, 7 to Listowel and 5 to Walkerton. The Cycs took advantage of a powerplay early in the third and Andy Gooding tied the game at two when he picked-up a rebound from a point shot from Michael McMurren. The final buzzer sounded and the game ended in a 2 - 2 tie. The Cyclones played very well as a team and played with intensity and showed a great work ethic for all three periods. Jesse Nethercott made some very timely saves to keep the Listowel boys in this game.
The team will travel to New Hamburg this weekend for their first tournament of the year.
