The midget Cyclones came home with a pair of victories after travelling to Ripley (3-2 win) and Mitchell (4-3 win) on back to back nights thanks in large part to the goaltenders.
Sunday night the AE’s travelled to Ripley in what was a spirited affair filled with highlight reel goals & great goaltending. Listowel jumped out to an early lead as AP Brady Buchanan scored a pair of “hustle” goals. The 1st came mid-way through period one as he laid a solid check on the Ripley defender then stole the puck and potted it over the Ripley goalie’s shoulder. The 2nd was a similar effort as Buchanan won the foot race to the puck then patiently out waited the goalie… giving the Cycs a 2-0 lead. Despite solid goaltending by Andy Leith, Ripley managed to cut the led to 1. Dustin Langer capped off a “highlight of the night” goal as he converted a pretty 3 way passing play from Ben Verkley & Matt Wilkans, thus restoring the 2 goal cushion. The Wolves would get another early in the 3rd but that would be it as Leith and the Cycs defensive play remained strong despite several questionable penalties.
Monday night the team travelled to Mitchell and it would be Ryan Hak’s turn to shine. From the drop of the puck Mitchell was on the offensive creating numerous scoring chances but Hak stood his ground. The Cycs would again open the scoring late in the 1st as Wilkan converted a nice feed from Drew Hicks and Cory George. Mitchell would tie the game with 19 seconds remaining in the 1st then take the lead early in the 2nd. George would tie the game just minutes later as he potted a Hicks & Wilkan pass. The Meteors would again take the lead but two 3rd period goals by the Cycs just minutes apart would give them the lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Wilkan would bury his 2nd of the game on the power-play with Devon Elg & Verkley grabbing assists (honorable mention to Justin Bauman who started the play) and Scott Boertien roofed a shot from the slot as Jason Hollinger & Langer picked up assists.
With only 4 games remaining and many of the walking wounded on the mend the AE’s are starting to hit their stride. Coach Jerry Rozendal notes “the team needs to focus a little more on giving a consistent effort every game, every shift and if that happens we could go on a nice playoff run”. The AE’s next action is Sunday afternoon in Zurich.