Ethan Reaman, of the Almaguin Ice Devils Midget AE team, tries to steal the puck from a Bobcaygeon player during a game on Jan. 21.
Let the games begin! The South River arena was bustling with activity on Sunday as the Ice Devils Peewee, Bantam and Midget AE all played the first game in their playoff run. The Atoms and Midgets had a buy in the first round and anxiously wait to hear if they will play Coldwater or Meaford with games likely to start next weekend.
House League: On Jan. 15 the ‘Fantastic Four’ defeated Team One by a close score of 4-3. This game was a close battle from start to finish with the Fantastic Four holding on for the win. Leading the way for the Fantastic Four was Kurt Ramsperger with a hat trick and one assist. Reed Percival chipped in with a goal and added two assists. Team One goal scorers were Jocelyn Brouse, Oren Morrison and Taylor Kreps; adding two assists was Stephanie Young. The North Stars defeated the Trashers by a score of 5-3 in another closely contested battle (no stats available). Wally Miller won the 50/50 draw and donated the winnings back to th Almaguin Minor Hockey Association (AMHA). Thanks Wally. Finally, this past Saturday, the Trashers defeated the Fantastic Four by a score of 4-0. Byron Defoe recorded his first shutout and played exceptionally well to earn the shut out. No stats were available for goal scorers.
Tyke: The tykes travelled to Minden last Sunday to play their first official game of the season. It was an exciting time for this young squad as it was the first game ever for many. The final score was 6-0 for Minden, but the team received many compliments from the opposing executive. Kane Percival was peppered throughout the game but did a magnificent job of keeping the game close. Cole Galeovic nearly broke the shutout, but was denied in a close play. The tykes have their second game of the season scheduled for this weekend against Bracebridge.
Atom: The Ice Devils final regular season game was played in Gravenhurst on Jan. 13. Although the Ice Devils scored first with an offensive rush by Dakota Grant unassisted, Gravenhurst answered back to tie the score at the end of the first period. Gravenhurst scored two unanswered goals in the second and the Ice Devils went to the dressing room to regroup, down by two. The Devils continued to battle adversity throughout the third period, giving up a fourth goal midway through the third. They did battle back to score one more by Simon Holinski unassisted, prior to Gravenhurst closing off the scoring late in the third period. All four games played this season against Gravenhurst were close and filled with excitement. The Atom Devils have a couple of weeks of practice to prepare themselves for their playdowns which start the first week of February. They will play the winner of Meaford and Coldwater. The Atom Ice Devils would like to thank all the parents, family and friends that have come out throughout the regular season to support these upcoming local stars. The team has improved greatly and looks forward to the challenges created by the playdowns.
Peewee: The Peewees played their first playdown game vs. Meaford on Sunday in South River and came away with a 5-2 victory. There were no stats available at press time. The team now travels to Meaford for game two this weekend.
Bantam: The Bantams also played Meaford in South River in game one of their first round of playdowns and found themselves just short in a game that was back and forth and could have gone either way. Tyson Whitehead scored the first Almaguin goal on a hard shot that found the back of the net, with help from Stephen Opatovsky and Justin Simser. Brandon Arnold put away the second goal assisted by Justin Simser, and David Henderson blasted a shot on net from a bad angle with not much room but the puck found its way across the goal line for Almaguin’s third goal with an assist going to Brandon Arnold. Thomas Stevens rounded out the scoring with Almaguin’s final goal assisted once again by Brandon Arnold. Unfortunately it was one goal short and the final score was 5-4 in favour of Meaford. Play down action continues this weekend.
Midget AE: The Midget AE team played Bobcageon for their first round of playdowns and found the opposition to be a tough go. The visitors were up 3-0 going into the third. They put away another quick goal to keep the pressure on Almaguin, netting four more unanswered goals in the third before the Ice Devils were able to get on the board with a goal by Scott Peavoy. Peavoy’s goal was assisted by Connor Hesse and Ryan Cutrara. Bobcageon walked away with a 9-1 victory in game one of this series. The team will need to regroup and focus on working hard along the boards, fighting for puck possession and coming together as a team as they head to Bobcageon this weekend for game two.
Midget: The rep team played two exhibition games this weekend as they waited to begin their first round of playdowns. On Friday night, despite some nasty weather, the Huntsville minor midgets came to the SSJ arena in Sundridge to play an exhibition game. There was a good crowd on hand to watch the home team. Ryan Whitney took his place between the pipes and played some good hockey, helping to keep Almaguin in the game. Unfortunately, the team lacked their usual jump and had trouble controlling the play, coughing up the puck too often which gave the visitors an early jump and a 2 –0 lead in the first period. Jason Chapman put in a nice back-hand to give Almaguin their first goal assisted by Jon Dunn. Working hard and going to the net Zach Attwell took a shot that was stopped by the Huntsville net minder, but Corey Rogers was coming in on the play and was able to pick up on the rebound to put it away bottom corner. It was nice to see the team rally and come back to tie the game, but unfortunately it was too little too late and the score remained 2-2.
On Sunday the team travelled to Baysville to play the Huntsville AE team. It was the first match up for these two teams this season and the second tie of the weekend for the Ice Devils. Scoring for Almaguin were Zach Attwell, Darren Stack (2) and Shawn Miller; assists went to Brody Brimacombe and Eric Langford (2) and Madison Scott earned three assists in the game. Greg Arnold took a nasty hit from behind in the second and was taken out of the game for repairs. The final score was a 4-4 tie.
The Midgets now have to concentrate on the task at hand as playdowns will begin as soon as Coldwater and Meaford finish their round robin. The team will need to focus and bring their “game” as the most intense hockey of the season is about to begin.
Almguin Minor Hockey has a new and exciting fundraiser scheduled for Jan. 26 in Sundridge. Casino Almaguin tickets can be purchased at the Kwik Way in Burk’s Falls and South River and at the Blue Canoe in Sundridg. The big event is this coming weekend so come out and support the league as your tickets for this fundraiser will help assist in keeping registration costs as affordable as possible, and keep minor hockey alive and well in Almaguin. If you have any inquires with regards to this fund- raiser contact Fraser Pauley at 384-0874.
Editorial
