A lot of holding and folding was going on Saturday night at Almaguin Minor Hockey’s charity casino. Thousands of dollars worth of prizes, including an autographed framed painting of Bobby Orr’s most famous goal, were up for the winning. Here, Dick Duric throws in his hand at the very busy poker table.
Minor hockey action was non-stop this past week with teams competing in playdown games both at home and on the road. All Almaguin rep teams, with the exception of the Midget rep team, have a play off game or two under their belts in the OMHA playdowns for the 2007-2008 season.
Atom: The Atoms played the first game of the playdowns vs. Coldwater at 1:40 p.m. in South River on Saturday, Jan. 26. From the drop of the puck both teams appeared evenly matched. Although the Ice Devils attempted to carry the play, they ran into penalty trouble early on in the first. With a strong work ethic they were able to kill off three penalties in succession. The Ice Devils jumped into the lead late in the first period with a goal by Tyler Young, assisted by Dryden Sollman.
Throughout the second period both teams exchanged scoring chances with Jakob Pauley making a couple of big saves, giving the Devils the opportunity to net a couple more goals. Both Ice Devils goals in the second period were scored by Dryden Sollman with assists going to Dakota Grant on his first and Cody Sheldon and Simon Holenski on his second goal.
The Ice Devils held on in the third period and played strong defensively. Coldwater didn’t back down and kept the pressure on. Brett Joiner played another strong game at both ends of the rink, inspiring his team mates with both his physical play and forechecking presence. Final score: Ice Devils 3, Coldwater 0.
On Jan. 27 the Ice Devils travelled to Coldwater to continue their series against the Wildcats. The Ice Devils jumped into the lead with two first period goals. The first was scored by Dryden Sollman, assisted by Rylan Anger; the second scored by Brett Joiner, assisted by Dakota Grant.
The second period remained scoreless, but the Ice Devils did run into some penalty trouble that allowed the Wildcats back into the game.
Early in the third period Coldwater was on the board. The Ice Devils rebounded with a goal scored by Dakota Grant, assisted by Dryden Sollman and Simon Holenski. Once again penalty trouble gave Coldwater the edge. The final score was 4-3 in the Wildcats favour.
Lessons learned for the Devils going into their third game on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008 in Coldwater.
Peewee: On Sunday, Jan. 20 the Peewees played their first playoff game against Meaford. Almaguin scored first on a goal by John Mark Penman, assisted by Brady Anger. Meaford tied it up before the end of the first, making for some very exciting playoff hockey. With the fans on the edge of their seats, Meaford went up 2-1 in the second. Almaguin quickly got back into the game on a goal by Ralphie Burton.
Before the end of the second Connor Lawes scored for the Ice Devils to go ahead 3-2.
In the third Almaguin poured it on. Kenny Chapman put a shot in the high corner and Ralphie Burton put away his second of the game on a wraparound minutes later. Almaguin skated away with a 5-2 victory to take the lead in the best of five series. The Peewees travelled to Meaford on Saturday, Jan. 26 to play game two. There were no stats available at press time. The next home playoff game will be at 1:40 p.m. in Sundridge on Feb. 2.
Bantam: The Bantams also played Meaford in game two of their OMHA playdowns. The Ice Devils trailed Meaford one game to none after dropping the opener in Almaguin 5-4. The home team scored once in each period putting the Devils down 2 – 0 at the break. The lead would have been much greater if not for the outstanding play of goaltender Billy Tanton who faced two shots to every one the Devils put on net.
Meaford notched their third goal only 15 seconds into the third. It took the Devils just over 10 minutes to break the shutout with Nils Sebastian finding the back of the net with a nice wristshot. Just two minutes later Thomas Stevens deflected a shot with assists going to David Henderson and Tyson Whitehead to put the Devils within one goal with only two minutes and 15 seconds left in the game. The Devils continued to pressure and tied the match with a booming slap shot from Whitehead, the assist going to Stevens. This goal forced a 10 minute sudden death overtime.
Tanton held the Devils in again making several stops but, unfortunately, Meaford was able to gain puck control and took full advantage, giving Meaford a 4-3 victory.
The Devils will have to muster much more offence to prolong the series beyond three. The third game will be played in Sundridge on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 3:10 p.m.
Midget AE: The Midget AE played Bobcageon for game two on Sunday, Jan. 27. The Ice Devils took a bus for their first team road trip of the season and the mood was set as all were in high spirits and ready for some play off action.
The team came out with much enthusiasm and took to the ice with great speed and determination. After a disappointing loss in game one, the Ice Devils were pumped to ensure that Bobcageon would not walk away with game two. Kelsey Preston was between the pipes and although a little shaken after Bobcageon was quick to put away the first goal, she composed herself for the rest of the game and made some fantastic glove saves — and used some very impressive moves that stoned Bobcageon on more than one occasion.
With a burst of speed Tyler Anderson took a rippling shot that was stoned by the Bobcageon goalie. It was 2-0 going into the second for the home team and Kelsey did her part stopping a really hard shot and keeping the team in the game. Keith Marshall was in the right place to tip one in on the power play, with help from Jordan Leggett and Tyler Anderson. Pat Skiffington tipped in a nice one to tie the game. Earning assists on the play were Ethan Reaman and Kade Gray.
Bobcageon quickly answered back and it was a 3-2 game. Derek Rogers took a quick snap shot that was tipped in by Keith Marshall and the game was all tied up at three at the end of the second.
The team came out a little sluggish in the first part of the third but picked up momentum as the game continued. Kade Gray made a great defensive move to negate a sure goal and Kelsey made a good move to stop a hard slap shot from the point. Bobcageon kept up the pressure and was able to net another goal.
Almaguin had trouble controlling the play but were able to fight off a critical penalty which gave the team the confidence to continue to put pressure on the home team. With time running out Almaguin elected to pull the goalie. The home team had other plans and put away an empty net goal to secure a 5-3 win.
Almaguin really rallied together in this game and although they came up just short of a win, they played their best hockey of the season. Bobcageon comes to play game three on Saturday, Feb. 2 in Sundridge at 4:50 p.m.
Midget: The rep team wait anxiously to begin their first round of play downs and will now face Coldwater. Date and time has yet to be decided and will be announced as soon as it is available.
Almaguin Minor Hockey held the first “Casino Almaguin” fundraiser in Sundridge on Saturday, Jan. 26. This fun-filled night was enjoyed by all in attendance. On behalf of the Almaguin Minor Hockey executive, a huge thank you goes out to all those who helped sponsor and support this fundraiser with the attendance.
Editorial
